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This Day in June, by Gayle E. Pitman, illustrated by Kristyn Litten, 2014, Washington, DC: Magination Press. 32 pages. ISBN: 978-1433816598.
Age/Interest Level: 4-8 years
Lexile Level: N/A
Awards: Stonewall Book Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature (2015)
Reader Annotation: This day in June is host to a gay pride celebration. It showcases and reflects the wide diversity within the LGBTQIA+ community as they celebrate with pride.
Plot Summary: This picture book with rhyming text showcases a gay pride festival within the United States. It shows various LGBTQIA+ individuals as they celebrate their identity. It shows people of all shapes and sizes, all races, in all types of clothing, with a backdrop of absolute jubilation. Included is a study guide provides reasoning for the individuals included as well as a note to caregivers on how to explain the concepts found within the work.
Critical Evaluation: This is a highly important work on a hot button topic that is more relevant now than ever. One risk that this work took was not explaining LGBTQIA+ terms to the audience, and this works out remarkably well. It leaves that decision up to the caregiver and it does include a guide on how to approach those topics. Instead, this work shows a very realistic interpretation of a gay pride event in a way that is easy for children to grasp. The illustrations are bright and colorful and it truly does feel like a celebration when reading it.
Why Included: LGBTQIA+ issues are a huge topic right now within the United States and libraries have to be equipped with materials which touch this subject with sensitivity. It’s not an easy one to write a picture book about, and there aren’t that many picture books published about it. With that, this is a fantastic introduction to the concepts which should result in a conversation between caregiver and child.
Age/Interest Level: 4-8 years
Lexile Level: N/A
Awards: Stonewall Book Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature (2015)
Reader Annotation: This day in June is host to a gay pride celebration. It showcases and reflects the wide diversity within the LGBTQIA+ community as they celebrate with pride.
Plot Summary: This picture book with rhyming text showcases a gay pride festival within the United States. It shows various LGBTQIA+ individuals as they celebrate their identity. It shows people of all shapes and sizes, all races, in all types of clothing, with a backdrop of absolute jubilation. Included is a study guide provides reasoning for the individuals included as well as a note to caregivers on how to explain the concepts found within the work.
Critical Evaluation: This is a highly important work on a hot button topic that is more relevant now than ever. One risk that this work took was not explaining LGBTQIA+ terms to the audience, and this works out remarkably well. It leaves that decision up to the caregiver and it does include a guide on how to approach those topics. Instead, this work shows a very realistic interpretation of a gay pride event in a way that is easy for children to grasp. The illustrations are bright and colorful and it truly does feel like a celebration when reading it.
Why Included: LGBTQIA+ issues are a huge topic right now within the United States and libraries have to be equipped with materials which touch this subject with sensitivity. It’s not an easy one to write a picture book about, and there aren’t that many picture books published about it. With that, this is a fantastic introduction to the concepts which should result in a conversation between caregiver and child.