An ABC of Equality

PreS-K–For many, the ideas of privilege and allyship are concepts that are not explicitly taught in childhood. Many people must consciously unlearn the system of beliefs imposed by parents, authority figures, and the overall dominant culture. Ewing’s colorful, sunny board book takes such nebulous ideas and packages them into an easily digestible vocabulary bank for young readers. While definitions have been simplified to two sentences, Ewing doesn’t avoid or ignore the far-reaching impact of these words. For example, the difference between “Gender” and “Sex” is clearly and objectively explained. She writes, “Gender is a category that describes the inside feeling of being a boy, girl, both, neither, and everything in between.” Ewing defines the term sex as, “When a baby arrives, the doctor will say it’s a boy or girl depending on their understanding of the baby’s body. This is their sex.” Each letter of the alphabet and its corresponding word is accompanied by a related image. Morgan’s illustrations feature cartoon children and adults of various skin tones and physical abilities and exude joyful acceptance.