What Riley Wore
Publication Date: August 27, 2019 by Beach Lane Books
Gender-creative Riley knows just what to wear for every occasion during a busy week with family and friends in this sweet and timely picture book from Elana K. Arnold and Linda Davick.
Riley wears whatever clothes feel right each day. On Monday, Riley feels shy and wears a bunny costume to school. On Tuesday, a scary trip to the dentist calls for a super hero cape. For a trip out with Otto and Oma, a ball gown is the perfect outfit.
This charming picture book is a gentle exploration of self-expression and source of encouragement for being true to oneself despite the expectations of others.
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Riley has an outfit for each day’s experiences. On Monday, the first day of school, the child combats shyness by wearing a bunny costume; for a rainy Friday, it’s rubber boots, a tutu, and a police officer jacket. And for a Sunday trip to the park, Riley throws together an outfit that includes purple jeans, the tutu, and a hat with dinosaur spikes. At the playground, a kid asks Riley, “Are you a girl or a boy?” Arnold (Damsel) doesn’t employ a gendered pronoun for her protagonist, and bright, rounded illustrations by Davick (It’s Not Easy Being Mimi) show Riley in states ranging from pajama clad at school to dressed up in a ball gown for dinner (“Ball gowns are the fanciest”). Riley’s answer at the park is equally and confidently nonbinary—“Today I’m a firefighter. And a dancer. And a monster hunter. And a pilot. And a dinosaur”—and everyone is cool with that. (“Want to play?” the child asks.) By connecting Riley’s gender nonconforming to the costumed role-playing that most kids engage in, the creators take this timely subject matter into a refreshing realm: normalcy. Ages up to 8. Agent: Rubin Pfeffer, Rubin Pfeffer Content. (Aug.)
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