Reviews

What Are Your Words?: A Book about Pronouns by Katherine Locke

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pib003's review

3.0

I think this book is a little too all-over-the-place to actually explain the concept of pronouns well. I'd rather see a story in which characters use diverse pronouns, but it's not the central aspect of the story. It would be easier to explain to a young reader that way.

i_will_papercut_a_bish's review

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5.0

This book is wonderful for introducing the concept of different pronouns, that it's fine if you're not sure of yours/that they change sometimes, and that it's normal to ask and respect the pronouns of the people around you!

I especially loved the inclusion of other words as well, like "loyal" "mechanic" "artistic" and "generous" to show that we all have many traits and layers of ourselves, and pronouns are just another way to communicate a part of ourselves with others.

The artwork is soft and friendly, inviting young readers to take a safe, playful view of trying on many words to see which fits in your own time, while feeling the support of your community. Here's to many, many neighborhoods being as lovely as Ari's!

heisereads's review

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4.0

Feels like a story of a child trying to figure out who they are and how they really feel over the course of a day, but also like a primer on pronouns & gender identity. Does so in a way that is accessible and developmentally appropriate for younger children.

andrew_petro's review

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5.0

A picture book about pronouns. Pronouns aren't just she/she, they can change over both short and long time scales, and it's okay to take time to figure them out.

Positive, thoughtful, affirming.

michellest's review

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2.0

I wanted to like this one, but it was more confusing than anything. There's a lot of pronoun concepts presented, and I liked that the author tried to explain that it may be difficult to figure out which pronouns fit you.
This book makes an attempt to explain gender fluidity to children, but honestly it seems like it would stress kids out more than anything. The idea that every day they have to decide which pronouns fit them just right and announce it to everyone seems exhausting, and doesn't seem to match the experiences of any genderfluid people I've ever known. I think with some explanation in the back, this book could be better. I saw a review that said "maybe this kid would've had more fun that day if he'd spent less time worrying about what their pronouns were going to be" and that kind of sums it all up xD

abigailbat's review

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This picture book is a great introduction and/or representation of people using all kinds of different pronouns and even sometimes changing pronouns from day to day and not knowing which pronouns fit on a particular day. Many different pronoun options are presented and normalized and this book also normalizes introducing yourself with pronouns and asking about others' pronouns. There's a hugely diverse cast of characters as neighbors gather for a barbeque and one detail I noticed was a person using he/him pronouns and also wearing makeup. This is an excellent buy for library collections!