Book Title: Jacob’s New Dress
Authors: Sarah & Ian Hoffman This book is based off of Sarah and Ian’s son, Sam. They call Sam a “pink boy” instead of using the term gender nonconforming. They both worked hard to educate themselves about gender-nonconforming children.
Date Published: March 1, 2014 I found this book when Professor Greene brought different books to class to let us see what we should be looking for.
Jacob’s New Dress is about a little boy who wants to wear dresses and “girl” clothes while playing dress up with his friends. Jacob doesn’t understand why he can’t wear those “girl” clothes. This book touches on how parents may feel if their child is going through the same thing, and a possible way to handle it. At first Jacob’s mom doesn’t want him to wear a dress to school and tells him it’s only to wear at home. Jacob is made fun of, and it’s something that he has to work through. The authors are trying to convey the message that it is okay if boys want to wear “girl” clothes.
This book is considered a diverse book because it deals with a young boy who wants to wear “girl” clothes. This really isn’t considered “normal” in our society for something like that to happen. Many people think that boys should wear boy clothes and girls should wear girl clothes.
This book definitely jumped out to me because I think that it does send a good message. I think it kind of both silences and amplifies the character’s voice. In the beginning, Jacob is kind of silenced because his parents tell him that dresses are for girls and he can’t wear a dress to school. He is also picked on by one of his classmates because he chose to wear a dress in school while playing dress up. However, his voice is also amplified because eventually his mother understands him and allows him to wear a dress to school. Jacob was a fighter, in a way. He didn’t give up for what he believed in and wanted. I believe that the book resists the status quo because nobody wants Jacob to wear “girl” clothes. The “status quo” is that boys should wear boy clothes, and the same for girls. I do think that the book is accurate because there are children out there who want to wear the opposite sex’s clothing, and they should be able to. Clothes shouldn’t even be labeled “boy” and “girl.” I think if they weren’t labeled, more kids would feel better about wearing what they’re comfortable in. I also like the fact that they included Jacob’s parents and their feelings about it. In all reality, parents might not know how to deal with a situation like this, so I think it could be helpful. I would definitely recommend this book. I think it can open the door to have conversations with children about situations like Jacob’s. I think it is written on a level that children could understand, which is helpful. You don’t want to talk to them about a subject that is new to them, and have them not understand.
