Dear Boy, A Celebration of Cool, Clever, Compassionate You!
By Regan McMahon,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Encouraging advice for boys stresses kindness, compassion.
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What's the Story?
DEAR BOY, is a companion book to author Paris Rosenthal's Dear Girl, which she wrote with her late mother, Amy Krouse Rosenthal. This one, written with her father, Jason Rosenthal, shows lots of possible "boy" situations -- rock climbing, playing hockey, basketball, running a race -- but it also shows a boy being an artist, playing with girls, playing with dolls. And it shows the main character kindly offering a boy a fresh ice cream bar after that boy dropped his. The underlying message for boys, as it was for girls, is: You can be whatever you want to be, and you are loved and supported.
Is It Any Good?
This encouraging book is loaded with positive messages, examples of kind, compassionate behavior, and cute cartoony illustrations by Holly Hatam. Some of the thoughts are tried and true, like "Believe in yourself before others can believe in you." And some seem fresher, like "It's okay not to know," "Always trust magic," and "Feeling cloudy? / It's okay to let the rain fall." There's even a message about consent: "Yes means yes. / Anything else means no." All hold the possibility of prompting further discussion and coming up with other real-life examples, making Dear Boy, a great, comforting, thought-provoking read-aloud.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the ways girls and boys play together in Dear Boy, A Celebration of Cool, Clever, Compassionate You!. Do you play with both boys and girls? Are there ways that boys and girls play differently, or can any person play any way?
What's your favorite page in Dear Boy? What's the boy doing that you'd like to do?
What do the authors mean when they say "Always trust magic"?
Book Details
- Authors: Paris Rosenthal , Jason Rosenthal
- Illustrator: Holly Hatam
- Genre: Picture Book
- Topics: Arts and Dance , Great Boy Role Models
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Harper
- Publication date: May 13, 2019
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 3 - 5
- Number of pages: 40
- Available on: Hardback
- Last updated: March 16, 2021
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