What Are Your Words? by Katherine Locke & Anne Passchier (Review)

Title: What Are Your Words?
Author: Katherine Locke
Illustratior: Anne Passchier
Type: Fiction
Genre: Children’s, Contemporary
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Hachette Book Group)
Date published: May 25, 2021

A complimentary physical copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Follow Ari through their neighborhood as they try to find their words in this sweet, accessible introduction to gender-inclusive pronouns that is perfect for readers of all ages.

Whenever Ari’s Uncle Lior comes to visit, they ask Ari one question: “What are your words?” Some days Ari uses she/her. Other days Ari uses he/him. But on the day of the neighborhood’s big summer bash, Ari doesn’t know what words to use. On the way to the party, Ari and Lior meet lots of neighbors and learn the words each of them use to describe themselves, including pronouns like she/her, he/him, they/them, ey/em, and ze/zir. As Ari tries on different pronouns, they discover that it’s okay to not know your words right away–sometimes you have to wait for your words to find you.

Filled with bright, graphic illustrations, this simple and poignant story about finding yourself is the perfect introduction to gender-inclusive pronouns for readers of all ages.

⤖ My Review ⬻

I read What Are Your Words? in early May but wanted to save my review for June since it’s Pride Month! This book was so sweet and so important. As I like to say about diverse children’s books, it’s so important for kids to learn about diversity and inclusion as early as possible, and I will say the same about What Are Your Words? and learning about pronous.

What Are Your Words? teaches young and old readers alike about pronouns without being obvious about presenting new information. Through this book, we spend a day with Ari and their uncle as they interact with others in their community. On this particular day, Ari is struggling to determine their pronouns, which I think was such an important experience to be a part of (even if just as an observer). The art in What Are Your Words? is also very cute, fun, and friendly, making it a joy for the eyes as well as the mind. I think this is a must-have for personal and public children’s libraries.