I really wanted to like this book more than I did - I've heard about it a bunch, but it was just kinda meh for me. And one letter just confused the living daylights out of me: K is for Kiki? Who is Kiki? I guess it's some sort of party - there's a glossary in the back, which is nice, but still. I've never heard of a kiki...

The illustrations are pretty. I loved the F is for family - related or found (nice touch). The P is for Pan page was another favorite. The fridge is done in the Pan pride colors and the characters are baking...using pans. hehe. I love a good pun. I wish that more of the specific orientation pages had incorporated the pride colors the way that the Pan page did. I mean, they did an Aro/Ace page (awesome, thank you, btw) but there's no purple or green on it...and no cake or dragons. Missed opportunity there, my friend! The other pages that had pride flags - intersex, bi, trans, nonbinary...none of them had their colors on it. I don't know. I guess I thought it would be cool.

I think it would be a great book for an LGBTQ couple's child...but I wish it were better for all kids. If a straight parent were trying to be open minded and share this book with their kid, I'm afraid that K is for Kiki could throw them right out the way it did me. It felt like I wasn't "gay" enough to know this secret insider word - and I identify on the ace spectrum and have been part of the LGBTQ+ community for years! Sashay, vogue - those are "gay" words, but words we know and use in other contexts. But Kiki is a name. And I still don't get it.

2.5/5 - Kiki lost you at least a star, that's how much it threw me. WHO IS KIKI?!?

This book is very cleverly and sensitively done. It is brilliant and I hadn’t encountered a young children’s book as well done as this for sometime. I shall be ordering copies for the classroom and for my own children. This is a much welcome addition to my library of teaching resources.

Wow this was so cute! I really love the idea of a gay alphabet and this book is perfect for parents within the LGTBQ+ community to share with their children and for those who want to introduce these ideas at a young age! I can't wait to read this in a board book format!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

The GayBCs is an inclusive alphabet book which introduces lots of LGTBQIA terms and values, in a bright and cheery format.

So many children grow up not seeing queer lives depicted in books, despite so many children growing up in LGBTQIA families. Many LGBTQIA people look back into early childhood and recognise how they knew or felt they were different at this age.

This book can help to support that representation and to open up discussions which can help these children feel that they or their family structure is being recognised. The vocab choices are a mixture of inclusive concepts - joy, respect, wonder, zest - terms to describe people of different sexual and gender orientations - non-binary, gay, lesbian, trans - and terms originating in the drag scene - sashay, vogue, kiki.

At a linguistic level, I don't feel the pitch is quite right for the age it is being marketed for, which is 2-5 year olds. This is not in terms of the inclusive and representative ideas themselves but the readability and sentence structure. e.g. O is for Orientation, it's a balance between, who you are, who you love and how you want to be seen.'

The verse and rhyme is a little clunky at times, and stomps the reader's runway rather than sashays, but it is nonetheless a useful and positive little book for families 'related or found' (loved that bit).

This is a wonderful picture book about all thing LGBTQ+. It is listed as being for ages 2-5 but I disagree. While children of that age would definitely love the colors and the rhythm of the text, the concepts are for kids who are a bit older - and even adults! I learned 3 new words myself! (kiki, ace/aro) I think it's a great book about accepting and embracing your true self and/or those around you but don't let the suggested age range limit who you would share it with.

A great introductory resource for children and adults. The small poems also help increase understanding because they are easy to remember.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read and review.

Not only is this book colourful and inclusive - it is a valuable resource to helping children understand the value of everyone. Although the label doesn't count as much as the person, children often like to have things defined in ways that make sense to them. This book clearly explains, in terms that children will understand, what it means to be part of, and an ally to, the LGBTQ+ community. This book is a must-have for any child's library - home and school.

I love the idea of this book. In reality I think the descriptions of each term are not always clear. The exact meaning for each word given in included in a clear glossary at the back but ideally the meaning would be clear from reading the abc rhymes to be fully effective as a learning tool. The illustrations are beautiful with a retro feel. Overall a good resource.

I thought that this was a great little book!

I loved the illustrations that were used too and the author picked some great words to use as a prompt to pick up different topics with younger children too.

It is 4 stars from me for this one - highly recommended!