ALA Booklist (Tue Jan 03 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Jacob wants to wear a dress to school, so he fashions one from a towel "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 inborn t 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, which e hopes ll provide reassurance to children like Jacob and inspire thoughtful discussion.

Horn Book (Tue Jan 03 00:00:00 CST 2023)

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.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

-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. (Mar.)

School Library Journal (Tue Jan 03 00:00:00 CST 2023)

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