Books allow me to transcend my own experience of the world. In reading, I can assume the skin of people, places, times, and events that I’ll never otherwise inhabit. They make me feel more part of the world and more human.
How has reading shaped you? Blogger/teacher/parent Pernille Ripp why she believes children should be exposed to all kinds of books…
I get asked for a lot of book recommendations, I think it comes with the territory when you share the love of books. And while I love pairing books with potential readers, I have also noticed a pattern that causes me to pause, that should cause all of us to pause.
I get asked for a lot of books featuring male lead characters for male readers.
When I ask why the need for a male lead, I am often told that “they” just don’t think a boy will read a “girl book.” That a boy will not like a book about feelings. That a boy only wants books that have action. That have other boys in it. That feature characters that look just like them or at the very least think like them.
Happiness Between Tails blog/podcast speaks to and from the heart. It connects lovers — of pets, authors, reading — and of my still-unreleased novels. “Flamenco + the Sitting Cat” and “Tango + the Sitting Cat,” are my love letters to all who fear they're too odd, too damaged, too old, too whatever to find love and happiness with or without a partner. HappinessBetweenTails.com • ContactdaAL@gmail.com • BuyMeACoffee.com/SupportHBT
View all posts by da-AL
7 thoughts on “On Boy Books and Girl Books by Pernille Ripp”
let the days do what they want And if the judge ruled the same Do not be alarmed by the incident of nights What the world’s survival accidents Be clear about the patient’s patience And your name is tolerance and fulfillment
God, I forget the owner of Mansani if long gone and lost his surroundings stay with me between my heart and my eyes and the soul of the creatures Mghalih and sang about his condition Bnasf Sinini and rest of Lazant and the rest of his nights
I agree with Pernille, we should let the kids find out about different things. When they are toddlers, they get the same goodnight stories, don’t they? And the same fairytales, which can be quite brutal at times. At least the good always prevails in the end … 😉 … we don’t need more separation.
My mother tried to only give me girly books, but I read all the adventure stories that my brother got, among others the Hornblower series and pirate books and all the Karl May stories, and even secretly some books that my parents had forbidden me to read because there was too much cruelty in them.
We are all mixed persons. How boring would it be, if there were only Kens and Barbies …
I think Pernille is right. We have been reading to our children since early childhood. We did not make any difference between boys and girls books. As a result, their own reading behavior has developed.
And I too always have inspiration from books. As a kid I thought, I did not understand math. But then as adult I found the books of Marcus du Sautoy about the language of mathematics and about symmetry. Since then, I have a completely different approach to mathematics. Mathematics is in everything. A great experience!
Share the joy: click buttons and engage with us. *** Note: WordPress insists ‘likers’ sign in. ‘Commenters,’ fortunately, need not. My email: ContactdaAL@gmail.com Cancel reply
Happiness Between Tails by da-AL 
let the days do what they want And if the judge ruled the same Do not be alarmed by the incident of nights What the world’s survival accidents Be clear about the patient’s patience And your name is tolerance and fulfillment
LikeLiked by 1 person
God, I forget the owner of Mansani if long gone and lost his surroundings stay with me between my heart and my eyes and the soul of the creatures Mghalih and sang about his condition Bnasf Sinini and rest of Lazant and the rest of his nights
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLike
I agree with Pernille, we should let the kids find out about different things. When they are toddlers, they get the same goodnight stories, don’t they? And the same fairytales, which can be quite brutal at times. At least the good always prevails in the end … 😉 … we don’t need more separation.
My mother tried to only give me girly books, but I read all the adventure stories that my brother got, among others the Hornblower series and pirate books and all the Karl May stories, and even secretly some books that my parents had forbidden me to read because there was too much cruelty in them.
We are all mixed persons. How boring would it be, if there were only Kens and Barbies …
LikeLiked by 1 person
indeed, that would be awful – I read anything that came by me, didn’t care what it was
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think Pernille is right. We have been reading to our children since early childhood. We did not make any difference between boys and girls books. As a result, their own reading behavior has developed.
And I too always have inspiration from books. As a kid I thought, I did not understand math. But then as adult I found the books of Marcus du Sautoy about the language of mathematics and about symmetry. Since then, I have a completely different approach to mathematics. Mathematics is in everything. A great experience!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ll have to check out du Sautoy 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person