A Lover is a Star!

I read "Oliver Button is a Sissy" by Tomie DePaola to my 1st and 2nd grade tutees last week. It's the story of a little boy who loves to dance and play with paper dolls, which leads to a lot of chagrin on the part of his parents and belittling from his classmates, who label him a sissy. Afterward, my little rapscallions and I had a very rich discussion about gender stereotypes and accepting people as they are, and I felt so proud of how wise these kids are! They were saying things like, "It's not only girls who like the color pink. I love pink!" and "It's okay to be a tomboy or a sissy. People can be anything they want to be." This is one child's response to the book:

Left side: "A lover (Oliver) is a star! I like when a lover was a star and he was got so so Happy and I like when he got so so so so so so so so Happy!"

Right side: "I like when he was Tap Danceing and he got a complent and he was so so so Happy at himself!"

I think she liked it!