Pink Is for Boys

by Robb Pearlman, Eda Kaban (Illustrator)

Overview

An empowering and educational picture book by a New York Times bestselling author, proving that colors are for everyone, regardless of gender.

Pink is for boys . . . and girls . . . and everyone! This timely and beautiful picture book rethinks and reframes the stereotypical blue/pink gender binary and empowers kids and their grown-ups to express themselves in every color of the rainbow. Featuring a diverse group of relatable characters, Pink Is for Boys invites and encourages all children to enjoy colors in everything they love to do, whether it's racing cars and playing baseball, or loving unicorns and dressing up. Vibrant illustrations help children learn and identify the colors that surround them every day, from the orange of a popsicle, to the green of a grassy field, all the way up to the wonder of a multicolored rainbow.

Parents and kids will delight in Robb Pearlman's sweet, simple script, as well as its powerful message: life is not color-coded.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762462476
Publisher:	Running Press Book Publishers
Publication date:	06/05/2018
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	9.40(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Robb Pearlman is a New York Times bestselling author of many books, including The Office: A Day at Dunder Mifflin Elementary, Bob Ross and Peapod the Squirrel, Groundhog's Day Off, Passover Is Here, and others. He grew up in New York City and now lives in New Jersey with his husband.

Eda Kaban has illustrated many popular books for children, including Pirates Don't Go to Kindergarten, Even Superheroes Have Bad Days, and Robb Pearlman's Pink Is For Boys. Born and raised in Turkey, Eda now lives in Oakland, California, with her husband, small son, and two Siamese cats.

Editorial Reviews

03/26/2018
To whom does a color belong? Pearlman (Groundhog’s Day Off) invites readers to think about this question gender-agnostically. “Pink is for boys,” he writes. “And girls. And bows on fancy clothes.” A bow, of course, could be a snappy bow tie on a dress shirt, or a big bow on a party dress. Nine more colors follow, with the boy-and-girl order flipped each time (“Green is for girls. And boys.”) But except for an evocative acknowledgement that everyone owns the color orange in the form of “popsicles dribbling down sticky chins,” the narrative sags after the opening salvo against traditional binary thinking and opts for predictable pairings (yellow is for paper crowns, brown is for teddy bears, and boys and girls have access to both). Happily, Kaban’s (Old MacDonald Had a Truck) illustrations, resembling 1960s animation, create an inviting, kinetic world. Her characters are bundles of mischievous, untrammeled energy, with mouths wide open in expressions of infectious and very toothy joy, as if using their inside voices—or paying attention to any admonition from an adult—is the furthest thing from their minds. Ages 4–8. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"[C]haracters are bundles of mischievous, untrammeled energy, with mouths wide open in expressions of infectious and very toothy joy."—Publishers Weekly

"The message doesn't just drive but serves as the whole vehicle for this manifesto against linking gender with particular colors. As a component in a gender-centric storytime, this has a role."—- Booklist

From the Publisher

06/01/2018
PreS-Gr 1—It starts with "Pink is for boys. And girls. And bows on fancy clothes." So the structure of the book begins with a color for girls and boys on one page followed by another thing it's good for on the next. Each duo is its own vignette. Blue baseball uniforms, yellow crowns, green grass, orange Popsicles, purple unicorns ("because…unicorns!"), etc. It is all summed up on the second-to-last page, "And all the colors are for EVERYONE. Girls and boys." The illustrations are an integral part of the reading experience as they perfectly set the scene for each color be it on the ball field, race track, park, or fancy dance. They depict a reccurring cast of characters; the kids are all joyously engaged within each scene. Kaban uses a mix of saturated color and white space to good effect and easily shows a myriad of activities. VERDICT A good choice for opening discussion about color stereotypes, but one that ultimately undermines its message by equating "boys and girls" with "everyone," and failing to recognize nonbinary children. An additional purchase for most libraries.—Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH

School Library Journal

2018-03-04
Pink, blue, yellow, and orange—all colors that are for boys, girls, popsicles, and unicorns.With simple text and vibrant illustrations of racially diverse children playing together, this book introduces 10 colors "for boys. And girls." For each new color, Pearlman shares an example of where to find the color: on sports uniforms, crowns, race cars, and teddy bears. Each color is presented in simple, repetitive text on verso (alternating which gender as specified first) with a vignette on recto and then on the next, full-bleed double-page spread. Kaban's illustrations of children dancing, running, and flying on winged unicorns add an element of liveliness to keep the repetition from turning stale. Colored type that corresponds with the name of each introduced color encourages young readers to participate in the story. Although the book shares the message that "all colors are for everyone," the lead-up to this conclusion perpetuates the notion that gender is binary. The statement that "PINK [or blue, yellow, etc.] is for boys. And girls" leaves out anyone who might not fit those categories until the end. Even the examples for pink and blue reinforce stereotypical associations for the colors, since pink is for "bows on fancy clothes" and blue is for "uniforms on a team." For a book that aims at inclusiveness, this one misses the bull's-eye.In this picture book, pink may be for boys, but colors are still not quite for everyone. (Picture book. 3-5)

Kirkus Reviews