Ten of the Best


Picture Books to promote gender equality and identity


10 John Newman chooses.


Like many young people growing up in the 70s my values were strongly influenced by the feminist perspective. Forty plus years, despite much progress, we are still grappling with issues around gender equality and the right for individuals to choose their sexual orientation and be accepted by society for who they are. In selecting ten books to promote gender equality and identity, I have chosen to focus on picture books as they provide a rich source of material for both informing and celebrating difference, and because they can also help promote the kind of helpful discussions which can positively contribute to shaping children’s values and attitudes.


Clive and the


Babies Jessica Spanyol, Child’s Play


978-1-8464-3882-0, £4.99 pbk


I have chosen to begin with a board book which is part of a series published by Child’s Play, a pioneering publisher in promoting diversity and gender equality. This is a simple story about a boy who likes to play with dolls and focuses on this being appropriate and acceptable. The book displays his nurturing qualities positively, recognising that gender stereotyping begins at a very early age.


Pearl Power Mel Elliott, I Love Mel, 978-0-9928-5441-6, £7.99 pbk


After her mum gets a new job (where she is the boss) Pearl has to cope with managing change, moving house and going to a new school. She also has to show determination and resilience when teased by a male classmate that she ‘does maths’ and throws a ball ‘like a girl’. Pearl’s response is an affirmative one which both confirms


that she possesses a


strong sense of self and also the ability to be forgiving and nurturing when the same boy needs a cuddle! (See also Pearl Power and the


Toy Problem.) 14 Books for Keeps No.219 July 2016


My Dad Used To Be So Cool


Keith Negley, Flying Eye Books, 978-1-9092-6394-9, £11.99 hbk


Hot on the heels of the essential Tough Guys Have Feelings Too is a new work which again explores male relationships in a positive way. The visual evidence of a boy’s dad’s previously perceived ‘coolness’ is evidenced in his tattoos and the


forsaken drum kit now stored in a cupboard. But even as the son focuses on his dad’s past we witness a stay-at-home father who has replaced his motorbike with a family car, cleans the house, and creates space to spend quality time with his son.


10,000 Dresses


Marcus Ewert, illustrated by Rex Ray, Seven Stories Press, 978-1-5832-2850-0, £8.99 hbk


Bailey is a child who dreams of wearing an array of spectacular dresses but his certainty about being female is rebuked by his parents who repeatedly remind him he is a boy. This negative response is compounded by the real hostility he encounters when he shares his feelings with his brother. It is through his emerging friendship with an older girl that he gains acceptance of who he is. As they share dressmaking ideas Bailey speaks of a mirrored dress which ‘shows us ourselves’ and his new friend provides confirmation, ‘Bailey, you are the coolest girl I ever met!’.


I’m a Girl!


Yasmeen Ismail, Bloomsbury, 978-1-4088-5700-7, £6.99 pbk


This is another vibrant new work celebrating the importance of being oneself. Here is a girl who is continuously being mistaken for a boy, because of the clothes she chooses to wear, and because she noisy and likes to win. So whatever she does, she keeps having to say, ‘I’m a girl!’


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