cover image As a Boy

As a Boy

Plan International. Second Story (Orca, dist.), $18.95 (24p) ISBN 978-1-77260-016-2

Themes of empathy and gender equality drive this contemplation of boyhood, created by not-for-profit organization Plan International. Photographs of children from around the world, labeled with the countries from which they originate, pair with a first-person narrative that touches on the pressures boys face (“As a boy, I will be told to be a man, to work, to fight, to be brave”) and the opportunities not always available to girls (“I will be able to go to school and learn each day... while my sisters must work and wish for an education... because they are ‘just’ girls”). Since no context is provided for these broad, thought-provoking statements, it will be up to parents and/or teachers to initiate deeper discussions of the concepts the book raises. Ages 5–9. (Sept.)