Pride and Joy is a lovely picture book about what it means to be an ally to the LGBTQIA+ community. Joy is the younger sister of Noah who is a gay boy with a boyfriend. She is excited to bake with her big brother until she hears him getting bullied by a neighbor boy causing Noah to seclude himself in his room. Joy tells her mother what happened with the bullying and her mother explains what an ally is to the LGBTQIA+ community. They decide to start a Pride and Joy bake sale to raise money for the local teen center. When a lot of people come to the bake sale to show their support, Joy feels happy about how she was able to gather all of these allies. After the bully reappears, all of the allies tell him that everyone belongs at Pride and Joy cookies. The book ends with a big celebration!

I think this book would be a good read for 2-5 year olds. It has a basic plot that is easy to follow and focuses not just on being kind but truly standing up for the LGBTQIA+ community. I do think pairing this book with another one that provides more queer joy would be beneficial so that children don't only see the bullying or harm that occurs to members of the LGBTQIA+ community. The illustrations are bright and colorful and there are many different types of people represented including a child is a wheelchair, Black people, and a drag queen.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read "Pride and Joy". As the world continues conversations on LGBTQ+ issues and ally-ship, it is important to show kids that if they want to support the LGBTQ+ community, this is one way you can help.

Regardless of the way anyone identifies, if someone stands up and tries to tear your best friend, sibling or family down, this is how you can find ways to support them. Standing up to bullies can be terrifying and I am so glad to see this opportunity for kids to recognize the same feeling when they are intimidated and try to stand up for what they believe in and want to support.

I loved the artwork and it helped make the story itself feel more approachable and would be easy for a smaller child to understand.

This is a cute and easy read to introduce children to what it means to be an ally.

The illustrations are easy to understand and adds to the words on the page, so even little ones can follow along.

I understand that this is for children, but I would have loved to have seen more on the emotional side. Maybe a scene where Joy is speaking to her brother and mainly asks if he is okay, maybe he could explain a little about how he feels. Even if it's something simple like 'the bullies make me feel sad. But the support of allies make me feel a little better.'

Overall, a really cute book with a good message behind it

Joy is a little girl, whose big brother has a boyfriend, and one day she sees how some bullies talk down to them and call the names. She talks to her mom and, with the consent of her brother, they all decide to organize a bake sale in order to raise money and awareness towards the local LGBTQIA+ center. Will everything go right or will they face even more discrimination?

This is a very short, but also very sweet story about how to be an ally (especifically to the LGBTQIA+ community). I definitely think that it is appropiate for any age and it would be a great conversation-starter for adults to use with their kids.

*I received this book for free through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Talking about why people are homophobic would've helped kids understand better. Knowing more about the root of the problem would make being an ally mean more. It mentioned pronouns and transgender people in the back of it.

No one checked on Noah after the bully said mean things to him & Miguel. They just immediately started making cookies which was odd. The book should have talked more about emotions and focused less on the raising money/baking aspect.

I didn't like the illustrations. They had a faded watercolor look. Overall, the book was decent and showed that some support is better than none.

Introducing young children to the concept of allyship in a simple, age-appropriate way. A great resource with talking points and additional information for grown ups at the back. I appreciated that allyship was shown to include actively standing up for the community, not just waving flags and donating money. It's really important to share all aspects of allyship early on.

Gorgeous illustrations!

Thank you so much to Jessica Kingsley Publishers and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Joy and her brother Miguel usually bake cookies together but when a bully outside shouts at him for being gay she doesn’t know what to do to help. Her mom teachers her about being an ally, so she makes a bake sale to celebrate and share her allyship and soon finds more people who support them.

This was so beautiful seeing the story progress through a child’s eye, a child who loves her brother and wants him to be happy. It was so sweet and she cared so much. I really loved that she did this big bake sale with all the pride colours and found so many people supportive and wanting to buy cookies and helping.

It shared that there will be mean people everywhere but when you group together you are stronger as a united team. I love that this will teach children all about how to be an ally, how to have compassion, love, acceptance and kindness for anyone. Such a beautiful and important read.

I also liked that the back of this book was filled with information on how to be an ally, information fir adults too. It’s great when a book can add extra information that could help.

Wonderful to see such detailed illustrations of lgbt+ flags in this book for children. Such an important topic, teaching children how to start being an ally. Wish this was around sooner. And the illustrations were gorgeous. Paratexts we’re also excellent at making this book a useful resource.

This is a great book for ALL children. It shows how being an ally doesn’t have to be scary and it’s the simple things. It’s a great way to introduce young children into allyship.
It shows when lots of people come together they can overcome the bias some bully’s might have.

The illustrations are beautiful and it’s very colourful.

Thank you to Netgalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishing for my eARC of this adorable Children's book.

Pride and Joy is a story that helps to educate someone on how to be a LGBTQIA+ ally.

Focusing on a younger sibling who is shaken that their brother is abused for being gay, a plan unfolds, whilst embracing their shared love of baking. The Pride and Joy biscuits are made and kindness over cruelty shines through.

'Careful the things you say... Children will listen' taken from the Into the Woods musical is, reiterated by Vanessa Williams in the foreword of this beautiful but powerful book. Pride and Joy wonderfully demonstrates both sides of this quote as there is no doubt to me that the hatred that children spill is learned behaviour as is their acceptance and kindness.

I'm so glad that I had an opportunity to read Pride and Joy, and believe that this should be found in every primary school and in children's library. The lesson is carefully done so that young children will subconsciously pick it up whilst enjoying the gorgeous illustrations and story.

If you have young children and a member of the LGBTQIA+ community as a loved one? I would strongly suggest it to help them learn even from a young age what it can be like to be open about your gender or sensuality.

Thank you Kate Potvin and Dr Frank Silveo for this lovely story and to Emmi Smid whose illustrations that bring everything to life.

I like the general message of the book (be an ally). All the ingredients are there, but somehow it's just not fully coming together. Maybe because it's targeted to children, but their goal is to raise money to help, I think that feels a bit weird rather than trying to teach speaking up and speaking out socially. Most children aren't going to have opportunities for bake sales, but will need to speak out when they hear prejudice around them.

A beautiful book that I would love to bring into my home and my classroom to help spread love and equality through my community. The story is easy to follow for all ages and is wonderfully written.

When it comes to children and LGBTQIA topics I always see the approach of explain identities, and being accepting of others, which is always great. I believe this book takes that concept a step further by explaining in a simple way how to be an Ally to a loved one, and being inclusive and creating community by standing up and protecting those you love.
The art work was fun and colorful and sure to catch any child's eye. Over al the book was simple sweet, and a great way to expand on the conversation of acceptance.

A beautiful book I would be proud to use in school. It is a perfect lengthy to read in the classroom and Will promote some fantastic discussions. I know that it will encourage students to stand up for themselves and others and continue to encourage inclusivity. Can’t wait to get this for my classroom.
In addition thé illustrations are wonderful - especially the use of colour vs black and gray.

This is a cute story about what it means to be an ally. This book would be best for readers who are already aware of what it means to be gay, and understand that it is ok. I liked how the author used colorful pictures when the main character, Joy, was happy, and when she became upset, the pictures were black and gray.

A wonderful wholesome book about LGBTQIA+. This book is a perfect way to introduce children to the queer community. It is written in a very understandable way and the illustrations make it even easier to understand. I really hope this book will be widely available for everyone to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

The ending, with the little cheer, made me tear up a little. A lot of people, especially LGBTQ+ Americans, forget or fail to realize that the US still has a long way to go in regard to LGBTQ+ allyship. I used to live in Princeton, TX, with my cousin. People put up white supremacy flags in that area, declare an old president is still the *real* president, and spew their hate at council meetings and all over Facebook.

So I think this book is amazing. It'll never be permitted in rural Texas schools, but perhaps enough of them will be available to children and their families that future generations will learn to end the cycle of LGBTQ+ hate.

The length is perfect, as Pride and Joy's purpose is to introduce children to queer allyship and open a platform for discussions. I've seen how important even a little representation in rural Texas is, which is why I think this book will be so amazing for that.

This is the book I needed when I was a child. Thank you.

(Also, the illustrations are superb.)

This was such a sweet book! I loved how the themes of allyship are shown and it was such a sweet read. This is a great book!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book! Below is my honest review.

Summary of plot:
Joy's big brother, Noah, is gay and has a boyfriend named Miguel. A boy named Jimmy and his friends make fun of Noah and Miguel for being gay. Joy wants to help, so she and her friends come up with a bake sale to raise money for the Teen Center.

Pros about the book:
✔️ Sweet and short
✔️ Teaches little ones how to be respectful and supportive of the LGBTQ+ community
✔️ The pride and joy discussion questions at the end
✔️ Diverse representation of people

Cons about the book:
❌ None

Would I recommend this book? Sure!

Pride and Joy was a wonder to read! A young girl's older brother is being bullied for being gay and she and her community become allies to show their support for queer people. I loved this and I’m so glad books like this are being written! Any story about standing up for your loved ones is a winner in my book.