“Fred gets dressed”: the youth album that puts gender stereotypes in the closet

What kid hasn’t ever wanted to try on his parents’ clothes to see what it feels like to be tall? Limp on the shoes of giants, get lost in a shirt that becomes a dress, wear a bra like a belt or rummage through make-up bags, jewelry, scarves, ties …

While dressing up is an activity often encouraged by young and old alike, things get tough as soon as the gender issue comes to the fore.. “Girls don’t wear a tie”, “You can’t wear that dress, because you’re a boy”, “Only girls wear makeup”, “You’re ridiculous like that, the whole world will laugh at you”: despite the evolution of mentalities and of society, The curiosity of childhood still too often collides with the boxes in which we want to keep them. And firmly anchored taboos.

Breaking down the barriers related to gender stereotypes

With the super album of youth Fred gets dressed – recently published by Kaléidoscope -, the American illustrator Pietro Marrone explodes with kindness and humor barriers related to gender stereotypes. The hero of this children’s book, for children aged 4 and up, is a child who loves to fool around the house naked, twirling and jumping from his bedroom to the living room. Intrigued by his parents’ dressing room, he ventures there and discovers a bunch of adult clothes. What if he enjoyed dressing up like dad? He sets his sights on shirt, tie and shoes. But the set does not suit him at all. Then she looks at her mother’s clothes and chooses a nice tunic, scarf and heels. Fred feels good this way and decides to complete his tests by rummaging in the toilet. As they struggle to understand how lipstick works, his parents discover him, a pearl necklace around his neck, covered in makeup.

And we can’t help but be fans of their reaction: not only does his mother show him how to dress and make up, but the whole family, even the dog, ends up getting caught up in the game of disguise, in good spirits. To create this album, the illustrator relied on his childhood marked by the freedom and unconditional love instilled in him by his parents..

We love the simplicity of this story, the mischievous tenderness that underlies its plot and, of course, the tenor of the message: let the children discover and play freely with the codes of the genre! Finally, the author’s round and colorful graphic universe is a feast for the eyes. In short, a must in the youth section.

Fred gets dressed, by Peter Brown at Kaléidoscope, 48 pages, € 13.50. From 4 years old