We have dealt with what clothes one can wear, and what bathroom we should use, now we are dealing with people and their pronouns in Jacob’s School Play: Starting He, She, and They by Ian and Sarah Hoffman. Jacob’s classroom is putting on a play, and in typical kid fashion we have the “I am excited I am going to be this character” and the “You are a sheep. No ram. But isn’t a ram just a male sheep?” conversation. And the “He has three parts,” holler. But we have the new issue added of “I am they. Not him.”
Jacob and his friends learn that water is not three parts, but one and Avery is a They. Jacob is confused, but his teacher helps him understand that there is more than He and She. And there is more to the queer community than a He can wear a dress, or what bathroom you use. Chris Case uses their signature style to illustrate the characters. They are fun and plumb character. We see diverseness and the classroom and play are real in the cartoon atmosphere.
And while I like the idea of having a book about pronouns, I think maybe this book had a little less punch than the other two, Jacob’s New Dress and Jacob’s Room to Choose. The story is smooth and does address issues a child would have (like Jacob’s teacher asking him if he was confused and had questions about Avery). Still, the book is well done, accessible to most ages and would work well in a classroom or personal setting.