Hello, friends! Our book today is This Day In June, written by Gayle E. Pitman and illustrated by Kristyna Litten, a fabulous book about Pride parades and LGBT+ culture.

Told in cheerful rhyming couplets, the scene is set on a city getting ready for a very special day. A celebration is happening, complete with a special parade! As the parade begins, people of all kinds march down the street: women on motorcycles, people dressed in rainbows and waving flags, musicians and performers and children and animals. Some of them look different, some are dressed in their own way, but all of them are there to celebrate one thing: unity. For on this day in June, it doesn’t matter who you are, what you look like, or whom you love; all that matters is that you come and be proud of who you are, inside and out.

This was the first children’s book I’ve ever seen about Pride, and it was WONDERFUL. The text is simple, sweet rhymes that flow well and introduce children to some of the basics of a Pride celebration: rainbows, unity, acceptance. From there, joyfully colorful illustrations are packed with both widely- and lesser-known Pride traditions and LGBT+ groups, everything from drag performers decked out in Carnival costumes to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. An extremely comprehensive Reading Guide in the back provides tons of information and history on Pride and LGBT+ culture, and a Parents’ Guide covers how to talk to children of all ages about gender identity and orientation. This is a phenomenally versatile book that celebrates Pride in a way that is honest yet accessible, and carries the message that who you are is always a thing to be celebrated. Emphatically Baby Bookworm approved!