ABC of Gender Identity by Devika Dalal

 ABC of Gender Identity is essentially a dictionary of 26 different genders written by Devika Dalal with children in mind. It goes through 26 different genders for parents and caregivers to go through with their children to help children understand some of these complex gender identities and help children to realise what Gender they are. The book is followed by some information for parents about how to talk to their children about the gender's outlined in this book. Although this book is written for children, I believe anyone and everyone of any age should read this book as in a changing world it is useful to be aware of these different genders and what they mean.

I like this book as it goes through some of the most common and uncommon genders which are starting to arise in the twenty-first century. It tells the reader the definition of each gender to help us understand the gender and why someone may decide they are this gender. It may even make the reader regardless of age question their own gender and whether they are really the gender they always thought they were. Furthermore, regardless of whether you agree with all these different genders or not it is important to have an idea of what they mean so, you do not offend anyone who may identify as any of the genders in this book.

There were not too many things I disliked about the book but some of the gender identities got a bit complex which is a bit annoying because although the writer has written the definitions in the simplest terms it is still hard to understand some of the genders. Also, it would have maybe been nice to maybe see more identities under each letter of the alphabet to give the readers a more comprehensive guide of different identities and make it more relevant for everyone of any age.

Altogether, I rate this book 3 stars which makes it a good book. This is because it educates the reader on what may be a controversial topic but a topic that must still be taught and learnt about. This is because in the future we will be exposed to these different genders more and more and so we must know a little about what each means. I also believe that this book should be a compulsory read in all UK school PSHE lessons to help children with different genders and work on accepting people for who they are. I would like to thank NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for providing me with an exclusive arc copy of this book before the publishing date for an honest and truthful review in return.