Contact
Subscribe


  • Home > Book Lists > Boys vs Girls vs Boys vs Girls

  • OhMG News!

    May 12, 2012: The Kids Have Voted

    Votes have been tallied for the 2012 Children’s Choice Book Awards. Winner in the 5th/6th grade category was Okay for Now, Gary Schmidt’s companion novel to his Newbery Honor-winning The Wednesday Wars. Illustrator of the year went to Brian Selznick for Wonderstruck, and author of the year went to Jeff Kinney for Cabin Fever, the latest installment in his Wimpy Kid series.

    For a complete list of the winners…

     

    May 10, 2012: Happy Children’s Book Week!

    In honor of National Children’s Book Week, award-winning author-illustrator Matt Phelan posted this delightful review of Polly Horvath’s new book on his blog… 

    For more about Children's Book Week…

     

    May 5, 2012: Oh Me, Oh May

    Check out all the new books releasing in May...

     

    May 5, 2012: Be a Fourth-Grade Somebody

    One lucky fourth-grade classroom will win a Skype visit from author Judy Blume this month. To participate, all you have to do is have your students write a sentence or two on why they like fourth grade. The contest, which ends May 15, is sponsored by School Library Journal.

    For details…

     

    May 5, 2012: Sturm und Drang for Kids

    Guardian columnist Julia Eccleshare tackles the question “Why are so many highly praised children's books gloomy?” in this April 30 article…

                            




    May 1, 2012: It’s No Mystery

    The Edgar Award for the best juvenile mystery of the year was presented this past weekend to Matthew Kirby for Icefall (Scholastic, 2011). Publishers Weekly said of Kirby's Viking suspense novel, “Readers may be drawn in by the promise of action, which Kirby certainly fulfills, but they’ll be left contemplating the power of the pen versus the sword—or rather the story versus the war hammer.” 

    For more on the award…

    To read a Mixed-up Files interview with Kirby... 

     

    May 1, 2012: Crystal Clear

    Winners of the 2012 Crystal Kite Awards, the only peer-given awards in children’s publishing, were announced this week. The awards are voted on by members of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Middle-grade winners include The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson and The Absolute Value of Mike by Kathryn Erskine.

    For a complete list of winners...

     

    April 30, 2012: Does a Pineapple Have Sleeves?

    What happens when a Daniel Pinkwater story is adapted for use in a statewide standardized test? The New York Times reports on the kerfuffle here...

     

    April 30, 2012: More than One Path to Publication

    The lines between traditional and self-publishing continue to blur as more and more traditionally published authors find ways to utilize the flexibility and freedom that self publishing offers. Author Kate Milford recently announced in Publishers Weekly that her new fantasy, The Broken Lands, which will be published by Clarion in September, will be accompanied by the release of a self-published novella, The Kairos Mechanism.

    Says Milford, "I want to experiment with self-publishing as a way to promote and enhance traditional releases by providing extra content to readers in the form of complete, related tales. I also want to use resources that support independent bookstores." As an added bonus Milford is planning a special digital edition of her self-published work that will include illustrations by 10 teen readers. 

    For more…

     

    April 14, 2012: It’s Raining, It’s Pouring!

    Check out all the new books releasing in April...

     

    April 12, 2012: The Greatest Girls 

    Jen Doll, columnist for The Atlantic Wire, talks about “The Greatest Girl Characters of Young Adult Literature” in this April 5 article, the first in a series called “Y.A. for Grownups.” Among the characters Doll mentions are a number of middle-grade favorites, including Meg Murray from A Wrinkle in Time and Claudia Kincaid of From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

    For more… 

     

    April 12, 2012: Moss Aims to Pick Up Where Tricycle Left Off

    Berkeley-based children’s author and illustrator Marissa Moss, best-known for her Amelia’s Notebook series, is starting a new West Coast publishing venture called Creston Books. Says Moss, “The idea’s been percolating for years. It came to a head after Random House bought Ten Speed and threw Tricycle away.” Moss got her start with the quirky, risk-taking Tricycle Press, which published Amelia’s Notebook at a time when traditional publishers were unsure what to do with the illustrated diary format.  “New York publishing is about: what’s the next Harry Potter, what’s the next Twilight?” says Moss. “When I’ve approached people, I’ve asked, ‘What is the book you’ve been dying to do, but New York won’t do?’ I want the books that they think won’t sell—because I think they will.”

    Creston’s first books are due to release Fall 2013. In the meantime, Moss is seeking kickstarter funds to help back the project. For more…

     

    April 10, 2012: After Chrestomanci

    An online celebration of the life of British author Diana Wynne Jones (1934-2011) will kick off April 12 with a two-week blog tour. In conjunction with the tour a special blog has been set up where fans can share their favorite books, quotes, stories, characters, covers, and memories of Diana with fellow fans around the world.

    Wynne Jones was the author of dozens of popular titles, including the Chrestomanci series and Howl’s Moving Castle, which was made into an animated film by Hayao Miyazaki in 2004.

    For details…

     

    April 6, 2012: Game Over!

    The Battle of the Books has ended. And the winner is…

    I’m not telling! You’ll just have to click on over to the School Library Journal site and read Jonathan Stroud’s incredible analysis of the three finalists—Life: An Exploded Diagram by Mal Peet; Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys; and Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt.


    March 31, 2012: Hiaasen Says There’s No Fooling Kids

    Newbery-honor winning author Carl Hiaasen talks about writing for kids versus writing for adults in this March 6 School Library Journal interview. Says Hiaasen, “The idea that you're fooling kids is crazy. That's the way I've been able to connect to and go between adult and young adult books. Kids love sarcasm and the idea of bursting a grown-up's bubble. It's a question of calibrating the story to the young adult market. Once I did that with Hoot and it worked, it opened up a new and rewarding way of writing for me.”

    Hiassen’s new middle-grade book, Chomp, was released this week.

     For more…

     

    March 29, 2012: What’s the Buzz in Middle-grade Fiction?

    A panel of editors will share their predictions for this fall’s breakout titles when BookExpo America convenes June 5-7 at the Javits Center in New York City.  You don’t have to wait until June to catch the buzz, though. According to the BookExpo on-line news, titles to watch are:

    • Malcolm at Midnight by W. H. Beck (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

    • The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann (HarperCollins)

    • Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin (Little Brown)

    • Tales from Lovecraft Middle School #1: Professor Gargoyle by Charles Gilman (Quirk)

    • With Love From Paris: Mira's Sketchbook by Marissa Moss (Sourcebooks)

    For more…


    March 26, 2012: Lindgren Winner Announced

    Dutch author Guus Kuijer has won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award given by the Swedish Arts Council to honor an author whose body of work is in the spirit of Pippi Longstocking author Astrid Lindgren. The winner receives 5 million Swedish crowns (more than $700K), making it the richest prize in the world for children’s literature. Past winners include Katherine Paterson, Sonya Hartnett, Maurice Sendak, and Shaun Tan.

    Kuijer was selected by an international jury of experts who praised his "razor-sharp realism,” “subtle humor,” and “visionary flights of fancy.” Kuijer is author of more than 30 titles, most of them for young teens. Sadly, only one of his books has appeared in English—The Book of Everything, a slim but haunting novel published by Arthur Levine Books in 2006.

     For more…

     

    March 20, 2012: No Grownups Allowed

    It’s time for kids to vote for their favorite books of the year in this year’s Children’s Choice Awards. Winners will be announced during Children’s Book Week, May 7-13, 2012. The awards are sponsored by the Children’s Book Council, which celebrates the transformative power of literacy. Kids can vote individually or librarians, teachers, and booksellers can log on to record their students’ votes.

    Finalists for the 3rd-4th grade Book of the Year are:

    • Bad Kitty Meets the Baby by Nick Bruel

    • A Funeral in the Bathroom and other School Bathroom Poems by Kalli Dakos

    • The Monstrous Book of Monsters by Libby Hamilton

    • Sidekicks by Dan Santat

    • Squish #1: Super Amoeba by Jennifer and Matthew Holm

    Finalists for 5th-6th Grade Book of the Year are:

    • Bad Island by Doug TenNapel

    • How to Survive Anything by Rachel Buchholz

    • Lost & Found by Shaun Tan

    • Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt

    • Racing in the Rain: My Life as a Dog by Garth Stein

    For more about Children’s Book Week…

    To vote …

     



  • Subscribe!

    Get email updates:

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

Boys vs Girls vs Boys vs Girls

Sep 19, 2011
Book Lists

I had planned on writing this post way back in July – seems like a long time ago while simultaneously feeling like yesterday. Coincidentally, a discussion regarding the topic of “Writing for boys or girls” popped up on Twitter recently, you can find the transcript here http://mglitchat.blogspot.com/2011/08/august-18th-transcript-writing-for-boys.html , so the timing is right on.

Does it matter to the Middle Grade reader if the book is targeted for boys or girls? Should an author beginning a new novel take gender into consideration?

An author/teacher tweeted the following:

@jmaschari I am very reluctant to classify any book to my students as a “boy” book or “girl” book – really limits audience + puts stigma.

Of course there are topics that one gender would pickup more often than the others, as well as books specifically geared toward boys or girls.

THE DOUBLE-DARING BOOK FOR GIRLS AndreaJ. Buchanan (Author), MiriamPeskowitz (Author) 

   THE BOY’S BOOK OF SURVIVAL Scholastic (Author)

 

 

 

 

 

Also, some books are targeted to a gender by its cover.

THE MAP OF ME TamiLewis Brown (Author)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some other stereotypes:

Boys want action

Girls want quiet

Boys want boogers

Girls want mucus

Boy want pranks

Girls want drama

Boys want grime

Girls want love

Here are a couple of books that have broken certain stereotypes:

Boys want boy protagonist – Than explain this…

THE ANGEL EXPERIMENT (Maximum Ride, Book 1) JamesPatterson (Author)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Girls want girl protagonist – Then explain this…

HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE J.K.Rowling (Author), Mary GrandPré (Illustrator)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fellow Mixed-Up File Member and potential genius Kurtis Scaletta tweeted – @mudmamba: If you ever say “boys like” or” girls like”… you are ALREADY WRONG. No matter what comes next.

I think this statement would have carried more weight had Kurtis not followed this tweet with: My favorite kind of jam is made from “toe” – I’m kidding, Kurtis would NEVER tweet that… :whispering: it was a direct message to me. I’m kidding! Really.

Here are some other books that break the mold:

SISTER’S GRIMM – The Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley (Author), Peter Ferguson (Author)

 

 

 

 

 

 

CRY OF THE ICEMARK by Stuart Hill (Author)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The discussion brought for forth some other great comments:

@timothypower67: MG books with something for everyone can’t go wrong!

@jmaschari: I always based my suggestions on knowing the reader- not their gender.

@kellybarnhill: Why are we still having conversations in which books are gender identified? Why? Books should BREAK barriers, not build them.

@AngelaAckerman I think this is why covers are so critical–they need to appeal to boys and girls. Of course, @AngelaAckerman followed this brilliant comment up with Oh dear, washing machine is making angry noises…brb – And I’m NOT kidding this time!

To summerize… turn the heat up, lather on some suntan lotion, lay back on a lounge chair with an icy drink and a cool pair of sunglasses.

OH… WAIT… I’ll mean summarize this way…

It really all comes down to the individual, not all boys like one thing, nor do all girls like another. A good book will attract both. Let’s let the reader decide. No?

Thoughts? And if you have any book recommendations that break the stereotype, please give them a mention

Written by: Brian Kell on September 19, 2011.
18 Comments
Tags ,

9 Comments

  1. Jennifer Nielsen  •  Sep 19, 2011 @9:46 am

    I think @jmaschari has it exactly right – target a reader, not a gender. Really interesting, thoughtful post. Great job!

    Brian Kell Reply:
    September 20th, 2011 at 7:50 am

    @Jennifer Nielsen, Well… @jmaschari has it right… but lets not give her THAT much credit. ;-) Thanks!

  2. Elissa Cruz  •  Sep 19, 2011 @1:05 pm

    You know, I have a boy. And he likes boogers and action and funny adventure books. But he also loves Ingrid Law’s Savvy. You know, that book with a *gasp* GIRL as the main character? My husband (also a boy) loved Ingrid’s book, too. And now my younger boys are itching to get their hands on that book.

    So thanks for continuing this conversation, Brian. And thanks from all of us at the #MGlitchat blog for linking to the transcript.

    Brian Kell Reply:
    September 20th, 2011 at 7:51 am

    @Elissa Cruz, I… *sniff* I… *sniff, sniff* don’t have a boy. 4 girls, don’t you know. But I read and loved SAVVY. As well as the sequel SCUMBLE.

    You’re most welcome.

  3. Cathe Olson  •  Sep 19, 2011 @6:34 pm

    I also hate those boy/girl stereotypes. I remember when my older daughter was in 4th grade said to me one day, “I’m surprised how much I love math because in books, girls always hate math.” Arg! It was like she thought something was wrong with her because she liked math!

    Brian Kell Reply:
    September 20th, 2011 at 7:52 am

    @Cathe Olson, My second grade daughter’s favorite subject is math… and my 17 year old just told me the other day that she might like to teach Algebra for a living. They don’t get that from me!

  4. Laura M.  •  Sep 19, 2011 @7:39 pm

    I agree that you shouldn’t stereotype, but having taught 3rd and 4th grade for 20 years most boys will not choose to read a book with a girl main character. They might enjoy a girl centered book as a read aloud, but seldom pick one up on their own. It is much more common for a girl to pick up a book with a boy main character. I find myself reluctant to purchase a lot of books with girl main characters because they don’t get read as much. I’m more likely to buy books with girl & boy main characters, animal main characters, or boy main characters.

    Brian Kell Reply:
    September 20th, 2011 at 7:54 am

    @Laura M., This is not surprising… I was basically the same way growing up… didn’t want to get teased for reading a ‘girlie’ book. Sad because there are SO many great books with girl protags!

  5. Rosanne Parry  •  Sep 20, 2011 @12:27 am

    Here are some books with a girl main character that I’ve found boys open to reading.
    When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
    Wrinkle in Time by Madelaine L’Engle
    Julie of the Wolves by Jean Criaghead George
    Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
    Island of the Blue Dolfins by Scott O’Dell
    Savvy by Ingrid Law
    Operation Yes by Sara Lewis Holmes
    The Jackie Faber series
    The Judy Moody series
    The Leviathan series
    Graceling
    and The Hunger Games

    Many books with a group of kids or siblings work equally well for girls and boys. I’d include the Narnia books, Harry Potter, and Percy Jackson in this category.

    Brian Kell Reply:
    September 20th, 2011 at 7:55 am

    @Rosanne Parry, Great list… a few on there I haven’t even read. Thanks!

  6. Ms. Yingling  •  Sep 20, 2011 @5:06 am

    As much as I don’t want it to be true, boys ARE less likely to pick up books with girls on the cover. I see it dozens of times a day. That said, I can convince boys to read Alanna, Julie of the Wolves, and most other titles. There do need to be more action books and funny books for middle grade students. Too many of them are books that middle aged women teachers like, and those are NOT the books that my middle school students prefer! Denying that there are differences doesn’t help get good books to students.

    Brian Kell Reply:
    September 20th, 2011 at 7:58 am

    @Ms. Yingling, Makes you wonder why publishers don’t avoid a “girl-type” of cover if they feel the book may be of interest to boys.

    Thanks for the comment!

  7. PragmaticMom  •  Sep 20, 2011 @9:05 pm

    I think kids want to see themselves in the books. Girls want to read about a girl character and boys the same. Ensemble characters work really well like in the Harry Potter series. My daughters identified with Hermione who is a great, strong girl character.

    Same for Percy Jackson series. Great strong girl characters too!

    If you are writing a middle grade book, consider having a cast of central characters that cover both genders if you want the widest appeal.

    Of course, a well written book will transcend gender, but sometimes an adult has to “make” the child give the book a chance.

    Brian Kell Reply:
    September 21st, 2011 at 10:28 am

    @PragmaticMom, Great thoughts and well put! Thanks!

  8. Shoshana  •  Sep 21, 2011 @9:09 pm

    Graceling definitely breaks the protagonist rule, and so does the wildly popular The Hunger Games. I’ve found as a bookseller that although some kids do follow (or maybe feel they have to follow) that rule and others, it’s adults selecting books for them who tend to think gendered reading rules are set in stone.

    Brian Kell Reply:
    September 22nd, 2011 at 11:47 am

    @Shoshana, I read both of those books… both were GREAT! Adults are the worst… you know?

  9. Dianna Winget  •  Sep 22, 2011 @11:37 am

    What an intriguing topic. My MG stories almost always feature girl main characters because I’m female and love to write about girls. But guess what? My very favorite book from childhood is “Where the Red Fern Grows.” All about a young boy. . . a coon hunter no less. Go figure.

    Brian Kell Reply:
    September 22nd, 2011 at 11:49 am

    @Dianna Winget, I have a hard time writing female characters, too… and I have FOUR daughters. I just always think I’m getting wrong. And that’s crazy… a man not getting a female’s emotions right. Pah-lease!

    Thanks for the comment!