Chris Case

Jacob is a young boy with a variety of interests and tastes, amongst which is a fondness for dresses. Despite the teasing of his classmate Christopher, he persists in his desire to be the princess at dress-up time, and asks his mother if he can have a dress to wear to school. After her initial resistance, Jacob's mother helps him make the desired garment, and he proudly wears it to school. When Christopher once again makes himself obnoxious, starting a game of tag between the girls and boys, show more and telling Jacob he should be on the girls' team, Jacob feels the protective power of his dress, and doesn't let it get him down...

One of a number of recent picture-books meant to offer encouragement and affirmation to gender-fluid children - another recent one would be James Howe's Big Bob, Little Bob - Jacob's New Dress highlights the message that there are all kinds of boys, some of whom will be attracted to the dress and interests that have traditionally been defined by society as feminine, and that that's OK. Co-authors Sarah and Ian Hoffman are the parents of a gender-fluid son themselves, something mentioned in the dust-jacket blurb about them, so I appreciated the way that their own life experience has informed the story they have to tell. I also appreciated the fact that they mention, in their afterword, that gender-fluidity isn't a sure sign of such things as sexual orientation or even eventual gender identity, and that they think young childhood is too early a time to really know those things about any person. That dovetails with my own thinking on the matter, and leaves the issue open, something I think is so important when dealing with the young, who need the safety and space to experiment, without those experiments being read by the adults around them as one thing or another.

Leaving that aside, the story here is fairly engaging, despite the obvious didactic purpose of the authors, and the artwork is colorful and appealing, in a somewhat cartoon-like way. Recommended to anyone looking for stories about gender-fluid children specifically, or about issues of tolerance and bullying in general. show less

In a warmly illustrated picture book meant to comfort both boys who are gender-nonconforming and their parents, young Jacob asks his mom for a dress to wear to school.

At first, Jacob’s interest in wearing dresses is limited to playing dress-up. When his classmate Christopher tells him he ought to wear boys’ clothes instead, Jacob’s friend Emily answers with age-appropriate defenses (“Christopher, stop telling us what to do”). Jacob’s mom hesitates when Jacob expresses interest in show more wearing a dress as school clothes, but eventually, both she and Jacob’s dad agree to it. The segments with Jacob’s mom and dad seem aimed at parents as much as at children. Jacob’s mom’s look of concern when he first asks about the dress is poignant, and his dad’s words of acceptance (“Well, it’s not what I would wear, but you look great”) could easily serve as a model for fathers in similar positions. What rings less true is the story’s rosy end. Faced with Christopher’s bullying comments and other kids’ laughter, Jacob is so buoyed by his new dress that he stands up to Christopher himself, then sprints triumphantly across the playground, “his dress spreading out like wings.”

Hopeful and affirming, but children familiar with bullying may find the conclusion too simple. (afterword, authors’ note) (Picture book. 4-8)

-Kirkus Review show less

In a warmly illustrated picture book meant to comfort both boys who are gender-nonconforming and their parents, young Jacob asks his mom for a dress to wear to school.

At first, Jacob’s interest in wearing dresses is limited to playing dress-up. When his classmate Christopher tells him he ought to wear boys’ clothes instead, Jacob’s friend Emily answers with age-appropriate defenses (“Christopher, stop telling us what to do”). Jacob’s mom hesitates when Jacob expresses interest in show more wearing a dress as school clothes, but eventually, both she and Jacob’s dad agree to it. The segments with Jacob’s mom and dad seem aimed at parents as much as at children. Jacob’s mom’s look of concern when he first asks about the dress is poignant, and his dad’s words of acceptance (“Well, it’s not what I would wear, but you look great”) could easily serve as a model for fathers in similar positions. What rings less true is the story’s rosy end. Faced with Christopher’s bullying comments and other kids’ laughter, Jacob is so buoyed by his new dress that he stands up to Christopher himself, then sprints triumphantly across the playground, “his dress spreading out like wings.”

Hopeful and affirming, but children familiar with bullying may find the conclusion too simple. (afterword, authors’ note) (Picture book. 4-8)

-Kirkus Review show less

I think that Jacob’s New Dress is a good book for primarily two reasons. First, the artwork was nice to look at. The pages were colorful, but not so colorful that it took away from the seriousness of the work. When I think of great, colorful pages with a lot going on, I think of books that focus on the humor of situations. The plot of Jacob’s New Dress needed the soft water colors used in the pictures. Thirdly, I really liked that the central theme of the book. On the surface, the main show more purpose of the book is to teach children about gender identity. But if you dig deeper into the story it’s really a book about being yourself, despite the odds against you. We live in a society where bullying is becoming more prominent, or at least talked about more. I was bullied a lot as a kid for being that weird kid, and it forced me to put down parts of my personality that made me who I was. It was actually due to children’s books and TV programs that focused on the weird kids that helped me realize I didn’t have to be somebody I wasn’t. Jacob’s New Dress teaches this very well, by having Jacob imagine his dress as a suit of armor to combat the bullying while also being himself. show less