William's Doll

Picture Book: Controversial
Title: William's Doll
Author: Charlotte Zolotow
Illustrator: William Pene Du Bois
Age Level: 4+
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary
William's Doll is about a boy, William, who wants a doll even though dolls are toys that are typically considered for only girls.  William's father is uncomfortable with the fact that William keeps asking for a doll so he gives him a basketball instead.  His brother makes fun of him for wanting a doll.  His grandmother is the one who finally fulfills William's wish and gets him a doll and explains to his father that he will use the doll to practice being a good father.

Opinion
This book is one that I would not consider a problem for children to read but I can see how some people may think that this book would not be appropriate for children of certain ages.  This book deals with topics of gender roles and stereotypes and challenges these roles that we have set up in our society by showing a boy who wants to play with toys that we see only girls should play with.  I think that this book is a predictable controversial book but it is also more of an unpredictable controversial book because many people might not share the stereotypical beliefs of only girls taking part in girl activities and boys taking part in only boy activities.  I do not think that this book should be considered a problem book in the classroom because I think that children should read literature that challenges the social norms that society has built up.  According to the article by Julie Wollman-Bonilla, one reason teachers conclude that a certain book is inappropriate, is because "it fails to represent dominant social values or myths"(289).  This book does challenge social values but I think that discussing these in the classroom is something that should be done.  Children need to see that their gender does not disclude them from taking part or doing things that may seem unnatural in their society. 


I would definitly use this book in my classroom to show that opportunities and activities do not and should not be stereotyped to one gender.  If children are able to see this, they may feel more comfortable taking part in things that they may have felt ashamed to do prior to discussion about this issue.