Reviews

From the Stars in the Sky to the Fish in the Sea by Kai Yun Ching, Wai-Yant Li, Kai Cheng Thom

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poisoned_icecream's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring lighthearted

5.0

erine's review against another edition

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A parent's love never wavers as their child explores their self-expression. Although classmates bully and tease, the support system at home ensures that this fluid child never feels completely isolated, and ultimately things end on a positive note.

It was nice to discover a picture book with a clearly nonbinary main character. The love coming from home never wavers, and the classmates eventually work through their callous and cruel behavior. In many ways this is a glorious celebration of being yourself. I'm not sure how I feel about the nonbinary character being put into such a fantastical box. This emphasizes their not-normalness and almost makes it seem like gender-fluidity is an imaginary issue, instead of presenting fluidity as just one aspect of reality.

juniper_reads_things's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective

5.0

I loved this book so much. It reminded me of that children’s book that goes, “I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always. As long as you’re living, my baby you’ll be.” Except this one is fucking GAY.

Miu Lian was born with feathers, and scales, and hooves, and tails. They are neither male or female. Every night, their mother tells them: “Whatever you dream of, I believe you can be,
From the stars in the sky to the fish in the sea.”. And Miu Lian feels loved.

But then school starts. Everyone at school is either a boy or a girl, and none of them have feathers, or antlers or scales. Everyone keeps asking Miu Lian WHAT ARE YOU??

I really absolutely adored this book. No matter what, Miu Lian’s mother is always there, telling them that they are loved no matter what they are. Miu Lian’s monologue/breakdown really got to me. “i wore feathers and stripes so the other kids would think that I was beautiful but they thought I was weird, and then I wore a shell and spines so that no one would pull or poke me, but they wouldn’t talk to me, and then I tried to be just like everyone else but I haven’t made any friends. I cant decide what to be! Why do I have to be just one thing?”

As an adult, I still really struggle with being a social chameleon - changing myself to blend in where I am. It’s so stressful trying to act like someone you’re not. This book packs a powerful punch about remaining true to yourself. I’m so happy Miu Lian is a genderless character, but I also think that cigender kids would also be able to relate to this book.