cbr16bingo Pride (the character is non-binary)
This is going to be an unpopular opinion. I did not like A Song for Nolan by Rushie Ellenwood and Sally Chen.
Now, let me say I like the theme of a nonbinary child and their friends and this situation they find themselves in, but the execution didn’t exactly work for me. Nolan is a non-binary child doing what any child would do: Getting ready for their friend’s birthday party. Maybe they are a bit more eccentric than some, but that is just who they are. A normal, every day kid. I like that way of presenting our focus character. And there is the great line when one of the birthday girl’s friends said, “I thought you weren’t inviting boys.” And Chloe, the birthday girl says, “I didn’t. This is Nolan.” So, it starts out good. It is realistic and relatable. Then there are the parts I am not crazy about. 
I will start with the flow of the story. It is a skating party, so things are skating along well. Things are a party. It is all happy. Then the DJ says, “Boys only skate.” And Nolan is basically trapped on the floor, so no biggie they continue skating. But they have a fall and nobody sees them. Then this is where things all of a sudden go off. Just because the DJ then mentions the girl skate only is next, Nolan has a, “Do I even belong?” moment. Nobody said they couldn’t skate then, too. This jump felt forced. Maybe I missed it (I was reading online and sometimes I miss a piece of things (though it is currently available), or it isn’t there, but maybe have someone say, “Oh you’re not a girl! You can’t skate.” Or something like that would have helped me feel it was working more smoothly. 
Then there are the colors and details of the illustrations. The colors I like, with their bright, flamboyant, exciting tones. They are bold and happy. They show the skating rink, the idea of Nolan’s personality, and the atmosphere of a birthday party for kids. But then the details are lost. They are minimal to start with, but all I was seeing was colors. The other party goers and skaters become background. Nolan is front and center most of the time. I think this reinforces the forced moment above. We are too centered on Nolan and not the idea of how we get to the ending. The feeling was overly computerized and did not seem “real,” just cartoony.
Still, overall the book is a good addition to queer picture books for kids. I think it might work best for the three and four year-olds if they have a nonbinary student in their class, and the five and up crowd would be fine reading solo and/or with help.