LMD Posted April 2, 2019 Share Posted April 2, 2019 I'm having trouble coming up with many! I'm looking for boys who happily enjoy 'girly' stuff. Any age but especially elementary/middle school. I can come up with a few but then often the rest of the story is pretty stereotypical with regard to gender roles, or it's much more focussed on the badass girl... Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted April 2, 2019 Share Posted April 2, 2019 Ooh. Good question. I can think of good picture books. Princess Boy, William's Doll, Oliver Button is Not a Sissy... And when I searched for lists, I did see ones that had more picture book titles, some of which seemed good. But longer books! The first two middle grades titles that occurred to me were Better Nate Than Ever, which has a boy who wants to be on Broadway (and also has some minor LGBTQ themes - which are upped a bit in the later books) and Crash, which has the two boys - the one who is the football player and the one who is more "sensitive" and a pacifist. This list has some promising titles I haven't read:https://themidlifemamas.com/kids-books-that-defy-gender-stereotypes/ My list searching turned up a lot of trans/non-binary book lists, which isn't exactly what you mean. I'll be curious what other titles occur to people. I can think of a lot of "boy" books... Andrew Clements, Jerry Spinelli stuff... things like that. But most of the boys don't break the mold of "boy" in any discernible way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted April 2, 2019 Share Posted April 2, 2019 I should add... my "what is sportsball?" dancing, acting boys enjoyed the boy and the girl books all through elementary and middle school. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted April 2, 2019 Author Share Posted April 2, 2019 Thanks Farrar! I knew the hive could help! Yes it's kind of a fine line. I wasn't looking for lgbt stuff specifically (not opposed, just not the focus), and it seems to be kind of an empty space of stories about boys who are just happily non-conforming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historically accurate Posted April 2, 2019 Share Posted April 2, 2019 Maybe Schooled? It's about a boy who has had NO interaction with today's society, raised on an isolated farm by a Grandma stuck in the 60s hippie era, who is thrown into school unexpectedly. He's into yoga and when exposed to TV likes some teen soap opera. The Mr. Terupt series is written from a variety of children's point of view. Luke is one of the characters - he's a nerd who when given the chance to be on the wrestling team declines. He ends up in student government in the third book iirc. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted April 2, 2019 Share Posted April 2, 2019 (edited) The Mysterious Benedict Society books aren't focused on boys enjoying stereotypical female things but the boys are boys who are geeky and don't fit a strong masculine profile and struggle with who they are and how to fit in. My younger kids have all enjoyed them. Edited April 2, 2019 by 8FillTheHeart 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noreen Claire Posted April 2, 2019 Share Posted April 2, 2019 The Prince and the Dressmaker was a lovely graphic novel. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted April 2, 2019 Author Share Posted April 2, 2019 Thanks so much everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry in OH Posted April 2, 2019 Share Posted April 2, 2019 For early elementary there's Tomi DePaola's Fairmont Avenue series. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arctic Bunny Posted April 2, 2019 Share Posted April 2, 2019 I feel like the kids in Series of Unfortunate Events didn’t have traditional roles. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted April 3, 2019 Share Posted April 3, 2019 Colin in The Secret Garden. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted April 3, 2019 Share Posted April 3, 2019 (edited) 20 hours ago, Junie said: Colin in The Secret Garden. And Little Lord Fauntleroy by the same author, though LLF is a bit saccharine for me. It's the current bedtime read for my bling-loving, conflict-averse 8yo DS. 🙂 Edited April 3, 2019 by serendipitous journey 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted April 6, 2019 Share Posted April 6, 2019 Da loved the little princess and the secret garden but LLF is just too sweet for words. It may be easier to find books where the boys and girls do the same things perhaps? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted April 6, 2019 Share Posted April 6, 2019 One book that we loved that falls into that category would be A Dog of Flanders. There's also a movie based on it. (It's been so long, that I can't remember if the movie was good or not!) It's a really beautiful, very old story. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/753065.A_Dog_of_Flanders Be forewarned that it has a sad ending. This was a book I was reading out lout to my kids and I had to stop because I was bawling so hard at the end. A short story would be The Cap That Mother Made. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted April 6, 2019 Share Posted April 6, 2019 The last two books in the Anne Of Green Gables series would qualify: Rainbow Valley and Rilla Of Ingleside. Walter is sensitive, a poet, and struggles with what his community expects out of him vs. what he believes to be right and true. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted April 6, 2019 Share Posted April 6, 2019 Bridge to Terabithia? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted April 6, 2019 Author Share Posted April 6, 2019 You guys are wonderful! My ds also really liked Secret Garden. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storygirl Posted April 6, 2019 Share Posted April 6, 2019 (edited) Maybe Tom's Midnight Garden? It's been decades since I read it, so I can't remember Tom's character traits exactly. But it is a time slip fantasy, where he goes repeatedly back in time and spends time in a garden with a girl. He has been quarantined, due to exposure to measles. In my mind, Tom is more the quiet and lonely type, but I can't promise that I'm totally right about that. Since your son liked The Secret Garden, he might like it. Edited April 6, 2019 by Storygirl 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storygirl Posted April 6, 2019 Share Posted April 6, 2019 Also, the Rowan of Rin series. Also fantasy. Rowan is a sensitive boy who does not fit in with his community' he is shy and small and thinks he is not brave. But the things that make him different are the things that make him the perfect hero of his quests. There are four or five books. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted April 7, 2019 Author Share Posted April 7, 2019 On 4/7/2019 at 7:31 AM, Storygirl said: Also, the Rowan of Rin series. Also fantasy. Rowan is a sensitive boy who does not fit in with his community' he is shy and small and thinks he is not brave. But the things that make him different are the things that make him the perfect hero of his quests. There are four or five books. Ah, I love Rowan! It was the first book that turned me into a reader. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series? There are boys interested in music and art. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted April 8, 2019 Share Posted April 8, 2019 From the mixed up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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