Jaime is Jaime

“Jaime is Jaime” is about a kid named, Jaime, who moves to a new school.  During Jaime’s first day of school, Jaime plays with all the other kids including playing action figures with one and dancing like a ballerina with another. The kids at school have so much fun with Jaime. They all think Jaime is a boy or girl based on the activity they were doing together. During one part of the book, a boy asks Jaime if Jaime is a boy too, and Jaime replies, “I’m Jaime!”  The book ends with all the kids playing different activities based on what they want to do, and not on their gender.

“Jaime is Jaime” is for ages 4-8 and includes colorful, bright illustrations, and a diverse range of characters.  Also, the games and activities the kids in the book play are common things kids do. I love how this makes it relatable giving children real-life examples.

Afsaneh makes the topic so easy to discuss and in a way young children are able to understand.  When I read this to my children they were fully engaged, and by the end, they were rooting for the characters to play what they wanted to play with no matter what gender they were. The book even includes a section at the end that details ways on how to promote play and encourage children not to be restricted to toys based on their gender.

Author: Afsaneh Moradian

Illustrator: Maria Bogade

Publisher: Free Spirit Publishing

We were gifted this book to review for the Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020 event, but all opinions are our own. Follow #readyourworld on Instagram and on Twitter to see more great book recommendations and prize giveaways. ⭐️ Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020 (1/31/20) is in its 7th year! This non-profit children’s literacy initiative was founded by Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen; two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural books and authors on the market while also working to get those books into the hands of young readers and educators. 

Seven years in, MCBD’s mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves continues.