Official Review: I want to be a boy by Hope Sarna

[kfwilson6]

Acceptance is such an important concept for children to grasp. Acceptance of oneself is just as important as acceptance of others. I like the message the author strove to convey, and the fact that she did it successfully.

[Christina Rose]

Sounds so cute and great that she was able to draw from her own experience with her daughter. I can relate to her daughter I was a tomboy too and still am.

I definitely think Belle's character is relatable to many little girls.

[Christina Rose]

Acceptance is such an important concept for children to grasp. Acceptance of oneself is just as important as acceptance of others. I like the message the author strove to convey, and the fact that she did it successfully.

It's definitely a message worth passing along to our young children.

[Chandler_Greg]

You seem to skirt the whole issue of transgender identity. Is the book saying that a girl should be able to do the things she likes without having to worry about gender typing, or is this someone assigned the female gender at birth who identifies as male? At a young age, these issues may be less obvious, or interrelated.

Generations of girls have grown up as "tomboys" with more active interests in sports, construction toys and other "boy"-gendered activities. Despite decades of pushback against such gender typing, dating perhaps to "Free to Be You and Me", the lines are still too often drawn. Usually in pink and blue. Even when a company like Lego decides to try to appeal to those girls who prefer building to baking, they get it wrong. They introduce sets of pink Legos that link together to form beauty parlors and kitchens. They fail to see that Legos are already the perfect non-gendered toy.

As the father of a drag-queen son and a daughter who outgrew the pink wardrobe assigned to her, I applaud any author who fights for a less gender-specified world. Thanks for your review.

[Noraine Alissa Poria]

This book seems interesting. I want to read this one.

[Mindy Conahye]

This sounds like a really great children's book. I love that it is about acceptance and that the mother addresses her daughter's concerns in the right fashion. I think this is the type of book that someone needs to tackle to create a YA book to promote acceptance for when young adults are struggling with fitting in with who they are and what they like.

[ForeverNoni]

In the story "I want to be a boy" is very interesting and heart warming. It let kids understand to accept who they want to be and become fearless about it. I would always recommend this book for little children who can't decide or scared of making a choice of being a transgender. I would recommend using smaller words for children to understand the sorry more better.(Thank you so much for writing this!

[Christina Rose]

You seem to skirt the whole issue of transgender identity. Is the book saying that a girl should be able to do the things she likes without having to worry about gender typing, or is this someone assigned the female gender at birth who identifies as male? At a young age, these issues may be less obvious, or interrelated.

Generations of girls have grown up as "tomboys" with more active interests in sports, construction toys and other "boy"-gendered activities. Despite decades of pushback against such gender typing, dating perhaps to "Free to Be You and Me", the lines are still too often drawn. Usually in pink and blue. Even when a company like Lego decides to try to appeal to those girls who prefer building to baking, they get it wrong. They introduce sets of pink Legos that link together to form beauty parlors and kitchens. They fail to see that Legos are already the perfect non-gendered toy.

As the father of a drag-queen son and a daughter who outgrew the pink wardrobe assigned to her, I applaud any author who fights for a less gender-specified world. Thanks for your review.

Thanks for taking time to read my review and to share your thoughts. I realize my review may be vague in areas, as I was trying not to give away the ending, moral, etc. This particular book is about a girl who doesn’t quite fit the cookie-cutter societal norms. She’s more of a “tomboy.” When she tells her mom, her mom let’s her know it’s okay to be who she is. She can like all the things she likes, and still be a girl. That is, in fact, how her mom is - she likes pirates, dinosaurs, and soccer as well.

I agree that at such a young age, interpreting such feelings can be difficult. But, the mother showed an open mind and heart. So, in a real life situation, I would like to think the daughter could be open in the future if she still doesn’t quite fit gender norms as she learns more about who she truly is.

I also agree with you on gender specific toys. My boys pretty much play with what they like. This does tend to be stereotypical boy toys, like action figures and cars, but I’ve also gotten them cooking toys when they expressed an interest. Children (and adults) should feel comfortable in their own skin.

[Book Lover 35]

I like the book now that I know where the author was really going with this. She's a tomboy. I like that this book teaches girls that they can play with anything and just be themselves. Great review!

[EvaDar]

I guess I was confused until I read the comments. I was thinking with what was being described some gender identity confusion was being missed by the mother. But, I will just have to read the book. My hope is the mother explored the territory fully, as missing this issue can be really hard on kids. Thanks for the thought-provoking review.