Kaboom! series

Bringing Stereotypes Down!

The unmissable themes of toddlers books - toys, animals, imagination, music... - with a nonstereotyped representation of families and of the world.

Toddlers' books are not exempt from stereotypes: most women are mothers and most men are either absent or superheroes. Illustrations are far from being neutral: colours, symbols, roles are gender oriented. Conveying a non-stereotyped representation of the world to the youngest is the mission of this new board book series.

"Stereotype-free babies! At last, sexism free books for toddlers! Publishing house Talents Hauts is the one launching into that with new « Badaboum » series with a very subtle result." - Revue Parents, May 2021

 

- Little Steps (Laurence Faron, ill. by Maurèen Poignonec)

The first steps of eight little ones, in diverse families, standing far or less straight, looking sometimes like their parents, sometimes different. In every family, for every child, the first steps are pure joy!

 

- Marcel and the Ugly Dark Spider (Alexandre Saltiel, ill. by Julia Allheilig)

Boys can be afraid of the dark too! Tonight, Daddy tells Marcel one of his favorite stories: the one of the boy who can’t sleep because of the monster under his bed... Will Marcel tame his fears, especially as there is an ugly all dark spider in his room?

 

- Coco (Estelle Billon-Spagnol)

Coco, a heroine who refuses to fit in pigeonholes!

Her name is Coco. Sometimes she’s calm. But not all the time. She likes the color pink. But not only. Sometimes she feels happy, and sometimes angry. Our personalities, our tastes, our moods: we change! Let’s stop trying to fit into pigeon holes, especially if they are stereotyped.

 

 

- My Carriage  - Let's go, girls! (Séverine Huguet)

"This is my carriage. It is pretty but not very practical."

Never mind, our heroine grabs a paintbrush, a screwdriver, a monkey wrench, and transforms her princess’s carriage into a great off-road vehicle! Who said princesses didn’t know how to fix things?

 

- What are you playing? (Virginie Costa)

"What are you playing?" Charlie the snail asks his friends. Building a house, playing with toy cars, playing shops or the ball: at daycare, Timothée, Lou, Caroline and their friends play completely freely, without clichés!

 

- Daddy, Where Are You?  (Claire Garralon)

Little animals have searched for their mummies in numerous toddlers' books. Little bunny here is looking for his daddy, for a change! « Daddy, where are you? » a young rabbit asks anyone who would listen. The little one questions, by turns, his family members: an athletic grandmother, a grandfather who takes care of the laundry, an uncle who picks flowers, a working aunt, then his mom, who leads our hero to his father’s arms!

 

- Rock N' Roll (Julien Castanié)

A vocabulary book full of good vibes! Because all toddlers wildly tend to turn everyday objects into music instruments...

 

"Why would guys be the only one able to set the place on fire with an electric guitar? When you think of rock legends, girls are not that numerous. Things might change thanks to this vocabulary book from the new Kaboom! series. Pacifiers in their mouths, baby bottles in their hands, those little girls turn tissues into trumpets, baby chairs into pianos, small books into harmonicas. Get ready for a legendary concert!" - Le Parisien

- My Doll
by Annelise Heurtier, ill. by Maurèen Poignonec
A child plays with his doll, he walks her around in the stroller, hugs her, worries about her needs. An old lady interrupts him: "Are you playing mommy?". "No I'm playing daddy" - he replies

 

"In My Doll, tenderness doesn’t care much about prejudices. 'Dolls would be for girls only' ? What a strange idea ! A lovely board book, warm and simple that gives a good lesson to sexist stereotypes".

 

"Challenging genre stereotypes, the content is relevant, the dialogs are genuine and the ending, very mischievous! It should be in the hands of all the little ones and their relatives…" - APGL – Association des Parents Gays et Lesbiens – Mai 2021

 

"How often do we still hear that a boy can’t play with dolls... While many boys simply want to mimic their father who also takes care of their little brother or sister. In short, it is delicate, it says important things without being a militant leaflet, it is nicely illustrated by Maurèen Poignonec... I can only be glad!" - La mare aux mots

 

- Cat!
by Claire Garralon
A story for toddlers about consent and respect.
The cat is on the couch. The child would like to catch him, to caress him, to pull his fur. But a cat is not a toy and the child gets to understand that the sole proof of love is respecting the other's will.

"An album full of realism about the relationship of the youngest with animals, and an invitation to talk about the notion of respect." - Ricochet

 

- Animals (Fred. L)

A vocabulary book, simply showing female animals for a change.

"A clever feminine vocabulary book".  - Télérama

"In most children’s pictures book, the masculine is the universal neutral. (...)This little book is here to counter these ideas, showing that females can be just as important, powerful and intelligent as males." - Bibliotheca