Like all short story collections, this had a few uneven spots, but it was by and large super cute and affirming and lovely. It felt a little heavy in terms of wlw representation vs anything else, so I wish they'd pulled in some other types of narratives, but honestly that Ashley Herring Blake at the end made the whole thing worth it. Sob.

➸ Trigger warnings for (view spoiler)[domestic & child abuse mentioned, death of a father mentioned, death of a pet cat recounted (hide spoiler)]. Blog • Trigger Warning Database • Twitter • Instagram

This was so cute! An equal amount of hits and misses, I think, but it will find a home in its target demographic. My favorites were Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are, Sylvie & Jenna, Balancing Acts, Devoyn's Pod, and Stacy's Mom.The Purr-cle of Life: No RatingObjectively well-written, but I happened to read it right after learning that my friend's beloved cat had died and mourning of a cat's death is a very present theme in the story. It was ultimately sweet and hopeful but I barely made it t...

I loved this joyful, empowering LGBTQIA+ MG anthology. It includes a really impressive range of stories—realistic fiction, fantasy, sci-fi, comics, verse—and every piece is excellent. So many kids are going to see themselves in these stories and discover some new favorite authors.This is a must-have for MG classroom and library collections. I kept thinking as I read about how many kids I would have loved to share this book with when I was a middle school teacher. I highly recommend it!

This Is Our Rainbow: 16 Stories of Her, Him, Them, and Us is an anthology of sixteen entries co-edited by Katherine Locke and Nicole Melleby. These sixteen entries by celebrated authors of literature for young people center the experiences of LGBTQ+ youth in pivotal moments of childhood and adolescence.For the most part, this collection of short stories was written and constructed extremely well – it is far from perfect, but comes rather close. Editors and contributors Locke and Melleby assemble...

“This is our Rainbow” is an anthology and one of the firsts I’ve really enjoyed. It’s been refreshing to read all of these stories full of love, acceptance and friendships. There have been stories I absolutely loved and some I’ve liked a bit less, and that’s totally okay.I enjoyed the fact that I was able to discover a whole new range of authors that I’ve never gotten the chance to read before. My wallet will like it a bit less, but I have to admit that I’ve added all these authors with their wo...

The Middle Grade Anthology of my dreams! The fact that I found this gif is just perfect timing...

“This Is Our Rainbow” was such a fun read! I don’t usually read anthologies, but this was a great middle grade book and I was surprised by the variety and diversity of these stories with protagonists of all different identities and backgrounds. My favorite stories had to be “The Wish & The Wind Dragon” by Katherine Locke about a nonbinary pirate trying to get their ship and everyone to an island in time to see their sister and her wife for the solstice, needing to rely on a wish gone wrong, “Com...

This was such a wonderful anthology! I love middle grade books and this one had so many great novellas in it!There was rep from almost every single queer identity in this book. I loved that there were some magical stories too. I wasn’t expecting that. Because I listened to it via audio, I can’t pinpoint what the stories were called but my fave was the one with the wind dragon. I recommend this for all ages. Content warning for: homophobia, bullying.

*squeals in gay*

“The Purr-cle of Life,” by Alex Gino. The main character, who uses they/them pronouns, was devastated after their cat Scout—who had been with them their whole life—died. Will it ever be possible to have a life—and a new cat—after Scout? This wasn’t a story about gender, but about how kids can come to terms with pets not living as long as us, and finding a way to love a new pet. I liked that gender wasn’t a big deal in this one.“Girl’s Best Friend” by Lisa Bigelow. Roxy and her family are witches...

What a fabulous short story collection! There’s tons of fabulous representation in this book and every reader will find at least one (but likely many) stories that they’ll love. Stories span all genres (including realistic, fantasy, novel in verse, graphic, and even realistic with historical flashbacks) and include plenty of representation of trans, non-binary, gay, bisexual, and queer kids from different backgrounds (one story has a character who uses eir/e pronouns). From a coming out do-over

Full disclosure: I contributed a story to this collection.I cannot stress enough how liberating it felt to read an entire anthology filled with queer voices and perspectives. I went through a spectrum of emotions while reading, starting with teary (Alex Gino's story was really the perfect way to open this anthology) to grinning and laughing and then back to teary (Ashley Herring Blake is the master of making my heart squeeze). This collection is perfect for the middle schooler (or kid at heart)

Oh, this book was just absolutely incredible! I loved every second that I was reading this book and just didn't want to put it down because I wanted to read more and more of it. All of the main characters in this book were absolutely blooming brilliant and all so unique. I just adored reading all of their stories and seeing such a wide amount of representation for the LGBTQ+ spectrum aimed at children. I honestly don't think I could choose a favourite because they were all so good! On a more ser...

This was a great anthology to start the year off with. Of course like in most anthologies I didn't love all of the stories, but most of these were so wholesome.

Normally I don't rate books before I read them. But I know this one's going to be amazing. So.

This book made my kid so happy, I just had to read it for myself. I loved the warmth and joy and the fact that each story treated its younger characters and all their different identities, crushes, and experiences with such care and respect. I asked my kid how many copies we should buy as gifts and they said, “ALL of them!”

Thank you to Knopf Books for Young Readers, the editors and authors, and NetGalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange for an honest review. This book will release October 19, 2021.Wow, I really blew right through this one! I'd been meaning to read this anthology for a couple weeks now and only just got around to it—but it was worth the three hour whirlwind. It's been a while since I read an anthology, and This Is Our Rainbow, the first LGBTQIA+ anthology for middle grade readers, was ex...

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Books for Young Readers for this arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. Here is that review: 4 stars The world needs more middle grade (and YA!) short story collections, and this is an action-packed anthology filled with well known writers and important topics. As is made obvious by the title, cover, and content, the running motif is LGBTQIA+, and there is quite a variety when it comes to the presentation of these characters and the events they expe...

ADORABLE! I love the range of stories in this anthology, as well as the range of genders and identities represented. Yeah, they have a token cis gay boy, but there's so much more. :)Lisa Jenn Bigelow's story about a dog witch is ESPECIALLY adorable. Plus, stories with dragons, requited love, unrequited love, and more. Special love for Nicole Melleby's piece, "Stacy's Mom." I mean, c'mon! And from Shin Yin Khor's graphic (as in picture-based, people!) story, the line Re: skirts, "being nonbinary