My first thought after finishing this was: I wish I had books like this growing up. If I could have seen even one comic discussing something that wasn’t cishet, I could’ve understood myself a lot sooner in life. I’m so glad that books like these are being published.
I even learned a few new terms from this book, so I think it’s great for many ages. However, as others have mentioned, I do think the age range should be increased. This book is currently a bit wordy and fact based rather than a story, which I think many younger children may struggle with.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

My daughter (8) and I read this book together. I want my daughter to be educated in all walks of life, without judgement, with the want to celebrate all humans not being the same. This book is very cute! Very informative. The illustrations are bright and beautiful.

My child is nuerodivergent, and struggles to stay focused. This book lost her focus at times because it there was so much information. But she also asked questions and learned from this book. My takeaway would be, for being a children’s book, it’s great to have visual information to show them but a lot of children (at least that I’ve known and worked with) do better with stories vs. just a ton of facts being thrown at them. She still has asked to read it again, and enjoyed it, but I think she would have held more of the information if it were in the form of a story.

This is a great resource for people of any age to understand gender. I learned a term I hadn't heard gendervague. Definitely check this out for your little ones or your classroom. Loved the illustrations that I could see in the ebook arc copy, can't wait to see the color copy.

Ellie and Casey are the narrators of this talk-bubble-style picture book about the different gender identities. The illustrations do a good job of depicting the diversity of the different gender identities. I would recommend this to children 3rd-5th grade who are interested in learning more about gender!

One of the great things about this book is that it can be used for all ages. Younger children can use it as a picture book and see diverse representation of race, gender expression, ethnicity, body type, disability, and self-expression. It's well written, giving clear and concise information and examples, and can be used as a valuable tool at home and in the classroom in order to help parents/teachers in guiding and answering questions for older kids. The information is also very accessible to teens, young adults, and adults who are still learning about gender and gender expression. The artwork is delightful and fresh, and I enjoyed the speech bubble layout of the text. Overall, a wonderful book that I hope everyone will add to their library!

I was very excited when I saw this book, but I was really disappointed with it and I would only use it in one to one situations, not in a classroom. Whilst the pictures were lovely, I found the text confusing and it didn’t flow. I’m unsure why there was no text in the speech bubbles or whether this is an e-book problem. I found the acronyms confusing (bearing in mind who this is aimed at). I think this book would benefit from some re-working before I’d use it with children.
Thank you for allowing me to read this book.

I graduated high school in 2014, a year before the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage in Obgerfeld v. Hodges. Throughout my time in a rural Pennsylvanian school district, queerness was mentioned exactly twice by educators. First, in Kindergarten during story time, our elderly teacher read us an older story that used gay to mean happy, eliciting giggles from a small group of kids who had older siblings. Being the youngest (and relatively sheltered), I didn't catch the meaning but will never forget the tirade the teacher told us about how those people had stolen rainbows and our word! from god-fearing Christians. It wasn't until a few years later while playing the board game Life with my brother and parents that I learned more: our set was well-loved and missing many of the little blue stick men. When it came time for my mother to get married in the game, only pink stick women were left, resulting in my brother piping up to say, "it's okay mom, you can be a lesbian!" My parents laughed that night but everyone seemed to be uncomfortable the next morning at church when my brother told the preacher that mommy is a lesbian now.

Anyway.

The second time a teacher even referenced anything LGBTQ+ was when a teacher called me back to her desk to show me a meme on Google+, the search engine's short-lived social media platform. It depicted the photo that Fox News had errantly run depicting a gorgeous femme4butch lesbian couple as an example of what traditional marriage should look like. Feminist journalist Jessica Valenti was the first to point out the error, but not before the photo had also been shown on a Fox and Friends segment. I didn't quite understand why my teacher thought that I, a Very Straight Teenage Girl (who definitely didn't try to bargain with God that if he made the gay thoughts in my head go away that I'd pray every day and devote my life to the church), would especially appreciate the meme until a few years, confusing maybe dates with women, and bong hits later.

I was on Tumblr as a late teen into my first years of college but only dabbled in the website's infamous gendersphere because, well, we still had dial-up internet. This is also why I never learned to code HTML on MySpace, ending my career in tech before it even had a chance to bloom. C'est la vie.

Still, something compelled me to sign up for a gender studies core course intensive in my freshman year of college, which included a themed Welcome to the City one credit (where we learned all about Pittsburgh, gender, and gentrification), themed English 101, and an intro to gender studies course. The university went on to introduce an entire major devoted to gender studies but at the time I attended, there was only a minor. In these courses, I was introduced to the very concept that The Gender Book breaks down into age-appropriate and digestible chunks paired with deliberately inclusive and expansive illustrations, and in 2023, that is so important and powerful.

I've often heard other queer or trans people talk about how incredible it feels to see age-appropriate content for younger queer people using the language of, "if only I had this at their age," to the point where the refrain has become almost cliche to our community. But The Gender Book is the type of resource that would have given me the tools in an appropriate format to find myself much sooner. It's amazing to see what, not too long ago, was gatekept in the halls of gender studies departments and niche feminist zines, accessible to children and their parents without watering down, muddling, or restricting knowledge. In an era where wanna-be fascists like Ron DeSantis want to punish us for sharing information about our community in age-appropriate, informative, and creative ways books like The Gender Book are of tantamount importance and oh-so brave.

I was an angsty kid and teen, filled with undiagnosed autism and anxiety mixed in with a good ole dose of gender dysphoria that manifested in the form of a violent eating disorder throughout my teenage years. I came out as trans shortly after I stopped drinking in my early twenties and I firmly believe that both of those actions equally saved my life. If I had had tools like The Gender Book to understand myself and the world at a younger age, maybe my life would have never needed saving. At the very least, it would have saved me from shoving my foot down my throat the first time I met a visibly trans adult.

This book (probably) won't turn your child trans but it will give them the tools and knowledge necessary to not act like a jackass bigot when they grow up. There are children and adults in this book with differing levels of physical and mental ability, from a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and with representative body types. Exposing your children to inclusive content will simply prepare them to be an open-hearted, kind, loving person who greets new people as though they are a potential friend, not a potential enemy.

Translegislation has a tracker with regular updates showing what bills are active, passed, and have failed to restrict transgender rights across the United States. While many of the large political and religious groups funding these fights are approaching this topic from a place of hatred and a devoted interest in upholding and advancing white ethno-christian fascism, it's important to understand that many of the individuals who support these bills are doing so from a place of fear that allows them to be preyed upon by those with nefarious intentions. While most Americans have met (even in passing) a transgender person, few are conscious of that fact, and an even smaller percentage understands the nuances of the genderverse that are so clearly outlined in The Gender Book.

For children who have been growing up during this ongoing COVID pandemic, the basic introductions to common mental health and neurodivergency concepts (and how they tie into gender) will also be paramount to building a strong foundation in self-preservation and good citizenship. Its straightforward, kind tone reminds me of Mr. Rogers and his approach to learning about those who have different experiences than us.

If you're a parent who doesn't know all the "politically correct" lingo or hasn't been around gay people since you last ran into that high school friend you always assumed was just a little fruity, this book would be a great place for you and your child to start. If you're a gender expansive guncle with a nibling who you want to introduce to gender concepts, this is an excellent read (also go check out Corrigan's other book for kids, The Pronoun Book!!) If you're a teacher looking to build your classroom library so you can continue to indoctrinate kiddos to be kind, open-minded adults, I think this would fit perfectly between your copies of the Communist Manifesto and DIY Top Surgery for Minors.

I love to give books at baby showers (broke queer elder tip: save on the cost of a card and write a heartfelt note about how excited you are to meet the baby when they decide to grace us all with their presence in the future!) that are outside of the age range of newborn-baby because, well, how many board books with adorable baby chickens on it does a new parent really need?? The Gender Book will absolutely be added to my rotation of books to give for parents to store and bring out when their kid is interested in reading full sentences (or when they need a break from Bluey Goes to Space or whatever that Aussie dog does)

The artwork is excellent and helps build out the characters being described in a way that will allow children (and adults!) the option of reading this time and time again to pick out new details. The font could be larger (for accessibility purposes) but in the advanced reading copy all of the text bubbles are on solid backgrounds, which I personally love. I feel that the text/background is high contrast enough that it should still be appropriate for those with color blindness and low vision.

The Gender Book by Cassandra Jules Corrigan will be published on August 21, 2023, by Jennifer Kingsley Publishers, an imprint of Jennifer Kingsley Publishers. The Gender Book should be available for pre-order via your favorite trans-owned bookstore (and everywhere else books are sold) soon and you can sign up directly with the publisher to get an alert for when this book is finally in stock.

This book gets 4.5/5 trans pride flags from me.

Educational, informative, and cute! I even learned a couple of things reading this.
This book is a great starting point for anyone who finds themselves confused about gender identity and expression.
I loved seeing the variety of people.
I especially enjoyed the inclusion of neurodivergence. Neurodivergence was introduced in the book as commonly being ADHD or autism, then the next page really knocked it out of the part by including DID and PTSD under the neurodivergence umbrella. Kudos to the writer!
As a non-binary/genderflux/queer/idkit'swhatever person, I love the representation of how gender is complex and different for every person. I especially loved how our speakers told us that people can use multiple terms to describe themself. It was stated so simply and with grace that I think most people could understand and see how terms overlap, giving each person their own unique gender identity that means something to them.
However, my main gripes with this book is that it felt like too much information on some pages and too little on others. The target age demographic is a bit older. Younger kids would get bogged down with information.
My other issue with the book is --sigh-- it begins with explaining AFAB and AMAB. It is absolutely something that needs to be included, especially intersex conditions. But the book almost made it seem like people identify as AFAB or AMAB, which is something that a lot of people in the trans and nonbinary community have started to push back on. I know it wasn't the author's intention and they are just defining the terms, but AFAB and AMAB does leave a sour taste in the mouth. I'm non-binary and what sex I was assigned at birth is no one's business. The author wasn't having characters give their assigned gender at birth unless it was to explain gender expression or trans. So, I know the intention is in the right place and this is just a terminology book, but I hope parents and kids walk away with a bit more nuance on the subject. It wasn't written badly, it just may need to be reworded for sensitivity and clarity.
All in all, the book was lovely and included a glossary. I think it would be a great learning resource for kids and used as a discussion tool.

Such an adorable little book! It's amazing how many nonbinary identities are explained in there. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants more information about different gender identities in an easy to understand way.

Thank you to the publishers for the opportunity to check out an ARC of this book through Netgalley!

This is a beautifully inclusive children's book that I honestly think would be great for all ages! Even as someone who feels like they know a lot about gender I even learned a couple of things while reading this book.

The illustrations were so cute and I think that most people reading the book could find someone that they can relate to in the images. Books like this are so important especially as we are entering an age where books like this are being banned. Knowledge is power and children should have the right to know all the different ways of gender expression they have to choose from! And this would be a great tool to start the conversation.

This is a beautiful, incredibly inclusive and informative look at gender and the many forms it can take for those who don't identify with the gender they were assigned at birth. Kiddo (9) and I both learned a lot. I think it blew his mind a little lol. I asked him once we finished "So, how many genders are there?" and his response was "so many! I thought there were only 3!"

I love how diverse and inclusive the illustrations and examples are. Besides the multitude of genders, gender identities, and gender expressions represented, there are many disabilities, ethnicities, and body types represented as well. There are even some examples of genders where disability is an integral part and cannot be separated.

I also love how the book celebrates the many different genders, gender identities, and gender expressions of people who don't identify with the gender they were assigned at birth. They are all treated as wonderful, joyful, and valid, without shame. The underlying message is probably "whoever, you are, whatever label helps you feel most comfortable in your skin, be proud of it."

Highly, highly recommend for anyone who wants to understand gender and why it's so important a little better. This book is clearly written for kids, but adults could learn a lot from it too. An essential book for libraries and classrooms everywhere. And one that, in an ideal world, every child would have at home to facilitate acceptance and tolerance and help stamp out hate. The best book on gender that I've read.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for providing an early copy for review.

Thank you to the publishers for the opportunity to check out an ARC of this book through Netgalley!

I want to preface this review by saying that I myself am a trans non-binary individual and not a parent. I was interested in reading this book because I have a lot of friends with kiddos and I also work with parents from time to time. I am always interested in what resources there are regarding such topics for children nowadays so I may recommend as appropriate.

That being said, I actually loved this little book. I think this book is a really neat starting point. I think that some of the vocabulary used may be challenging for some young kiddos to grasp and I think that some of the examples of different gender identities could have been expanded upon just a smidge. I can recognize that it can be very challenging to expand upon these identities as more often than not, two people won't experience the same identity term in the same way.

So, I think because of those things, it invites parents to explore these topics with their kids. I think that gender can be such a confusing and complex topic for adults, especially those who may have never thought twice about their own gender, so it's a beautiful starting to point to have this book as a resource for some of the terminology. I think the way it's written that if it was just read without any further discussion, a child may not grasp as much, but if it's read and then explored further and then conversations continue after the fact, it expands the understanding and even the vocabulary of both the adult and child. From my limited experience, trying to explain concepts in a way for a child to understand helps me ensure my own understanding of said concept. It's easier to explain things we feel confident in knowing about.

It's also super cool that this book included the way neurodivergence and gender may affect each other, as well as other challenges like PTSD or DID.

The illustrations in this book are adorable and I am absolutely here for the diversity!

I plan to buy this book when it's released for my adult friends and colleagues and have already started telling my friends with kiddos about it for when it's released.

It warms my heart that books like this exist, and my inner child is grateful they do now for the kids of our time! the more we integrate these terms into every day language, the more folks will understand and the more accepting and open the world can become. Slowly but surely!

I love this comic about gender. I think it’s important for kids to learn and navigate confusing thoughts and feelings about different gender identities and questions about gender.
However, I do feel like this book is very factually based, which gears this towards a more mature audience, such as 3-4th grade to understand vocabulary. While I liked the comic’s way of illustrating different gender presentations, I do think that these illustrations repeated information rather than expanding on it, or re-iterating it. For example, one of our hosts, Ellie or Cassie, would introduce an idea: “some people are genderqueer.” Then below, there would be a picture of a person saying “hello my name is ___. I am genderqueer.”
And that’s it.
I appreciate books that are aimed at kids to understand and navigate gender; however, I think this book read more like a dictionary of terms. I’m not sure I found this book to be relatable in any way.

It was perfect timing that I downloaded this book as I am currently working on a neurodiversity support guide for the Manager’s where I work so that we can reach out and further support those with these types of conditions and I will openly admit that I didn’t realise the link between gender identities and neurodiversity and the impact and link between the two topics – you really do learn something new everyday and I am glad that this is something I can use in my employment and to raise awareness

Having read the book I feel much more aware of the different ways people feel and as the book quite rightly says, there will be no two people out there that feel the same – the author gets the point over really well and there are definitely a few talking points to be considered from the book.

My friend is transgender and I love how open he has been with his story and books like this really help explain without having to ask more on the topic to get an understanding, although my friend is very open and honest about his journey, not everyone feels as free and able to do so and I hope books like this encourage those to ask and where possible and if needed, to make the changes and embrace who they really are.

I loved the illustrations and the concept overall. 5 stars from me!!

This is a great book for children 6+ to learn about all the different genders in an easy to understand way. This book has inclusive and diverse characters throughout the entirety of it and does a great job of explaining all of the terms including terms like AFAB, AMAB, gender fluid, etc. The images in the book are colorful and eye-catching which is perfect for keeping children’s attention. Included in the back is a glossary of terms for a quick reference and refresher which is also very helpful.

The Gender Book was a wonderful read and I'm so glad the children of current and future generations are able to access books like this that are so valuable to their learning and education. The book did a great job of simply describing the different sex and genders with pictures and descriptions making it a great resource for children and classrooms. The illustrations displayed diverse characters which included people with disabilities and even spoke about how neurodivergent people may have trouble defining their gender. There was also a glossary of terms and an activity at the end of the book that would be great for classroom engagement.
I've recently started to collect a variety of children's books as my wife and I are starting fertility treatment and this is one I will definitely be picking up for our collection.

This is a great introduction to gender and gender expression and how everyone experiences it a little differently! I like the diversity of the characters drawn as examples. The glossary and activity at the back were great additions. The glossary especially because even though this book is about explaining the different terms, it’s good to see them all together and defined.

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

This was absolutely amazing read! It is a lot of information to take in and maybe best for 6 maybe 7 and up readers would be best to fully gasp this, but I do feel like it does a wonderful job explaining such a sensitive and serious topic. It’s handle with such care and consideration for all its really amazing. I loved learning more in detail about others gender identity and the true breakdown we get from this book.

Thank you Cassandra Jules Corrigan! This book was great at explaining the multitude of different genders in a way that both young and old can relate to and understand how to see gender through the eyes of someone else. Seeing so many different types of people in the book will help those who need to see themselves portrayed to relate. The glossary of terms in the back was also a great addition!