A Girl's Bill of Rights

January 18, 2021
An inclusive cast of girls declare their rights with certitude in this enumerative incantation. A Black girl on a skateboard kicks things off in a classroom setting, where four girls appear with objects that suggest their interests. “I have the right to like what I like and love what I love,” Mucha writes, quickly moving on to other rights as the cast participates in activities at home and school. The girls claim their right to “look how I look and wear what I wear,” experience and express emotions and thoughts (“even if it makes someone uncomfortable”), to affirm bodily autonomy and consent (“I have the right to say STOP!”), and maintain “the right to change my mind.” Full-color illustrations by Sonda show girls of various ethnicities, one using a wheelchair, one wearing a headscarf, supporting each other; together, word and image create a strong reminder of allyship and female power. Ages 4–8.

February 1, 2021
A celebration of girl power in picture-book form. Although the text is written in the first person, the illustrations depict a group of girls in various configurations from page to page. They are a multiracial ensemble, with varied skin tones and hair textures; one girl uses a wheelchair, another sports glasses, and a third hijab. The core message of girls' empowerment for readers to internalize is earnest and well served by the succinct, accessible text and engaging illustrations. The artwork depicts the girls in various settings, including a classroom, a soccer field, outdoors at a playground, inside homes, and on a bus, as the narration meanwhile overtly affirms the rights referenced in the title. These declarations assert girls' autonomy and empowerment by proclaiming "I have the right to like what I like and love what I love" on the first page, cycling through a number of similar statements all beginning with "I have the right" and culminating with "the right to be ME" at the book's end. Between these statements, the author asserts rights pertaining to how one dresses and wears her hair, with the art making room for gender nonconformity, as well as rights pertaining to matters of physical, emotional, and intellectual autonomy. In addition to providing a cohesive cast of characters for children to follow, the art opens up lots of opportunities for discussion about what may trigger the articulation of any particular right. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 26.4% of actual size.) Right on. (Picture book. 4-8)

COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.