ABC of Equality

September 16, 2019
This visually appealing introduction to social justice and equality defines basic terms such as difference and kindness along with abstract concepts such as class and privilege. All are arranged in spreads that include a longer description of the word on the verso alongside a decorated letter and the word on the recto followed by a catchy, sometimes cliché, phrase (“Girl power!” for feminism; “We are a world of many” for multicultural). An inclusive group of round-faced, jolly children further demonstrate the ideas throughout—those on the LGBTQIA spread wave rainbow flags, and those gracing the belief spread appear to be praying in a variety of ways. Some oversimplifications—such as, on the question page, “a question is the opposite of a belief”—are confusing, as is the illustration of children cheerfully smiling around the definition of xenophobia. Nevertheless, this small-size board book is sure to start big conversations, particularly among readers at the upper end of the age range. Ages up to 5.

Starred review from September 1, 2019

PreS-K-For many, the ideas of privilege and allyship are concepts that are not explicitly taught in childhood. Many people must consciously unlearn the system of beliefs imposed by parents, authority figures, and the overall dominant culture. Ewing's colorful, sunny board book takes such nebulous ideas and packages them into an easily digestible vocabulary bank for young readers. While definitions have been simplified to two sentences, Ewing doesn't avoid or ignore the far-reaching impact of these words. For example, the difference between "Gender" and "Sex" is clearly and objectively explained. She writes, "Gender is a category that describes the inside feeling of being a boy, girl, both, neither, and everything in between." Ewing defines the term sex as, "When a baby arrives, the doctor will say it's a boy or girl depending on their understanding of the baby's body. This is their sex." Each letter of the alphabet and its corresponding word is accompanied by a related image. Morgan's illustrations feature cartoon children and adults of various skin tones and physical abilities and exude joyful acceptance. VERDICT Ewing offers the tools of understanding and reciprocity in order to eradicate injustice. Highly recommended for school and public libraries and can serve as an entry point into social justice literature.-Vanessa Willoughby, School Library Journal

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2019
Social-equity themes are presented to children in ABC format. Terms related to intersectional inequality, such as "class," "gender," "privilege," "oppression," "race," and "sex," as well as other topics important to social justice such as "feminism," "human being," "immigration," "justice," "kindness," "multicultural," "transgender," "understanding," and "value" are named and explained. There are 26 in all, one for each letter of the alphabet. Colorful two-page spreads with kid-friendly illustrations present each term. First the term is described: "Belief is when you are confident something exists even if you can't see it. Lots of different beliefs fill the world, and no single belief is right for everyone." On the facing page it concludes: "B is for BELIEF / Everyone has different beliefs." It is hard to see who the intended audience for this little board book is. Babies and toddlers are busy learning the names for their body parts, familiar objects around them, and perhaps some basic feelings like happy, hungry, and sad; slightly older preschoolers will probably be bewildered by explanations such as: "A value is an expression of how to live a belief. A value can serve as a guide for how you behave around other human beings. / V is for VALUE / Live your beliefs out loud." Adults will do better skipping the book and talking with their children. (Board book. 4-6)

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