Dear Boy

PreS-Gr 1—This companion to Dear Girl, follows the same format of short motivational messages, this time addressing boys. The notes range from inspirational if somewhat cliched advice like "believe in yourself" and "give it your all," to moral guidance, urging the boys to "Be kind" and honest, and touching upon the importance of consent-- "Yes means yes. Anything else means no." Though the book attempts to celebrate cultural diversity and challenge stereotypical masculinity, such as suggesting that it's ok to play with trucks and dolls, or to feel sad, both the text and illustrations feature some problematic assumptions. "Make friends with girls." because "Believe it or not, girls are pretty awesome" implies that every boy must be persuaded of the value of girls. Similarly, the suggestion to "Find kids who are like you. Find kids who are unlike you," while a great sentiment, depicts the "like kids" as a white hockey team while the "unlike" ones are a diverse choir. As in the previous installment, Hatham's playful mixed media illustrations portray most of the boy addressees as black and white cartoons, perhaps unintentionally reinforcing whiteness as default blankness while relegating the diverse boys and girls of all skin and hair colors to secondary supportive roles.