While reading, I thought The Pronoun Book is going to make a great board book. I then realized, that yes, it is a board book. (I had the opportunity to read it on a website the bookstore uses to order books and not the physical book. Which is one of the drawbacks to eBooks in my opinion).
And a board book is the perfect format as it is only a dozen or so words, with a form of repetition. Chris Ayala-Kronos and Melita Tirado know the subject they are presenting. They ask, how does one know what people want to be called. They answer with, Ask them! And we learn not just he and she, but they and many of the words people use as pronouns.
And that is it. Nothing special. Nothing different. The colors are bold, the details are detailed “just right” and not overwhelmingly crowded, but not overly simplistic either. As I said, a dozen or so words and some child friendly illustrations to introduce the concept of pronouns and people’s expression of who they are is what you get.
This was a book I wanted to really like. The concept is great for today’s audiences. It was a nice introduction to the subject. However, it did nothing for me. I am not even sure I would purchase this as a gift for someone having a baby to about two-year-old (you could go to three or four via the text, but I am not sure how the board book will look, therefore, if it is too small it might be a turn off to the older crowd). A good idea, with no payoff for me. Still, this is an important book and people should know about it.
