Pink Is for Boys

by Robb Pearlman, Eda Kaban (Illustrator)

An empowering and educational picture book that proves colors are for everyone, regardless of gender.

Pink is for boys . . . and girls . . . and everyone! This timely and beautiful picture book rethinks and reframes the stereotypical blue/pink gender binary and empowers kids-and their grown-ups-to express themselves in every color of the rainbow. Featuring a diverse group of relatable characters, Pink Is for Boys invites and encourages girls and boys to enjoy what they love to do, whether it's racing cars and playing baseball, or loving unicorns and dressing up. Vibrant illustrations help children learn and identify the myriad colors that surround them every day, from the orange of a popsicle, to the green of a grassy field, all the way up to the wonder of a multicolored rainbow.

Parents and kids will delight in Robb Pearlman's sweet, simple script, as well as its powerful message: life is not color-coded.

Genres: Picture Books, LGBT, Childrens, Gender, Storytime, Fiction, Banned Books

40 pages, Hardcover

First published June 5, 2018

Reviews

[Reads With Rachel]

In 2022 this book was removed from school library shelves in Duval County Florida for months while the county wasted time deciding if it was appropriate for children. This is a picture book about colors. And yet, somehow, it ended up pulled off shelves so people could determine if it was safe or not. It was eventually returned to shelves. After ten months. Ten months where children did not have the ability to do check this book out. For what?

Additionally in 2022 Protect Nebraska Children Coalition brought an extensive list of books to the Wauneta-Pallisade Public Schools board meeting and wanted the books removed from both the elementary and high school libraries. The list of more than 30 titles included Pink Is for Boys. The books were removed for evaluation.

Again: this is a picture book about colors. Gee, why would a coalition aimed at “protecting children” want a book about colors removed?

I read this to my kids. It’s a sweet children’s book with well done art that encourages kids not to deem certain colors for certain people. A lesson I have had to teach my own kids because people like these “protect children” coalitions are teaching their kids to bully boys who like pink and purple. I, for one, deeply approve of children’s books that encourage kids to love whatever colors they love and to not bully their peers.

[La Coccinelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this one. In some ways, I did. The text is simple and straight to the point, and the illustrations are very, very cute. Pink for girls and blue for boys is a fairly recent idea; before that, it was the other way around. I was looking forward to a book that smashes those gender conventions and lets kids know they can wear (and like) whatever colour they please.

But... when you have a book that's supposed to be about demolishing gender stereotypes, it's not great to see them reinforced within the first few pages! While there is diversity in ethnicity (many children of colour are represented) and abilities (there's a boy in a wheelchair), it's very much a Western representation of children. The very first colour (pink) has children of both genders dressing up in their fancy clothes... which, for every single girl on the pages, means a dress. To make matters worse, the next colour (blue) is implied as being for sports uniforms. So there's still a subconscious gender divide: pink is for "girly" activities like fancy dance parties, and blue is for "boyish" activities like sports. Maybe if the book hadn't started with those two colours, I wouldn't have noticed this issue as much as I did. But, once I saw it, I couldn't unsee it. That made me read the rest with a more jaded eye. While the girls do wear pants and shorts as casual clothes, any time they're dressed up, they're in a dress. Boys are always in bifurcated garments (so don't expect to see any kilts or sarongs here).

I guess this book is heading in the right direction. The illustrations are so cute that they kind of saved it for me. The overall message is nice, but I think things could've been shaken up even more to really shatter those gender stereotypes. When we get a book with a little boy in a bright pink sarong and a little girl in a fancy blue three-piece suit and a non-binary kid wearing whatever they choose simply because they like it, then we'll really have made some progress.

Quotable moment:

Pink is for boys.
And girls.

And bows
on fancy clothes.

Blue is for girls.
And boys.

And uniforms
on a team.

[Annie ⚜️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son's favorite color is red so when a red item, be it a shirt, soccer ball, thermos, what have you, is not available he chooses pink because he figures red and white make pink. So, I don't see a legitimate reason he can't choose pink. Well, it finally happened. He told me he didn't want the pink thermos because kids said pink's for girls. Well, I proceeded to teach him to use the word IGNORANT correctly and I picked up this book.

[Abigail · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of a new crop of picture-books attempting to dismantle rigidly gendered ideas about childhood play and identity - others titles include: Afsaneh Moradian's Jamie Is Jamie: A Book About Being Yourself and Playing Your Way , Airlie Anderson's Neither , and Sarah and Ian Hoffman's Jacob's New Dress - Pink Is for Boys pairs a simple, sing-song text highlighting the idea that various colors are for everyone, with artwork that is itself vibrantly colorful...

Although I appreciate the intention behind this one, agree with the idea that anyone can love pink (or blue!), and enjoyed the artwork by illustrator Eda Kaban, somehow Pink Is for Boys just wasn't as enjoyable for me as I would have liked it to be. Author Robb Pearlman's heart is clearly in the right place, but his text itself felt clunky, and sometimes a little random, like impressions strung together in a not-so-interesting way. It feels almost as if Pearlman had in idea, as embodied in the title, and then didn't really have anything else to add. Tastes vary of course, and I see that many other online reviewers loved this one. For my part, I'd recommend the Moradian or Hoffman titles (mentioned above) before this one, unless the reader is looking specifically for a story deconstructing the gendered use of pink and blue.

[Erin Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

The simplicity of this book is fantastic for all ages. Not only is the text on each page minimalistic, the pictures speak 1000 words. I love the diverse amount of characters within the illustrations and how inclusive they are. The book breaks away from the stereotypical 'blue is for boys' and 'pink is for girls' ideas. All colours are acceptable for everyone and the book reiterates that, I enjoyed it.

[Sarah]

A beautifully illustrated picture book about colours, emphasizing that pink, blue, orange, green and all of the colours are for everyone.

[Alice Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a brilliant book to challenge the classic stereotype that pink is for girls. The simple language makes it accessible for young children and we could discuss our favourite colours; creating a display of what we love and what makes us different.

With lower KS2 we could talk about how the media presents ‘girls and boys’ differently.

[Jillian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though I like the message this book sends about gender perception and not gendering neutral things like color, and enjoyed the simplicity of how it cheerfully presents it to kids, there is one thing bothering me which makes me question if I would share it. When I look at the illustrations of the diverse children throughout this book, there are two of them that have eyes that look noticeably different in shape from the roundness of all the rest - they have angled lines for eyes seemingly intending to refer to them being Asian children. Even when the others have closed eyes, they are more rounded in shape, not angled down straight. This bothers me enough to have noticed it and looked back at it, which means it's subtle enough to not send an obvious message, but obvious enough to send a subtle message. And that stereotypical representation is not one I would want to present to kids. I wonder if/hope that small detail can be changed. I would be interested to hear what others think after they see this book.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to @kidlitexchange #partner for a free review copy of this book. All opinions are my own!

Cheerful, fun illustrations complement the message of this picture book - that all the colors are for everyone. A diverse group of children explore great things in each color, some real and some imaginary. It's a quick read and can lead readers to a discussion about how boys and girls don't have to conform to societal expectations. My 2nd grade students loved this book, and were constantly thinking about ways all the colors went with different aspects of their lives. I think it's probably better geared towards K-1 classrooms, or even a good read-aloud for preschool children.

[Amy Brydon Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book after reading a bit about it, and I didn’t by any means hate it, although I did feel like more could have been done with the text. The message the book conveyed was brilliant but the writing could have been more descriptive. I did love how the book acts as a means to defy gender norms and especially norms such as colours which is such a common thing in primary school ( I have so heard so many children say ‘you’re a boy! You can’t wear pink!’) in this case though, I felt the illustrations told the story more then the writing itself. The illustrations are vibrant and bold and packed with emotion. Each illustration creeps onto the next page and this was one thing I loved about the book.

[⛅ Sunny (sunnysidereviews) ⛅ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a cute story! Love it!

[Kara Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish this book had been around when I was young. I remember so many people giving me grief because I liked a certain color. One time I colored a bunny purple and the whole girl scouts group was in a frenzy.

I loved the illustrations and that the colors were compared to things like animals, toys, etc. I recommend this to everyone!

[Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Isaac's visual interest 👀 (3 is top): untested
How good it is as a book for me to read aloud while breastfeeding 🍼 (3 is top): 🍼🍼

I adore this book and its art!

[Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simply told but still manages to convey a strong message that any reader can relate to. Takes color-based gender preconceptions and turns it on its head with fun text and vibrant illustrations.

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this right up until the end where it said “All colors are for EVERYONE.” and then followed it up with “Girls and boys.” It just felt a little exclusionary, almost like they were specifying that “everyone” was only referring to girls and boys, and that just rubbed me the wrong way. I’m not saying that was the intended meaning, it’s just the way it came off to me and what caused me to rate the way I did.

[Baby Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was originally written for The Baby Bookworm. Visit us for new picture books reviews daily!

Hello, friends! Our book today is Pink Is For Boys, written by Robb Pearlman and illustrated by Eda Kaban, a clever color book that also challenges the notion of gender-exclusive colors.

Pink is for boys AND girls. Blue is for girls AND boys. And orange, green, brown, purple? Both boys and girls can enjoy these too! Each page introduces the reader to a new color of the rainbow, then shows how boys and girls both enjoying it together, such as pink bow ties and dresses for a rollicking dance party, a blue baseball uniform for a co-ed team, red soapbox cars and purple unicorns (because UNICORNS). Because the truth is that all colors are for everyone, everywhere to share – everyone loves a rainbow.

Awesome! It’s always wonderful to see books that challenge gender norms and encourage kids to enjoy whatever colors or hobbies make them happy. And this one does a pretty wonderful job, showing not only boys and girls, but boys and girls of all skintones, shapes, and sizes participating in the fun. The illustrations are appropriately bursting with color, and filled with vivid, energetic scenes that have a carefree attitude fitting to the message. The length is great, and JJ loved both the colors and the children enjoying them. A great way to teach little ones that color is beautiful, especially when it lets you be yourself, express who you are, and enjoy the things you love to do. Baby Bookworm approved!

(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)

Be sure to check out The Baby Bookworm for more reviews!

[Kellee Moye · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son loves all the colors. Except, according to him, pink and purple. Where did this come from?! In my house, all colors are wonderful colors and girls and boys can like and do whatever they want, but he must have been told by someone ‘out there’ that pink and purple are girl colors, and Trent, wanting to be accepted, now felt he couldn’t like these colors. I try to counteract this notion in my house, but it is ‘out there’ that minds need to shift or I am fighting a battle so much bigger than I may be able to handle. When will we [general societal we] stop saying “You throw like a girl” as an insult or “Man up” as a way to tell kids to not cry?! I can teach my son to be a feminist, but until things like those stated above change, society will always be pushing against what I am teaching him at home.

Within the text, in addition to promoting the brilliance and beauty of all colors, I also truly appreciated how the characters were diverse in all aspects of the word and that the author purposefully rotated between girls and boys & boys and girls to show that neither deserves to go first.

Full review with dual review and teaching tools: http://www.unleashingreaders.com/?p=1...

[Patricia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read for Librarian Book Group
I was not a fan of this book and I can't really put my finger on why. Part of me is probably resistant because I find the idea that colors are associated with genders ridiculous and something that should probably go extinct and something about this book makes me think it's not helping. I enjoyed the style of the illustrations, but I found the text to be choppy. 

[BrookesEducationLibrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

We really like this book because it features the importance of acceptance, that colours are for everyone, regardless of gender, race and cultural expectations. The illustrations are beautiful and feel very whimsical.
I think we would have enjoyed the book itself if it flowed a little easier, it felt quite choppy to read aloud. Otherwise, well worth a read!

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book with good intentions that fails. This review says it better than I could: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Also, I don't like the caricature of the 'Asian' kid, with overbite, squint, and glasses.

[Robin]

I wanted to like this book, but the binary gender reinforcement bothered me in an otherwise strong picture book about combating gender roles.

[Leigh · Rating 1 out of 5]

All this book seems to do is enforce a binary. There are attempts at inclusivity that feel like tokenization.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, if simplistic. I like to think that we have progressed past the need for a book that says it’s okay for boys to like pink and girls to like blue, but maybe we haven’t.

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pink Is for Boys is a children's picture book written by Robb Pearlman and illustrated by Eda Kaban, which focus on a noble princess and a beautiful maiden come together and finds true love together.

Peralman's text is simplistic and straightforward. It is a book of colors and questions the stereotypical gender associations to them. Kaban's illustrations resemble 1960s animation, which create an inviting, kinetic world. Her characters are bundles of mischievous, untrammeled energy, with mouths wide open in expressions of infectious and joy.

The premise of the book is rather straightforward. It questions the gender-agnostically of colors as pink could be for both boys and girls, while blue could be for both girls and boys. Nine more colors follow, with the boy-and-girl order flipped each time. The narrative sags slightly after the opening salvo against traditional binary thinking and opts for predictable pairings.

All in all, Pink Is for Boys is wonderful children's book of the gender neutrality of colors.

[Harker · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea behind the title appealed to me, which is why I ordered this book for my son's Christmas gift. I read it ahead of time (can't resist a good picture book) and while I like it, I have to say that the execution lacks something that could've really made it special.

Being titled Pink for Boys, I would've thought that there would be more time spent on that and going outside the expected assigned binary colors, but I didn't see that except for a page or two in the beginning. There were more colors included and how they are for boys or girls, which was nice, but not really the point of the title was indicating, you know?

I'll have to read it again with my son come Christmas Day to further comment on the illustrations, but story wise, I was disappointed in how much adherence to the binary there was in a book that really seemed like it was going to be steering away from it.

[Nicole Pautler · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this book tried to promote inclusivity but did not quite achieve that goal. The portrayal of some of the ethnicities seemed to be exaggerated. The author did not include many people of color in the book. The author also did not have accurate representations of any cultures in the book. I would not say that this book promotes a positive or accurate representation of any people of color. There was not any addition of dialect in the book and the author made no effort to include any other languages besides English. With regards to the illustrations of the book, they did not portray an accurate representation of any person of color. The color of the students and the physical features of the students also were not accurate in the least. I would not say that any depiction was positive in this book besides their efforts to include a student with a disability. When talking about the accuracy of the information included in the book, I would not say it was accurate whatsoever. This book did not have the most progressive views. The book has a very binary attitude about it which is not promoting any other gender besides boy or girl. I would not say that this book could be used as a window or mirror into another culture or way of life. I do not think that students could accurately reflect on this book because it is not accurate to life as we know it. Overall, I would not say that this book should be shared with students. It does not allow their minds to grow and keeps up stereotypes that should be completely circulated out of our minds. It also shows a very binary view of life which may not be relatable to every student.

[Ange · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the concept of this book, it has beautiful illustrations and straightforward text which delivers its message that all colours are for both boys and girls, and indeed everyone. I like seeing different ethnicities and abilities represented, so enjoyed this overall. As some other reviews have said, more work could be put into making sure girls aren’t always in dresses and stereotypes of colours/gender associations with ‘girly’ activities and so called ‘girly’ colours etc could be improved on, but I think if we’re working to make colours genderless then why not reinforce that these activities are also genderless? I like this for my kids and will probably buy it for our collection ☺️

[Erin Homan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this story, the author does not direct it towards a specific culture or group. The book is for everyone and anyone, no matter your gender preference. The language is very easy to understand as it is extremely simple. The book does not only discuss color, it discusses other things being for both girls and boys. The illustrations are vibrant and full of each color or item that is mentioned. I also love that there are different representations of people throughout the pages of this story. It would be a great book to have in any elementary school classroom library as a reminder! Students will be able to find themselves in this book like a mirror, and the book allows a window to see that colors and such can be for whoever.

[Mrs Mommy Booknerd http://mrsmommybooknerd.blogspot.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much. I love that it celebrates girls and boys loving all colors and not assigning them to a gender. My son loves pink and purple and gets teased for it. I always tell him to love what you love and to never feel like you have to explain it to anyone. This books is an important message for young ones, early on in life, to aid in explaining that girls and boys can love all the colors because all the colors make up this bright beautiful world we live in! This book is bursting with gorgeous and colorful illustration and simple yet delightful text. A must for early childhood classroom and for home libraries.

[michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read to children 2-6 years old

The book's theme is that we can wear any color, allowing children to express themselves freely. I love how it uses relatable examples, such as comparing boys to race cars, and shows that it's perfectly fine for girls to like them, too. The message that life is not color-coded is an excellent concept.

I chose this book because of its theme and vibrant illustrations. It also includes activities children enjoy and often argue about, claiming they are for either boys or girls.