PRESS
REBECCAMIRGRADY.COM - Studio Visit: The Books And Paintings Of Jacinta Bunnell
“Anne Elizabeth Moore connected me with Jacinta Bunnell earlier this year, and I’m so glad she did! She makes awesome feminist and queer coloring books for kids and adults of all ages. I truly wish that they had been around when I was a kid.”
“It's inspiring to see how powerful knowing real history that includes woman can be -- the story of Seondeok, told in one book, inspiring Jacinta's Spanish version of this book, and reaching out to all the readers (and colorers) to come! I'm very excited about this coloring book—it's absolutely something I wish I'd had back when I was a little kid!”
SHADO - The Queerbook Committee, in conversation with Jacinta Bunnell
“shado sat down with Jacinta Bunnell, author of a series of colouring books that seek to dismantle and challenge traditional gender stereotypes, to find out more about her motivations and what more can be done to question the stereotypes around us. Jacinta speaks openly about her own background in gender studies and how this has informed her approach that seeks to provide an accessible and inclusive way to provide space for inclusivity and representation – as she says ‘If you don’t see yourself in popular media, how will you know that the way that you think, feel, dress, build family, and love is normal?’”
READING MY TEA LEAVES - Baby Proof: Coloring Books, etc
“Queerbook Committee: Girls Will Be Boys Will be Girls Will Be…Coloring Book
I love the look of this jaunty new coloring book from Jacinta Bunnell. It’s aimed at adults and kids who, “given the gender stereotypes pervasive in most children’s literature..want to unlearn a lifetime of gender-biased education.” Sounds perfect to me. “
FUNKY FEMINIST - I’m Queer As Hell, And I’m Not Going To Take It Anymore
“If you want to change the world, you have to create a different world view and present that view to the children in our lives - which is exactly what Jacinta Bunnell is doing with her coloring books. …..
Her other coloring books are Girls Are Not Chicks, Girls Will Be Boys Will Be Girls Will Be..., and The Big Gay Alphabet Coloring Book. As you can tell from the titles, Bunnell writes stories to empower kids - and adults like me - to accept who they really are. A person cannot choose their sexuality just like they cannot choose their race. But they can choose how they identify, and Bunnell's coloring books are empowering kids to be unapologetically themselves. “
HUFFINGTON POST - Rad Coloring Books Bust Gender Stereotypes With Awesome Images
“Girls Are Not Chicks, from Jacinta Bunnell and Julie Novak, aims to teach kids to think past boys’ toys and girls’ toys and to be bold. From a girl who loves to farm to a princess who rescues herself to little Miss Muffet who refuses to get off her tuffet, the characters in the coloring book celebrate feminism, boldness and the beauty of being yourself.”
“I came together with Irit Reinheimer in 2001 to make a coloring book called Girls Will Be Boys Will Be Girls Will Be…We were both doing childcare and would commiserate about all the princesses, the predictable gender roles, the lack of queer and trans people in the books and movies these children were consuming. Both of us were making zines at the time, and the ethos of zine culture has always been that if you are not finding what you want to be reading, go and make it yourself.”
AUTOSTRADDLE - 20 Feminist, Queer, Body-Positive, and Otherwise Radical Coloring Books
On #3 The Big Gay Alphabet Coloring Book: ““An activity book for adults that highlights memorable victories and collective moments in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and pansexual culture. Each unique page, made up of inked and framed line drawings with beautiful typography, is reminiscent of a handsomely designed, vintage children’s alphabet book and aims to bring greater understanding of gender fluidity, gender diversity, and sexual orientation.” WELL HOT DAMN.”
And on #4 Sometimes The Spoon Runs Away With Another Spoon: “This coloring book remixes classic fairy tales in ways based on anecdotes from real life kids, and “celebrates those who do not fit into disempowering gender categorizations, from sensitive boys to tough girls.”
REBECCA DOLBER - Q and A with artist and author Jacinta Bunnell
“Jacinta Bunnell is an artist and author residing in New York’s Hudson Valley. Her collection of coloring books challenge readers to look differently at long-held notions of gender and sexuality in a way that is as skillful as it is lighthearted. While each book takes on a slightly different theme, they all broach seemingly complex subjects with a "kid lens", reminding us that things are not always as serious as we often make them. With two more books on the horizon, take a peek into how these works came to be and with it, a closer look into the delightful world of Jacinta Bunnell.”
THE RICHEST - Naughty But Nice: the 10 Most Controversial Kids’ Books
“Billed as a subversive coloring book, this picture book gives little girls and boys the chance to colour in some empowering cartoons on kids who leave behind the entrapments of historical gender roles. A hilarious read for adults, this one's a great way to unwittingly educate kids in thinking outside the lines while teaching them to colour inside the lines. Controversial for its genre-bending shock tactics, this one's a favourite among open-minded adults. A variation on the theme is the 'Sometimes the Spoon Runs Away With Another Spoon' colouring book, an education on breaking gender categorizations.”
BEN AND BIRDY - Why be normal when you can be happy?
“I love these coloring books, because they manage to be simultaneously witty and political. Which is what this photo caption would be like, if it were witty. And political.”