Kid Books For Our Kids

As a rule, I don't promote Kickstarter (or similiar) projects -- not until I've sorted out my feelings on the subject of Kickstarter as a thing, anyway. But I do occasionally support them when they involve actual material needs for a project. I think I popped my cherry on funding for a documentary.

Earlier this year I also threw a couple bucks at What Makes a Baby by Corey Silverberg, for the selfish reason that I really, really wanted a book exactly like this -- one that talked about conception and reproduction without the, to quote Silverberg, "mommy + daddy + intercourse = you!" narrative.

I got all that and more, including a nice page on Caesarian delivery. Plus pretty bright colors!

Simply put, I adore this book. And now that the Kickstarter campaign is over and I have seen the results, I will happily endorse and promote it.

Silverberg does not (as some of his more entertaining detractors have frothed at the mouth about) go into detail about the zillion and a half ways we can put together the puzzle pieces of conception and birth these days. He just tells us straightforwardly what those pieces are (for now, science fiction fans!): a sperm, an egg, a uterus to carry their union. No gendered bodies, no assumptions nor declarations about what constitutes a family, a mommy, a daddy, anything. It's pretty awesome.

The art by Fiona Smyth helps:



And finally, it passed the kidlet test last night.

While I'm here, I will also plug another project I contributed to on Kickstarter, S. Bear Bergman's Flamingo Rampant books, which also arrived in my mailbox this week. Intended for "gender independent children," these books are full of silly charm. Tulip is a little long for my children at the moment, but they loved Backwards Day, in which Andrea does not turn into a boy on Backwards Day -- but does turn into Andy the day after...

After reading it, April declared definitively, "I'm a girl." And then asked for a second round. OK, then.



All three of these would make great donations to libraries, btw. Just sayin'.

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1. The hat poll was inspired by my continued failure to find a decent sun hat. I promise not to wear the pith helmet. Also, I look terrible in baseball hats.

2. April started spontaneously singing Le Tigre's "TKO" the other day. Which is fine -- except that I've never played it for her. She tells me she heard it in L&B's car. If their cousin isn't responsible for it, I confess I suddenly have newfound respect for L&B's parents. Big-ass SUV and all.

3. It is kinda a good kid's song. Along with "We Got the Beat," which April heard once on the car radio and began spontaneously singing to herself hours later that day.

4. Nonetheless, I do not think I can adequately convey how startling it is to hear your 3-year-old singing "TKO, hear it on the radio, TKO, playing on the stereo, TKO, watch it on video, TKO!" out of nowhere.

5. Y'all also missed the cuteness that was April drumming on her parents' thighs to the closing credit music of "Kung Fu Panda 2."