Dresses that show windows to other worlds. Beautiful dresses hung with crystals or created out of the petals of lilies and roses.
It's nighttime once again and you know what Bailey's dreaming about? Dresses. Yet if there is room on a library's shelves for books for kids who want to be pilots, want to be gymnasts, and want to be president, how much more specialized is it to carry a book where kids want to wear dresses? Particularly boy-type kids? A need has now been filled. And I know too that 10,000 Dresses could be seen as a picture book catering to only a very specific situation as a result. I know that there are boys out there who like to wear dresses, and I know that there are other kids out there who would find the practice strange and an excuse to be mean.
I think of this article when I think of Marcus Ewart and Rex Ray's 10,000 Dresses. It was a supportive article, one that could easily have gone in another direction had the child had less open and accepting parents.
In the end they talked it over with the school, then coached their son on how to deal with kids who made fun of him for his choices. They didn't mind it in the home, but when he wanted to start wearing dresses to school the parental units weren't sure how to handle the situation. The boy liked wearing dresses, and pretty much preferred to wear them all the time. It was a true story of two parents trying to figure out how to deal with their young son. However, a year or so ago this periodical carried a story I hadn't really heard before. This gorgeous picture book-a modern fairy tale about becoming the person you feel you are inside-will delight people of all ages.For all intents and purposes Cookie magazine is not the kind of publication I read regularly (in that I make less that $250,000 a year). In friendship, the two of them begin making dresses together. "You shouldn't be thinking about dresses at all." Then Bailey meets Laurel, an older girl who is touched and inspired by Bailey's imagination and courage. "You're a BOY!" Mother and Father tell Bailey. Unfortunately, when Bailey's awake, no one wants to hear about these beautiful dreams. Publisher's synopsis: Every night, Bailey dreams about magical dresses: dresses made of crystals and rainbows, dresses made of flowers, dresses made of windows. Published by Seven Stories Press on January 4th 2008
Ewert also earns credit by consistently using the correct pronouns for Bailey from the beginning - making it all the more surprising for youth hearing the story when Bailey’s parents don’t believe her when she reminds them that she’s a girl. Author Marcus Ewert paints Bailey as a sympathetic figure through her honest requests for help to simply access pieces of clothing that make her feel special. Bailey’s story and eventual victory are great jumping off points for conversations about gender identity.
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