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| AKA Girls vs. Boys |
The cover really says it all. But I'll add a few words: cooperation, gender roles, clever, fun. This book was published in 2005, author Kevin O'Malley. The author brings some feminism into the book about a boy and girl who have to work together to come up with a fairy tale. The cover manages to appeal to both boys and girls by using both stereotypes. This was published 10 years ago! Not a lot has changed in the marketing of books to kids or what they're drawn to. Girls still like princesses and ponies and boys generally like "boy" stuff. Wish in 10 years there still wasn't such a divide. I recently had to convince a boy "Baby Mouse" wasn't just a "girls book" because of the pink cover. He thought other kids would make fun of him for reading it. I told him I didn't know what other kids would do, but that would be wrong and he should be able to read the books he wants to read. It seems much easier for girls to read books with boy protagonists than vice versa. It warms my heart when I see a little dude checking out a Junie B. Jones book and not even blink an eye. Stories are stories, some we like better than others, some we identify with more than others, but all have the possibility of being an awesome book for us whether the cover is pink or blue.
Recommend both books to boys and girls.
Kids sometimes have to be told cover art is NOT the whole story.
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