La falda morada de Leo (Egalité)

by Irma Borges, Francesco Fagnani (Illustrator)

Leo loves to wear costumes: pirate, superhero, knight... he also likes to put on a lavender skirt, but the day he decided to go out with it, someone mistakes him for a girl. He gets very angry. Can't a boy play and put on a skirt? Years ago, girls weren�t allowed to wear pants... maybe this is the same.

A Leo le encanta disfrazarse. De pirata de superh�roe, de caballero... Tambi�n le gusta ponerse una faldilla lila, pero el d�a en que decidi� salir a la calle con ella, una se�ora mayor pens� que Leo era una ni�a y �l se enfad� mucho. �No puede un ni�o jugar y ponerse una falda? Hace a�os, a las ni�as no les dejaban ponerse pantalones... A lo mejor esto es lo mismo.

Genres: Picture Books, Gender, Childrens, LGBT, Spanish Literature

36 pages, Hardcover

Published October 4, 2022

Reviews

[Melissa Flanagin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Say it with me...... "Clothes are not gender specific. Clothes do not have a gender." Thank you

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wish one of the characters had pointed out there is nothing wrong with being a girl when Leo became upset after being mistaken for one.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leo loves his dress-up clothes. He even has a lavender skirt.
One day, while playing in it, someone calls Leo a girl.
Leo doesn't know how to face his emotions, until his dad explains that skirts are worn by guys in other countries.
His mom tells him that there was a time when it was not okay for women to wear pants.
What will Leo decide to wear to school?

A cute exploration of identity and expression.....HOWEVER, the author couldn't just leave it where it began....they kept going with something that didn't need to be kept going and hit a sour note for me....

But to each their own. I did appreciate the sharing of history and culture involved.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leo loves his lavender skirt but one day when he's out with his mom, a lady assumes Leo is a girl, which makes him never want to wear the skirt again. But after some wise words from his dad about other cultures where men wear skirts and dresses, he puts on a brave face and decides to wear his lavender skirt to school. I loved the ambiguity of the ending. We don't know what happens to Leo once he gets to school. All we know is that his parents equipped him with the emotional and educational means to find his way, even when there is a possibility he will face backlash and bullying.

[Avril · Rating 5 out of 5]

While on a bike ride with his mom, Leo wears his beloved lavender skirt. A passerby calls him a girl and this bothers Leo a lot! When he gets home, he takes off his skirt and talks to his dad about being called a girl. His parents' display of support on the history of dress in several different cultures is not only beautifully-illustrated but also beautifully-narrated. Winner of the 2022 Italian Association Woman to be in order to promote equality and diversity and challenge stereotypes in literature, Kirkus book review calls this book "warmly empowering".

[The Library Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

The MAGA crowd might be flummoxed by this one and could even learn from it. It's simply the story of a little boy (no "they", no "presents as,") who likes to wear a skirt, is indignant at anyone's assumption that skirts are for girls, learns from his parents that in many cultures men and boys wear clothes with skirts, and decides to wear his with pride. Lower case for that last word is intentional--there's a potential message here, but it is subtle, and doesn't need to be hammered home!

[Nathan Bartos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this and its mention of the skirt's role in history for men and pants for women and the nod to some BA women in history. A cute and simple story about a boy confident in his gender and identity that works really well!

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many years ago when I was a Preschool teacher, there was a little boy in my class that liked to wear clothes that at that time were considered girls clothes. Thankfully he had awesome parents just like Leo in this book!

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leo has many costumes, but his favorite is his Laveder skirt. When he is mistaken for a girl, he refuses to wear it until his father shares some history of fashion, and his mother tells him about when women were not allowed to wear pants.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Taylor Kundel-Gower · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didactic, but necessary. My gender non-comforming child enjoyed it.

[J.D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lo que es entender el género como lo que es: un dictamen, una variable, un limitante. Esto es hermoso, y es sobre la libertad y el juego.

[Nadin · Rating 4 out of 5]

💜

[Telps]

A good picture book of a wonderful child who wants to be his own person.

[Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice story of not letting other people's opinions affect the way you want to express yourself. I wish it leaned a bit more into the sections where men wore skirts and women weren't allowed to wear pants.