My First Book of Feminism

by Julie Merberg, Michéle Brummer Everett (Illustrator)

Feminism begins at home—and My First Book of Feminism (for Boys) is where it begins!

Simple illustrations paired with engaging, rhyming text make the compelling, age appropriate argument that girls and boys are equal, plain and simple. Humorous, familiar scenarios are treated as teachable moments for very young boys (ages 0-3) who will ideally grow up without ever questioning women's equality. From "no means no," to "women's rights are human rights," important, grownup ideas are made clear and fun for young, impressionable minds. This is the book every mom should read to her son!

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Kids, Feminism, Nonfiction

20 pages, Board Book

First published November 6, 2018

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

So badly needed - this board book teaches very young boys that equality does not = weakness - plant that first seed in their young minds - wonderful art.

[Kathryn (Dragon Bite Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review originally published on my blog Nine Pages .

Feminism for boys! Very young boys! Or boys of all ages. And women who need reminders about these same principles. This is about respecting women as people, allowing space for their voices and ideas, and about unlearning the toxic masculinity both that says that boys can take advantage of girls and that tries to define what men and women should and should not do. It suggests some simple acts one can do to express one’s respect for oneself and for the women in one’s life. The illustrations, though sparing in color, using only the primary three, green, black, and white, seem to represent a more inclusive feminism too than is too often practiced, which I appreciate.

[Briony · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute book that encourages boys (and I would say Girls too) to seek their dreams and be a contributing member of society while being respectful to all.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

More books like this, please.

[Chinook · Rating 4 out of 5]

This worked just as well with two girls as the audience.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gag. Continuing the shrill cry of women who view themselves as victims with yet another edition of propaganda in the form of a board book. (Kind of ironic broad is an anagram of board.) Good luck to the future generation in finding a husband capable of providing for his family and fathering his kids. He'll be too busy wearing pink and marching for special privileges for nasty women. On the bright side, at least this book instructs young men not to pee on the toilet seat.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love everything about this book. Simple drawings and concepts in rhyme - all the wonderful lessons I want to teach my sons with the hope they will grow up to be respectful young men. Highly recommend!

[Earl]

A board book that explains in simple terms that everyone can be a feminists by just treating each other equally. It's in the big acts and the small gestures.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read. The perfect present for anyone expecting a little baby boy.

[Bronwyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a nice primer on feminism.

[Bethel Swift · Rating 5 out of 5]

The "F" word can be so intimidating to some but this little board book is such a great introduction to the concept! I love the intersectional approach, the perfect rhyme--none of which feels forced (and I know from experience how difficult that is to accomplish)--as well as the creative use of primary color illustrations. A fun and engaging first feminism read. I read this to 4-year-old boy/girl twins and the following day the boy pulled it out of the middle of our stack of 22 books to ask his father to read it to him. ♥️

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually really sweet and simple! My kid screamed at me as I read it because he wanted to read planet books instead- which is funny because the first line is “respecting your mom is the right thing to do, because she is a person” etc. But it’s great because it’s just like “hey, clean up after yourself! How ‘bout you lift the seat up when you pee? You can be anything! Be friends with people who are differ t from you! Women’s rights are human rights.”

[Zee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could give this book 8 stars. This should be in every household in America, I'm not even exaggerating. It's so uplifting and so simply debunks feminist myths and talks about what feminism is and why we should follow it in such a clear, understandable way. Absolutely the must- have book kids need these days.

[Nadia L. Hohn]

What a delightful little board book. This book works as one to encourage boys to be strong, creative, vulnerable, fair, socially-conscious, and aware of gender fairness. The illustrations are simple line drawings with basic colours. My only critique would be that the rhymes did not always have consistent rhythms. Otherwise, this book is very helpful, useful, and age-appropriate.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most adorable board book. Colorfully illustrated and narrated in rhyme, this book is so pure in it explanation of how boys can have feelings and like what they like. It teaches to be helpful and kind and are everyone as human. I cried because I’d never seen anything so entirely necessary presented so simply.

[Izzy Lorjuste · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was
1. Absolutely adorable
2. THE BEST THING TO EXIST FOR YOUNG BOYS EVER.

I'm very happy that this book exists and I hope it's read by more than just me. Teaching equal rights starts with the small, and it should include this book.

[Jillian Frasher · Rating 5 out of 5]

YASSSSS

[Kaley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute, unintimidating introduction to feminism for little boys.

[wildct2003 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good message.

[Kelly Mangan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this rhyming picture book. Simple but effective. I especially like the stuff about cleaning up after yourself, helping out around the house, and being kind.

[Dominique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic little book.

[Kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one rhymes nicely, starts strong. Really love the illustration of all the feelings boys can have- my boy wants me to describe them all on that page. However, it ends really weakly, rhyming "do you know why?" with "because women hold up half of the sky." Perhaps that's a catchphrase for feminists but it makes no sense at all for the literal preschool crowd. This book does a pretty good job being for actual boys rather than feminist parents of boys but there were still a few missteps like this.

[Meaghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

TOP-TIER!!

I KNOW this looks like it’ll be preachy, but it has a lot of great little suggestions (like BE CAREFUL WHEN PEEING!) and starts off strong with RESPECT YOUR MOM!! on the first page!!

I really like the weird little part-pen, part-blocks-of-color, layered drawings. And I known it’s a little gross, but I like how inanimate objects have smiles, like the toilet being peed in had a little smile 😂🤢 just as weird little details!

[Panda Incognito · Rating 2 out of 5]

This board book was not nearly as terrible as I expected, but it's still extremely preachy, and the text-heavy writing introduces lots of abstract concepts that aren't suited to the audience's comprehension level. This book is for parents, so that they can feel good about themselves, and isn't really for kids.

[emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Engaging rhyming text about equality and intention, paired with bright, simple, high contrast illustrations. Good for reading to babies, and up through toddlers and older. Iambic pentameter lends a lightness to text that could be seen as too heavy, but here reads empowering and sweet.

[Andrés · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very glad a book with this title and topic exists. I wish it was slightly more "show, don't tell," especially for younger audiences. It's fairly texty with some high level concepts that might need some context and explaining for littler ones.

[Sarah Mack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the worst feminist board book that there is but I do question why it is specifically for boys or indeed why it isn’t just called nice things that normal human beings do.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

List of don'ts meh

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice rhyme. Pictures are nice to look at. Some of the pages are fantastic, while others are kind of "throw aways". Not really a "story" as much as different examples of respect.

[Tra-Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Find a job that you’ll love heading off to each day.
Know the women you work with must earn equal pay.”

Good lord.