Girl Books and Boy Books

I work in a small, independent bookstore and part of the job is being able to recommend books to customers based on what they are looking for. Most of the time this is a really fun part of the job. “I’m looking for a beach read.” Well, have you read Where’d You Go, Bernadette?

“I’m traveling to India and would like to read about about it.” What about Shantaram? It’s set in Mumbai. “I’m buying a present for a friend who really liked Night Circus.” What about The Golem and The Jinni. It’s really fun matching books to people, helping them to find books that they will love.

There are two requests, however, that I dread; it’s not because they are hard requests, but because of the underlying social issue that lies behind them. When customers are looking for juvenile fiction books they often request a “boy” book or a “girl” book. This was terminology that I hadn't heard until I started working in the book industry, I had no idea that most kids books fell into these two categories.  Geronimo Stilton books are boy books while Thea Stilton books are girl books; My Side of the Mountain is a boy book and Island of the Blue Dolphins; Harry Potter books are boy books (this claim left me speechless) and Emily Windsnap books are girl books. These were all distinctions I have heard from customers, and, not only did they baffle me, they made me uncomfortable.

Growing up there was no such thing as girl books, that I could read, and boy books, which I couldn't. I read everything from Hatchet to Ella Enchanted, Redwall to The Witch of Blackbird Pond, and I think that it was a very beneficial experience. It makes me very sad to think that there is a little girl being denied the experience of My Side of the Mountain, or a little boy who can’t experience Island of the Blue Dolphins. Both books teach important lessons like independence and self-reliance, so I have to wonder why one is for boys and one is for girls.

This genderization of children's literature worries me because it sends the message that girls should be taught different lessons than boys and that seems very sexist to me. I feel that it would be very beneficial for little girls to learn about the self reliance in Hatchet, and for little boys to learn about the friendship and kindness that can be learned from Emily Windsnap. These lessons are universal, for both boys and girls, as are the books that teach them.

And to those who have told me that the Harry Potter books are boy books: I would like to remind you that the only character to consistently have their act together through all seven books was Hermione Granger, a girl. If that self reliance, bravery, and kindness isn't a lesson that all children should learn, than I don’t know what is.