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Boy oh Boy: From boys to men, be inspired by 30 coming-of-age stories of sportsmen, artists, politicians, educators and scientists
Meet 30 positive male role models from throughout history. From activists like Mahatma Gandhi and Frederick Douglass to creative innovators like Prince and David Hockney, these men have fought conventional stereotypes to prove that modern-day masculinity can be defined freely.
Instead of a single model of how a boy can grow into a man , this book offers 30 stories of people whose lives demonstrate that there are endless possibilities —that boys and men can do and be so much more than what we think of when we say things like “boys will be boys.”
Discover a world of inspirational change-makers , teachers , peacemakers , artists , scientists , and more who have defied the expectations , care deeply about others, stand up for what is right, and express themselves in creative and exciting ways.
Inspiring a new generation of boys:
David Hockney; Muhammad Ali; Nelson Mandela; Prince; Richard Loving; César Chávez; Thurgood Marshall; John Muir; Lebron James; Frederick Douglass; Patricio Manuel; Hayao Miyazaki; Oscar Wilde; Ta-Nehisi Coates; Ezra Jack Keats; Freddie Mercury; Grandmaster Flash; Luther Christman; Mahatma Gandhi; Bruce Lee; Carl Sagan; George Washington Carver; Jaime Escalante; Carlos Acosta; Bayard Rustin; Edward Enninful; John Dewey; Alfred Nobel; Kit Yan; and W.E.B. Du Bois.
Instead of a single model of how a boy can grow into a man , this book offers 30 stories of people whose lives demonstrate that there are endless possibilities —that boys and men can do and be so much more than what we think of when we say things like “boys will be boys.”
Discover a world of inspirational change-makers , teachers , peacemakers , artists , scientists , and more who have defied the expectations , care deeply about others, stand up for what is right, and express themselves in creative and exciting ways.
Inspiring a new generation of boys:
David Hockney; Muhammad Ali; Nelson Mandela; Prince; Richard Loving; César Chávez; Thurgood Marshall; John Muir; Lebron James; Frederick Douglass; Patricio Manuel; Hayao Miyazaki; Oscar Wilde; Ta-Nehisi Coates; Ezra Jack Keats; Freddie Mercury; Grandmaster Flash; Luther Christman; Mahatma Gandhi; Bruce Lee; Carl Sagan; George Washington Carver; Jaime Escalante; Carlos Acosta; Bayard Rustin; Edward Enninful; John Dewey; Alfred Nobel; Kit Yan; and W.E.B. Du Bois.
64 pages, Hardcover
Published April 2, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 9, 2021
4★
“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”
Frederick Douglass (1818-1895)
Man, oh man! This book covers a lot of different men–eras, ages, races, colours, ethnicities, LGBTI, and backgrounds. Then there are the different careers. They are all men who’ve made a mark in some way, whether it’s through activism, rising to the top of their field, or simply being a role model for what it is possible to achieve from a poor beginning.
Not all boys have appropriate role models in real life, so here are some men with whom they may identify in some way.
The illustrations are striking and bright – like a fiesta! – just the kind of thing that would catch a boy’s eye. I’ll share a few screenshots below, but first I’d like to include a section from the Author’s Note on the back cover which explains exactly what he set out to do.
“The phrase 'boys will be boys' has bothered me for a long time. I usually hear the phrase used when boys misbehave. We say 'boys will be boys' when boys and men act out, don’t listen or hurt others. We say it as if these behaviours are exactly what we should expect.
But we can expect more. Phrases like 'boys will be boys' set us up to think about boys in narrow and limited ways, so it is incredibly important for us to tell the stories of people who have defied those expectations. It is important that we tell the stories of boys and men who do things like care deeply about others, stand up for what is right, and express themselves in creative and exciting ways.“
I learned a lot about some very interesting men I’d never heard of, all of whom are listed in the publicity material. I didn’t remember that Richard Loving and his wife had to fight in 1967 to abolish the law that still made interracial marriage illegal in Virginia. 1967!
Richard Loving
The opening quotation was by Frederick Douglass who was enslaved as a boy with his parents and later separated from them. He eventually escaped slavery and became a preacher and an activist for both civil rights and equal rights. His is an interesting story. (Well, they all are.)
Frederick Douglass
To give you an idea of the variety and interesting juxtaposition of the men, the entry before Douglass is NBA basketball star LeBron James (whose foundation has raised a lot of money for causes and scholarships) and after him is transgender boxer Pat Manuel. So the boys are going to see all kinds of men, not just activists or scientists or artists.
Speaking of artists, here’s a famous, flamboyant poet/playwright who very much marched to the tune of his own drum. He was arrested and sent to prison to do hard labour for being gay. In 2017, the British government apologised. Of course, he’d died 117 years earlier, but I guess it’s the thought that counts! And the hope that it won’t happen today.
Oscar Wilde
The story of another great artist, a Cuban ballet dancer, is the reverse of the usual “Billy Elliot” dance story. He was the youngest of 11 kids, and the only way his father could find to feed him was to send him to a government ballet school. He ended up with the Royal Ballet and was awarded a CBE!
Carlos Acosta CBE
Next is a man who broke the stereotype of nurses. Born in Pennsylvania in 1915, he bucked the system and became a nurse, but the army wouldn’t let him join the nurse corps during WW2. He changed the face of nursing.
Luther Christman
And now, my personal favourite – a teacher! Jaime Escalante came from Bolivia with his wife and children. He had taught mathematics and physics, but he had no English when he arrived.
When he eventually became a teacher in Los Angeles, in 1982 he taught a group of underprivileged, mostly Latino students, so well in mathematics that they were suspected of cheating. They sat the test again and excelled. Nobody could believe these kids could be so smart!
Jaime Escalante, given the Medal of Excellence for Education by the President of the US
He gave them mathematics so they had a language to speak and skills for the future. The statement on the bottom of his page says:
“YOU DO NOT ENTER THE FUTURE – YOU CREATE THE FUTURE.
THE FUTURE IS CREATED THROUGH HARD WORK.”
His story was featured in the inspiring 1988 film "Stand and Deliver", for which Edward James Olmos won the Best Actor Oscar.
There are another two dozen worthy men in this book, and I recommend their stories!
I hope people make sure the boys in their lives see this book and inspire them to be the kind of men we admire – good men – in whatever walks of life they choose.
Thanks for the preview copy to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing who published this in April 2019.
#BoyOhBoy #NetGalley
“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”
Frederick Douglass (1818-1895)
Man, oh man! This book covers a lot of different men–eras, ages, races, colours, ethnicities, LGBTI, and backgrounds. Then there are the different careers. They are all men who’ve made a mark in some way, whether it’s through activism, rising to the top of their field, or simply being a role model for what it is possible to achieve from a poor beginning.
Not all boys have appropriate role models in real life, so here are some men with whom they may identify in some way.
The illustrations are striking and bright – like a fiesta! – just the kind of thing that would catch a boy’s eye. I’ll share a few screenshots below, but first I’d like to include a section from the Author’s Note on the back cover which explains exactly what he set out to do.
“The phrase 'boys will be boys' has bothered me for a long time. I usually hear the phrase used when boys misbehave. We say 'boys will be boys' when boys and men act out, don’t listen or hurt others. We say it as if these behaviours are exactly what we should expect.
But we can expect more. Phrases like 'boys will be boys' set us up to think about boys in narrow and limited ways, so it is incredibly important for us to tell the stories of people who have defied those expectations. It is important that we tell the stories of boys and men who do things like care deeply about others, stand up for what is right, and express themselves in creative and exciting ways.“
I learned a lot about some very interesting men I’d never heard of, all of whom are listed in the publicity material. I didn’t remember that Richard Loving and his wife had to fight in 1967 to abolish the law that still made interracial marriage illegal in Virginia. 1967!
Richard Loving
The opening quotation was by Frederick Douglass who was enslaved as a boy with his parents and later separated from them. He eventually escaped slavery and became a preacher and an activist for both civil rights and equal rights. His is an interesting story. (Well, they all are.)
Frederick Douglass
To give you an idea of the variety and interesting juxtaposition of the men, the entry before Douglass is NBA basketball star LeBron James (whose foundation has raised a lot of money for causes and scholarships) and after him is transgender boxer Pat Manuel. So the boys are going to see all kinds of men, not just activists or scientists or artists.
Speaking of artists, here’s a famous, flamboyant poet/playwright who very much marched to the tune of his own drum. He was arrested and sent to prison to do hard labour for being gay. In 2017, the British government apologised. Of course, he’d died 117 years earlier, but I guess it’s the thought that counts! And the hope that it won’t happen today.
Oscar Wilde
The story of another great artist, a Cuban ballet dancer, is the reverse of the usual “Billy Elliot” dance story. He was the youngest of 11 kids, and the only way his father could find to feed him was to send him to a government ballet school. He ended up with the Royal Ballet and was awarded a CBE!
Carlos Acosta CBE
Next is a man who broke the stereotype of nurses. Born in Pennsylvania in 1915, he bucked the system and became a nurse, but the army wouldn’t let him join the nurse corps during WW2. He changed the face of nursing.
Luther Christman
And now, my personal favourite – a teacher! Jaime Escalante came from Bolivia with his wife and children. He had taught mathematics and physics, but he had no English when he arrived.
When he eventually became a teacher in Los Angeles, in 1982 he taught a group of underprivileged, mostly Latino students, so well in mathematics that they were suspected of cheating. They sat the test again and excelled. Nobody could believe these kids could be so smart!
Jaime Escalante, given the Medal of Excellence for Education by the President of the US
He gave them mathematics so they had a language to speak and skills for the future. The statement on the bottom of his page says:
“YOU DO NOT ENTER THE FUTURE – YOU CREATE THE FUTURE.
THE FUTURE IS CREATED THROUGH HARD WORK.”
His story was featured in the inspiring 1988 film "Stand and Deliver", for which Edward James Olmos won the Best Actor Oscar.
There are another two dozen worthy men in this book, and I recommend their stories!
I hope people make sure the boys in their lives see this book and inspire them to be the kind of men we admire – good men – in whatever walks of life they choose.
Thanks for the preview copy to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing who published this in April 2019.
#BoyOhBoy #NetGalley
April 7, 2019
The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
"Boy Oh Boy" is a book that presented us the lives of 30 incredible men who weren't afraid to be who they were and fought for their dreams to come true.
This stories show us that there are endless possibilieties in life and that boys and men can do and be so much more than what we think of when we say things like “boys will be boys.”
The illustrations are beautiful and so colorful that glue your eyes to the pages.
The stories of these great men are really inspirational and can be helpfull for children and adults.
"Boy Oh Boy" is a book that presented us the lives of 30 incredible men who weren't afraid to be who they were and fought for their dreams to come true.
This stories show us that there are endless possibilieties in life and that boys and men can do and be so much more than what we think of when we say things like “boys will be boys.”
The illustrations are beautiful and so colorful that glue your eyes to the pages.
The stories of these great men are really inspirational and can be helpfull for children and adults.
October 26, 2019
Inhalt: In dem Buch werden 30 Männer vorgestellt, die Vorreiter waren, wenn es darum ging diese Welt zu einem besseren und gerechteren Ort zu machen. Dieses Buch will aufzeigen, dass es nicht nur ein gängiges Männerbild gibt, sondern viele Möglichkeiten ein Mann zu sein.
Altersempfehlung: ab 9 Jahre
Themen: Gleichberechtigung, Frieden, Aktivismus, gegen Rassismus
Mein Eindruck: Mir gefiel besonders, dass dieses Buch dazu inspirieren soll sich zu engagieren und das ein Mann auch ein Mann ist, wenn er nicht das Klischee eines Machos erfüllt. Das Buch ist sehr ansprechend aufgemacht - farbenfroh illustriert lädt es es ein, das Interesse nicht nur von Kindern zu wecken. Die Personen werden in einer Kurzbio vorgestellt und ihre besonderen Leistungen herausgestellt, abschließend gibt es immer ein Zitat. Die Personen sind bekannt oder hier eher unbekannt und stammen sowohl aus Wissenschaft, Kunst, Sport oder Musik. Jeder von ihnen hat sich verdient gemacht und um mehr Toleranz, Menschlichkeit und Gleichberechtigung zu werben. Das Buch macht Mut, für Überzeugungen einzustehen und die Augen nicht vor Ungerechtigkeiten zu verschließen, aber auch den eigenen Weg zu gehen, mag er auch Mut erfordern.
Wem empfehlen: Das Buch mag für Jungen geschrieben worden sein, aber ich glaube auch Mädchen können sich an den vorgestellten Personen orientieren und von ihnen lernen.
Altersempfehlung: ab 9 Jahre
Themen: Gleichberechtigung, Frieden, Aktivismus, gegen Rassismus
Mein Eindruck: Mir gefiel besonders, dass dieses Buch dazu inspirieren soll sich zu engagieren und das ein Mann auch ein Mann ist, wenn er nicht das Klischee eines Machos erfüllt. Das Buch ist sehr ansprechend aufgemacht - farbenfroh illustriert lädt es es ein, das Interesse nicht nur von Kindern zu wecken. Die Personen werden in einer Kurzbio vorgestellt und ihre besonderen Leistungen herausgestellt, abschließend gibt es immer ein Zitat. Die Personen sind bekannt oder hier eher unbekannt und stammen sowohl aus Wissenschaft, Kunst, Sport oder Musik. Jeder von ihnen hat sich verdient gemacht und um mehr Toleranz, Menschlichkeit und Gleichberechtigung zu werben. Das Buch macht Mut, für Überzeugungen einzustehen und die Augen nicht vor Ungerechtigkeiten zu verschließen, aber auch den eigenen Weg zu gehen, mag er auch Mut erfordern.
Wem empfehlen: Das Buch mag für Jungen geschrieben worden sein, aber ich glaube auch Mädchen können sich an den vorgestellten Personen orientieren und von ihnen lernen.
December 16, 2019
A bright, eye catching and simply illustrated book about 30 positive, inspirational male role models. This book explorers what inspired those within its pages and their achievements.
November 30, 2019
Cliff Leek selected a diverse group of men from all over the world to highlight in his collection of 30 mini biographies of heroic men. Even though they vary greatly in their passions, the uniting theme that they all had the courage to act on what they believe, even if they ended up in prison for their actions usually fighting against the current of expected behavior, makes them innovators, and revered leaders. Reading about their lives, each man had to struggle because of race, gender, poverty, or ideas so revolutionary that society shunned them. Some of the mini biographies I wasn't familiar with such as Kit Yan, Edward Enninful, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Grandmaster Flash, and Carlos Acosta. Reading their stories about how they communicated their strong messages through art will be empowering to young trail blazers of the future. The powerful illustrations by Bene Rohlmann with their rich color and bold design, and imagery match the leaders stories exquisitely. This title belongs in every elementary library. (less)
June 11, 2019
I love the current trend of books about strong females, but its about time there is also a collection of literature about strong, male historical figures! Although the book was written by a Dr., who is an assistant professor of sociology, there was no bibliography, which is why I didn't give it a full five stars. Otherwise, the book had a diverse list of men from different decades and gives a good, general summary of their lives. I also like how many of the figures, that were chosen, were not only known for what they excelled at, but also noticed for the work they accomplished in society.
April 18, 2019
This was a very decent and important but also very flawed book, that is destined for many a school library shelf. The introduction says it's railing against the 'boys will be boys' ethos, that lumbers the gender with one seeming destiny. You could also see it as counter to all those books of recent times about female pioneers, educators, scientists, thinkers, etc – making this the corrective against the corrective. Either way we get many potted biographies of people that have stood out and let their masculinity go against the grain, whether it be proving working class children can learn calculus so well their exam results were questioned in case of cheating, or marrying counter to state miscegenation laws. Some are definitely well-known, as we trawl from WEB du Bois to Carlos Acosta, many not. Some are only here for the liberal elite's bandwagon of the year, gender realignment.
The pictorial design is wonderful throughout, though, allowing space for the text, but always being appropriate, so we learn about Hayao Miyazaki as if his life was written on the back of a tourist board in a Japanese temple, and Grandmaster Flash appears to us on a slipmat. The biggest problem is that it's hugely USA-centric, with barely a quarter of the contents ever experiencing boyhood anywhere else. The only Scot, for example, is only here because he invented the idea of American National Parks. Still, from nurses to musicians, the book does still represent a bounty of worlds for its male readers to enter – and of course their sisters, too.
The pictorial design is wonderful throughout, though, allowing space for the text, but always being appropriate, so we learn about Hayao Miyazaki as if his life was written on the back of a tourist board in a Japanese temple, and Grandmaster Flash appears to us on a slipmat. The biggest problem is that it's hugely USA-centric, with barely a quarter of the contents ever experiencing boyhood anywhere else. The only Scot, for example, is only here because he invented the idea of American National Parks. Still, from nurses to musicians, the book does still represent a bounty of worlds for its male readers to enter – and of course their sisters, too.
April 28, 2019
I received an electronic ARC from Quarto Publishing Group through NetGalley.
Leek presents information on thirty men who don't fit the "boys will be boys" mold that is so destructive. Each has their own two-page spread with information about their life, a quote, and illustrations that bring them to life for younger readers.
The text takes the same format for each bio so readers will follow the pattern of information provided. The illustrations let the person leap off the page for readers to understand.
This book balances well with so many written about women in recent years.
Will definitely be purchasing for my library.
Leek presents information on thirty men who don't fit the "boys will be boys" mold that is so destructive. Each has their own two-page spread with information about their life, a quote, and illustrations that bring them to life for younger readers.
The text takes the same format for each bio so readers will follow the pattern of information provided. The illustrations let the person leap off the page for readers to understand.
This book balances well with so many written about women in recent years.
Will definitely be purchasing for my library.
Read
April 26, 2021Story about 30 different males that grew up to make a difference in society and a great way for students to see the ways they can make a change with what they do.
Lexile Level: 515 L
Grade level: 2-5
Lexile Level: 515 L
Grade level: 2-5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 27, 2019
Profiles 30 positive male role models. I enjoyed the quotes from each person.
January 12, 2020
3 stars - no index, no source material
Want to Read
March 12, 2020Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
Read
February 16, 2021read about some interesting dudes from history and from the present
February 14, 2024
Caddyshack three word review:
Fascinating, beautiful & bold
Fascinating, beautiful & bold
January 18, 2023
Fascinating book for children and adults. I have learned a lot from it and feel inspired to research the featured people. Thought inspiring and mind changing. I love the illustrations which are beautiful, bold and make the book a joy.
March 3, 2025
Came for the pictures, stayed for the content
April 22, 2019
This book is wonderful. First of all it is bright, well illustrated and eye catching which definitely appealed to my children. The book focuses on the lives of remarkable men from Nelson Mandela to Oscar Wilde and Freddie Mercury as well as some lesser known inspirational males. The text is quite short but packed full of information and I particularly liked the key inspirational quotes included.
Excellent book.
Excellent book.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews