Poetry · Children's

This Day in June

Gayle E. Pitman

EstablishedStonewall Book Award, 2015

First published 2014

Reading facts

✓ Checked

Reading effort: 2 / 100Light
Length: 40 pagesMagination Press · 2014
Reading time: 45 minat 50 pages an hour ·
Pace: Brisk
Emotional intensity: 2 / 5

Estimated from the page count of this edition. Dense books can take longer than the estimate.

About the book

A June Pride parade fills the streets with marching bands, motorcycles, rainbow flags and families. Gayle E. Pitman's rhyming couplets accompany Kristyna Litten's illustrations of children, parents, dancers and marchers dressed in many different ways. A reading guide explains the LGBTQ+ history and cultural references pictured along the route, and a separate caregiver note offers age-specific suggestions for discussing sexual orientation and gender identity.

Reader notes

Brief, rhythmic and celebratory, it's a picture book for reading aloud to young children. The text offers glimpses of the parade, leaving much of the detail to the pictures; the explanatory material provides a longer starting point for conversation.

How it reads

Writing style: Direct · Lyrical · Poetic
Tone: Hopeful · Playful · Uplifting · Warm
Structure: Linear
Driven by: Atmosphere · Ideas · Relationships
Point of view: Collective voice

Reading complexity

Writing: 1 / 5
Ideas: 1 / 5
Structure: 1 / 5
Background knowledge: 1 / 5

About this profile

Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).

Writing: How much attention the sentences and language require.
Ideas: How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
Structure: How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
Background knowledge: Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
Emotional intensity: Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.

Themes

Belonging
Community
Family
Identity

Content notes

Violence: None
Sexual content: None
Swearing: None
Substance use: None
Abuse: None
Self-harm or suicide: None

Standing and awards

Established

Stonewall Book Award, 2015

Questions readers ask

Is it suited to reading aloud to young children?

Yes, the brief, rhythmic text uses rhyming couplets to accompany pictures of a Pride parade. Much of the parade’s detail is left to the illustrations, giving children things to look at as they listen.

What does it feel like to read?

The tone is warm, playful and celebratory, with brisk glimpses of marching bands, motorcycles, rainbow flags and families. The emphasis falls on the parade’s atmosphere and its expressions of belonging and community.

Does it help adults talk with children about LGBTQ+ identities?

Yes, a reading guide explains the LGBTQ+ history and cultural references pictured along the parade route. A separate caregiver note offers age-specific suggestions for discussing sexual orientation and gender identity, extending the conversation beyond the short verse.