Rainbow Boy

by Taylor Rouanzion, Stacey Chomiak (Illustrator)

Overview

A story about a boy with a heart too big for one color alone.

A little boy attempts to answer one of grown-ups' all-time favorite questions: "What's your favorite color?" But with so many wonderful colors to choose from, he doesn't know how to answer. He loves his pink sparkly tutu, bright red roses, soft yellow baby doll pajamas, and big, orange basketball. How will he ever pick?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781506463988
Publisher:	Beaming Books
Publication date:	01/19/2021
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	493,597
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Taylor Rouanzion lives in Northern California with her husband, child, and miniature dachshund. She has been a part of local support groups for trans/gender-nonconforming kids and their parents. Her own child is gender nonconforming and has inspired Taylor to write for her and others like her so they can be seen in children's literature.

Taylor earned her bachelor's degree in English and is currently studying for her master's in library and information science. She has worked as a children's and youth library assistant and hopes to become a children's librarian someday in the future.

Stacey Chomiak is a children's book illustrator and artist in the animation industry who launched her career working on the beloved series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. Chomiak loves to advocate and use her artistic talents for the LGBTQ+ Christian community. She lives with her family on the West Coast of Canada.

Editorial Reviews

11/30/2020

Inspired by Rouanzion’s gender nonconforming child, this picture book interrogates the habit of assigning colors and activities to a specific gender. When adults ask the unnamed protagonist, who has variegated brown hair and tan skin, the “ ‘favorite color’ question,” the child offers a different hue for each day of the week, corresponding to favorite pastimes: on Sundays, pink is their favorite color, as they enjoy “play ballerina,” while Tuesdays are for orange and basketball. But when grown-ups persist in asking for a single favorite color, the protagonist turns to their mother for affirmation: “Your heart is just too big for one color alone. You need a whole rainbow to fill it up.” Dynamic digital illustrations by Chomiak highlight the child’s energy and imagination. While the ending feels slightly abrupt, the narrative clearly encourages readers to avoid projecting limiting binary social norms. Ages 3–5. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly