From: Rachel Davis <rquenk>
Date: Thu, 21 Jul 2005 16:57:12 -0400

I have read Toby's Doll's House, by Ragnhild Scammel, at preschool story time many times (about a boy who wants a doll's house for his birthday, but his relatives all insist he means something else instead--a fort, a car park, a farm yard, etc. They each give him what they think he wants, and he politely thanks them and makes himself a doll's house out of the boxes the other toys came in.) Every once in a while a child will realize that Toby is a boy and he is asking for a doll's house, and will say in disbelief, "But he's a boy!" It's amazing how gender stereotypes can become so ingrained at such a young age...

It's also interesting how very young children are aware that their own likes and dislikes don't conform to the stereotype. One little girl the other day did not want to sign up for our summer reading program until she could be assured that the prizes weren't all just "girlie prizes." When she saw that the prizes included dinosaurs, airplanes, cars, and other supposed "boy-type" things, she was pleased and signed up for the program...

Rachel

Rachel Q. Davis Children's Librarian Thomas Memorial Library 6 Scott Dyer Road Cape Elizabeth, ME 04107 207y920
Received on Thu 21 Jul 2005 03:57:12 PM CDT