Play Proud

PLAY PROUD highlights 60 queer athletes from a variety of sports. Track, basketball, hockey, and more are mentioned along with the athletes who do, or have, played that sport. Affirming and inspirational, this book serves as a reminder of some of the athletes who have paved, and continue paving, the way for more queer athletes to take the spotlight.

This is a wonderful book that manages to capture a lot of athletes and sports in 40 pages. It was amazing how much they were able to fit into this book. There’s even brief biographies of each athlete at the back of the book. I can honestly say I had never heard of most of these athletes and I really appreciate that the book didn’t just focus on the most well-known queer athletes. I plan on using this book to remember their names and find out more information about them.

The writing in this book is simple, but effective. It cuts straight to the names of the athletes and their sports, highlighting some of the aspects of the sports as well. This book tries to keep up a rhyme for each page spread. It works for the most part, but a couple of times it does seem like the rhyme was a bit awkward or out-of-place simply to keep with the flow of the story and that section.

Bright and lively illustrations accompany the text. The illustration, Izzy Evans, does an incredible job at capturing the life and movement of these athletes. The images don’t look static or boring, they look like moments captured in time. The illustrations are also bright and colorful too. The colors match the sport being played, leaning towards blue if it’s a water/ice sport or leaning towards green for something like rugby.

Including athletes past and present, PLAY PROUD should serve as a source of inspiration and exploration. Encouraging readers to “play proud” as well as allowing them to learn more about the players who came before and who play now.