In the wonderfully illustrated picture book Jacob’s New Dress by Sarah and Ian
Hoffman, Jacob loves to visit the dress-up corner at school with his friend
Emily. Emily likes the shiny yellow dress, and Jacob loves the sparkly pink
dress. When he adds the crown, he is the perfect princess! No one questions this choice except
Christopher, who insists Jacob should be wearing boy clothes and playing boy
things.
After school, Jacob checks in with his mom.
She happily reassures him that boys can wear dresses and suggests that he go
play in his witch’s dress from Halloween. He is having such a good time
twirling in the black lace that he announces he would like to wear it to
school. Mom doesn’t think that’s such a great idea. It is, after all, a dress
for pretend play at home.
Jacob’s New Dress explores
the many layers of gender norms through the eyes of both the children and
adults in this story. Jacob faces teasing and criticism as Christopher asserts
his confidence about fixed-gender identities, which Christopher has confirmed
with his father. He also finds a fierce ally in Emily, who shows empathy for
Jacob as she stands up to his critics in the most perfect of ways. Jacob’s parents
and Jacob’s teacher, Ms. Wilson, all play realistic roles as supporters
adjusting to a seeing through a different lens.
Although each bit of the story if perfectly
presented, there are two moments that stand out as pivotal from my adult point
of view. The first is an exchange between
Jacob and his mom over having a real school dress:
“Mom?”
whispered Jacob. “Can you help me make a real dress?”
Mom didn’t
answer. The longer she didn’t answer, the less Jacob could breathe.
[Turn the
page. Turn the page! Picture books can be so dramatic!]
“Let’s get
the sewing machine,” she said finally.
Jacob felt
the air refill his body. He grinned. Mom smiled back.
“There are
all sorts of ways to be a boy,” she said. “Right?”
The second moment is in the midst of a class
discussion, where Ms. Wilson reflects what we all needed to know: “I think
Jacob wears what he’s comfortable in. Just like you do.” It’s such a simple
statement, and we adults, especially those of us that hold this power in the
classroom, need to be reminded.
Jacob’s New Dress is a
pitch-perfect addition to the limited selections in the LGBT children’s picture
book collection. It’s also important to note that this book was written by
parents who experienced this first-hand with their own son, parents who were
looking for a book like this that didn’t yet exist.
Thanks for the review! I'd like to add this book to my library!
ReplyDelete-Melina