Jacob's New Dress

January 20, 2014
“Jacob, why do you always wear the girl clothes?” a schoolmate asks the gender nonconforming hero in the classroom dress-up corner. It’s a question that Jacob’s parents struggle with, as well. When the boy asks his mother to help make a “real dress” after bullies tear off a togalike outfit he’s improvised from a bath towel, Mom takes a long time to answer. “The longer she didn’t answer, the less Jacob could breathe.” But Mom and Dad believe that “There are all sorts of ways to be a boy,” and they offer support that’s low-key, emotionally authentic, and unwavering (“Well, it’s not what I would wear, but you look great,” says Dad, who has to take his own long pause before answering). The Hoffmans, whose experience as parents inspired the story, and Case (Sophie and the Next-Door Monsters)—who contributes thoughtful, down-to-earth cartoons of home and school—have created an ideal companion for families and educators: upbeat yet realistic, astute about peer dynamics, and blessedly lacking in a sermonizing Big Moment. Ages 4–7. Illustrator’s agent: the Herman Agency.

January 15, 2014
In a warmly illustrated picture book meant to comfort both boys who are gender-nonconforming and their parents, young Jacob asks his mom for a dress to wear to school. At first, Jacob's interest in wearing dresses is limited to playing dress-up. When his classmate Christopher tells him he ought to wear boys' clothes instead, Jacob's friend Emily answers with age-appropriate defenses ("Christopher, stop telling us what to do"). Jacob's mom hesitates when Jacob expresses interest in wearing a dress as school clothes, but eventually, both she and Jacob's dad agree to it. The segments with Jacob's mom and dad seem aimed at parents as much as at children. Jacob's mom's look of concern when he first asks about the dress is poignant, and his dad's words of acceptance ("Well, it's not what I would wear, but you look great") could easily serve as a model for fathers in similar positions. What rings less true is the story's rosy end. Faced with Christopher's bullying comments and other kids' laughter, Jacob is so buoyed by his new dress that he stands up to Christopher himself, then sprints triumphantly across the playground, "his dress spreading out like wings." Hopeful and affirming, but children familiar with bullying may find the conclusion too simple. (afterword, authors' note) (Picture book. 4-8)

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February 1, 2014

PreS-Gr 2-Jacob likes to play dress up with his friend Emily, but he prefers to pretend that he is a princess rather than a knight, firefighter, or policeman. The boys in his class tease him and wonder why he wears dresses. His teacher explains that "Jacob wears what he's comfortable in. Just like you do. Not very long ago little girls couldn't wear pants. Can you imagine that?" Jacob returns home from school to tell his mother that one of his classmates says that boys can't wear dresses. His parents support him as he makes his own dress with his mother's help, and she shares with him that "there are all sorts of ways to be a boy." An author's note explains how parents, educators, and counselors can make a difference in the lives of gender-nonconforming children. The warm cartoon illustrations convey the mood well and offer readers visual clues to the cruelty, teasing, and struggle with self-acceptance that can occur when children are different from their peers. Purchase this one to encourage discussions of gender, identity, and self-confidence.-Melissa Smith, Royal Oak Public Library, MI

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2014
Grades K-3 Jacob wants to wear a dress to school, so he fashions one from a towela dress-thing. His mother tells him to add some shorts and a shirt, and off he goes to school, where he is teased by a fellow student, Christopher, who pulls the towel off and waves it like a captured flag. That evening, a tearful Jacob asks his mother to help him make a real dress, and after some thought, she agrees. Jacob's father adds, Well, it's not what I would wear, but you look great. At school, there's more teasing, but Jacob finally tells Christopher, I made this dress, I'm proud of it, and I'm going to wear it! And so he does. In an afterword, the coauthors explain that Jacob is a gender nonconforming boy and that gender expression is inbornnot something we choose. The authors' gentle but necessarily didactic story succeeds in dramatizing this concept. Case's softly colored cartoonlike illustrations nicely expand the spirit of this important book, whichone hopeswill provide reassurance to children like Jacob and inspire thoughtful discussion.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2014
With his mother's help, Jacob, a boy who chooses dresses from the class costume corner, sews a dress of his own. While neither art nor text is especially distinguished, the emotionally resonate gender-nonconformity story will be useful in many settings and provides guidance for both adults and children wondering how to handle a boy who prefers dresses. Thoughtful notes to adults add value.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)