Ashley Rhodes-Courter; Illustrated by MacKenzie Haley
Jacob’s School Play : Starring He, She, and They
By Ian Hoffman and Sarah Hoffman; Illustrated by Chris Case
Sam, Evan and Finn are three brothers who do everything together so it comes as a surprise to Evan why Sam wants to have longer hair, bows, and bright, sparkly skirts. He just doesn’t get this change in Sam and asks about it. Sam’s response comes to us in the form of a question that offers all readers a chance to pause and think:
“So how do you know which hand to use when you color?” Sam asked.
Evan stopped drawing for a moment. “I don’t know. Drawing with my other hand doesn’t feel right.”
“Well, being a boy doesn’t feel right to me.” Sam explained. “It’s just who I am.”
All of this change is expressed and talked about lovingly at home, but on the school playground both Sam and Evan are confronted by other children and their mean expressions of gender stereotypes. Evan holds his own and calls outloud that Sam is his sister. Sam is overjoyed to hear that her sibling sees her as his sister but also as, “the same Sam.”
In the other book, Jacob and his classmates, who have explored gender diversity in the previous stories, find that they are confused by pronouns used to identify people. While getting ready for a class play, Jacob doesn’t understand when Ari, a classmate, uses the pronoun “they”. Jacob assumes that Ari has three parts in the play as opposed to everyone else having just one part. The teacher tries to help Jacob understand that “inside” some kids feel like boys, girls, or both or neither. She explains that the words, he, she, or they are used in their classroom. Her words help Jacob, his classmates and ultimately us understand:
“From the outside, we can’t see who anybody is on the inside.” Said Mrs. Reeves. “So we have to trust them when they tell us.”
All of it comes together for Jacob during the class play where Jacob expresses that we all need to respect and support one another as they are.
Kudos to these authors and illustrators. These are two important books to be in the hands of families, educators and children.