Bill's New Frock

One day ten year old Bill wakes up to find his mum insists on dressing him in a bright pink dress - and then everyone treats him as if he were a girl. It's a rude awakening to the gendered reality of home and school life.

Anne Fine - once the children's laureate - unearths some pretty profound issues in the differences that girls and boys experience in daily life. My five year old daughter - who is no pink dress wearer herself - loved the story, and we had a great time discussing the stereotypical assumptions that confronted Bill (and that she meets at school too) but the book is ideally suited for 7-10 year olds.

It's fantastic that a book on this theme is so accessible for children. I recommend it highly - but I hold back the top rating and give it 4 out of 5 only because the end of the story is a bit of a let down and it's not obvious how the experience changes Bill once he returns to being a boy. It was also made into a one-off TV drama which is on You Tube - see the link below.