Many reviewers say this book is especially good for boys. Let's take a look at what is "good for boys":

Sisters are only concerned with shopping, clothes, looking and smelling pretty; always ridiculing Kit (male), calling him names, etc. Mother and (female) teacher always punishing Kit. When Kit gets in trouble in class, the school principal (male) decides not to punish him, encourages him instead to draw, and teaches Kit an important life lesson. Dad buys new pet fish when Kit and Arnold (friend) kill one belonging to sisters, thus saving the boys from sisters' wrath; mom grounds Kit and Arnold for a week. Dad negotiates with Arnold's parents and drives Arnold home when he tries to run away; mom screams at Kit and threatens him with jail. Mom and sisters drawn to look exactly the same. Dad, Kit and Arnold drawn with different features. All female characters drawn angry, screaming, with huge mouths full of sharp, pointed teeth. Kit draws sisters as monsters. Kit cooperates with token school bully (male) to make him a better comedian, thus the school bully ceases to bully and all boys become friends. All males have personality traits, interests, talents, hobbies, activities. Sisters never make friends or do anything except walk around in pairs, either picking on Kit, or complimenting each other and their mother, whose only activities are shopping and cooking for family. There are no other girls in story. Mom calls sisters her "lovely smelling babies", sisters call her their "beautiful mommy". One sister is quoted as saying, "Beautiful girls are never lonely".

These are the kinds of things that teach boys and girls how to be boys and girls, how they appear to others, and what they can be when they grow up. And this is just one 100-pg example of why girls grow up with poor self-image, overly concerned with superficial aspects of themselves and others, while boys grow up with individuality, belief in their ability to impact their universe, encouraged to be cooperative with and supportive of other males, but sexist and hostile toward girls and women, whose only function is to look nice for the purpose of finding companionship so that they may someday have, feed, and school children (even though they are scary, dominating and mean toward boys).

An aside: boys identify with monkeys, who chase after large bananas. Huh.

I am disturbed reviewers are recommending this for K-3. Call me old-fashioned, but in this house, we did alright with A.A. Milne, Beatrix Potter, and Dr. Seuss. Nothing in this book is "good for boys" or girls, because boys and girls grow up to be men and women-- and I'd rather men and women get along with each other. ( )

Review by Courtney Jones. The
Booklist. Chicago: Sep 1, 2009.
Vol. 106, Iss. 1; pg. 90
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