KATERINA CRUICKSHANKS

A raucous, rhyming homage to a child who uses they/them pronouns and their outrageous personality.

The titular Katerina is a light-skinned kid with dark pigtails that stick up straight like antennae. Throughout author/illustrator Gray-Barnett’s latest picture book, Katerina’s gender is refreshingly presented without commentary. Instead, Katerina’s boisterous personality and larger-than-life antics are the center of the story. Depicted alongside children of various skin tones, Katerina’s proclivities for “bark[ing] at the postman” and wearing “astonishing” hats are beloved by their many friends. Even those who are theatrically clobbered in the line of Katerina’s fire seem surprised rather than angry—until the mischievous child’s pranks go too far and everyone gets in trouble. Katerina is summarily ousted from their disgruntled group, and for a little while, “it’s all nice and quiet.” Predictably, the silence turns boring, and Katerina’s friends issue them a handwritten apology: “Life just isn’t the same without you.” Some young readers will be tickled by the kooky protagonist, rendered in scribbly, joyfully-colored illustrations, but many will tire of the sometimes-uneven rhyming and long-winded text. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Like the main character themself, this book will resonate with some but will grate on many.