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LISA'S REVIEW OF THE PANTS PROJECT
I was pleased to see this book in the
Middle School age group. It's a good age group for introducing
children to differences in others. Not all children in this age
group will be open minded enough for this book (nor will their
parents), but it would be a welcome sight to see in the local school
library for the children who are interested in learning. If the book
prevents even 1 act of cruelty, that's a good thing.
I enjoyed reading this book. All
of the characters were well developed and readers have a sense of who
each character is, and what their expected behavior, is. The
books portrayal of children in this age range seemed realistic. The
friends you can count on, the bullies, the friends you lose along the
way. The book is strongly family oriented with a strong, loving
family bond.
The story is about a transgender
student, who identifies as a boy, starting Middle School and facing a
strict , outdated, gender based dress code. The story follows Liv in
his struggle of standing up to the school against the outdated dress
code. It also shows the problems children face with self-acceptance,
gender identity, and bullying by other students. I was glad the
author included that Liv had to learn when to let old friends go.
Sometimes the person is too hurtful for the friendship to survive.
Sometimes your own happiness means more, it should!
The book helps to convey that the
important things in life are self-acceptance, self-esteem and not
being ashamed of who you are. It also encourages acceptance of
others.
I can't completely encourage openness
concerning issues faced by LGBT persons in small town America, the
risks remain too great. The day of full awareness and acceptance is
not here, but some day...... until that day, this book and others
like it do a wonderful job of opening children's eyes to differences,
hurtful behaviors and the acts of cruelty committed against peers.
This is an excellent book and it should
be available to those children mature enough to read it. I hope to
see more books like this coming out in the near future. What is
always forced to be hidden, will always be shamed. What is never
discussed, will always be feared.
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