Webb, M.L. The GayBCs. Quirk Books. 2019. $14.99. 32p. HC. 978-1-68369-162-4.

��������������� �A playdate extravaganza transforms into a celebration of friendship, love, and identity,� or so reads the description on my advanced copy of M.L. Webb�s The GayBCs. This LGBTQ+ alphabet book hits shelves in October, and Penguin was kind enough to send me an advanced copy along with a few other juvenile titles in their fall collection. I was especially excited when The GayBCs was revealed at the bottom of the box and wanted to dive right in, but it�s taken a couple of months for me to get my thoughts and feelings onto paper.

Webb got a lot of things right with this title. I was beyond excited to see the inclusion of Bi, Intersex, Non-Binary, and Pan alongside Gay and Lesbian, terms now much more common in children�s books. Introducing children to a broader view of the LGBTQ+ community is a breath of fresh air in the publishing world, and one this children�s librarian is especially excited for.

But the things Webb got wrong are particularly problematic. The use of Queer for Q, for instance, is a divisive decision. As was pointed out in a recent Rainbow Round Table email thread, the term �queer� is viewed very differently across generational lines, with some experiencing it as a quite painful reminder of historic oppression and discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community.

Even more disturbing for many advanced readers of this title is the first letter of Webb�s alphabet. In a book that feels quite comfortable explaining intersexuality, non-binary identity, and pan romantic interest, the choice of �A is for Ally� is especially stinging. While ally makes sense in the context of the book�s playdate �plot,� many asexual readers have expressed profound disappointment � even anger � over their exclusion. If concern was expressed (either by Webb or the publisher) over use of the word �sex� (which was carefully avoided throughout the title), A could still have stood for �Ace.�

All things considered, while I was excited about this title � and still think its publication bodes especially well for the children�s book world � other recent releases for this age-range (4-8) handle the subject matter better. I particularly recommend It Feels Good to Be Yourself: A Book about Gender Identity by Theresa Thorn, released in May of this year.

-Kate Frick, New York Public Library