Reading Time Review of As Bright As a Rainbow
19/02/2024
Lauren Harcombe at Reading Time, which is the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s book news and reviews, wrote that As Bright As a Rainbow “is a beautiful, warm introduction to the concept of gender” and that it “uses comforting language, such as using the spectrum of colours to describe the ocean, to promote the idea of beauty in difference, and encourages acceptance and appreciation of these differences”. Additionally, “the illustrations by Blue Jaryn are gentle on the eye, inviting the reader to look around the page and take in the experience that the characters are demonstrating to accompany the gentle nature of the book.”
Blue Jaryn is a 2024 Queer KidLit Mentor
10/01/2024
Blue will be a mentor for queer creators interested in getting feedback on picturebooks.
The Queer Kidlit Mentorship Program partners unpublished and not yet agented LGBTQIA+ children’s literature creators who are seeking to be traditionally published with experienced mentors for a three month mentorship program. Applicants who are selected as a mentee will receive at least three rounds of feedback on their work from their mentor.
The 2024 Queer Kidlit Mentorship program will take place from March – May 2024. See our 2024 Mentors on the MEET THE MENTORS page. Mentee applications will be available online by January 10th and the application period closes February 1st. Mentor/mentee matches will be announced in late February.
The Queer Kidlit Mentorship and #Queerkidlit Twitter chat started in 2020 by Jeannette Bradley and Dani Duck. The programs paused in 2023. Meghan Wilson Duff, in addition to help from lots of other people, is helping reboot the Queer Kidlit Mentorship program for 2024.
Payden’s Pronoun Party on the ALA Rainbow Book List
21/02/2023
The American Library Association included Payden’s Pronoun Party on their curated 2023 Rainbow Book List! “Composed of over 190 books for young readers from birth to age 18, the 2023 list represents an array of diverse stories and identities representing the LGBTQIA+ youth experience in books published from July 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022” – ALA.
Payden’s Pronoun Party on the ’22 Kidlit Creators’ Faves of the Year
30/12/2023
Payden’s Pronoun Party was chosen by author/illustrator Anne Appert (BLOB ’21) as their pick for the 2022 kidlit creators’ faves of the year! It is such an incredible honour to have Payden chosen by a peer and to have Payden on the same list as some truly standout works. You can read Anne’s review and see the full list here.
Booklist’s Starred Review of Payden’s Pronoun Party
21/09/2022
Fletcher calls Payden’s Pronoun Party “a helpful book exploring gender identity”, “a wonderful celebration of gender diversity” and notes that the “illustrations, filled with comic details, make this a relatable search story extra engaging”.
Publisher’s Weekly Interview with Blue Jaryn
09/06/2022
As part of a group of LGBTQ+ picturebook creators, Blue was recently interviewed by Publisher’s Weekly for Pride Month about Payden’s Pronoun Party and LGBTQ+ representation. Read the interviews here.
Kirkus Review of Payden’s Pronoun Party
07/06/2022
Payden’s Pronoun Party has its first trade review by Kirkus Reviews! Here are some extracts:
“Gender exploration’s a blast in this story about finding your “just right” pronouns“
“Cornejo’s exuberant, manga-esque illustrations”
“Jaryn’s demonstration of Payden’s process … may be useful to young readers and their families alike”
Publisher’s Weekly Payden’s Pronoun Party Review
09/01/2022
A great review for Payden’s Pronoun Party! Publisher’s Weekly compliments Xochitl Cornejo’s “softly luminous art” and that “Jaryn’s reassuring language shows that gender exploration doesn’t have to be painful, instead emphasizing the “skin-tingling, warm sense of wholeness” that self-discovery can bring”.
Blue Jaryn 