Mary Wears What She Wants

Product Information

From the award-winning creator of "My Dad Used to Be So Cool" comes a charming picture book inspired by the true story of Mary Edwards Walker, a trailblazing 19th-century doctor who was arrested many times for wearing pants. Full color. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg has spent her time on the court disagreeing. Find out about her most important decisions as the dissenter in this picture book. "Refugee"

The color scheme for the illustrations is primarily shades of blue and pink, blue being a traditionally male color and pink being a traditionally female color. From the very beginning Mary wears an yellow shirt, which is considered a gender neutral color. This makes her stand out as well as clues in the reader that she is going to do things differently. There aren't enough diverse children's books on the shelves, according to the Cooperative Children's Book Center, whichupdated its data onrepresentation this month.Scholastic's biennial Kids & Family Reading reportreleased this week found that nearly halfof kids ages 9-17 (45 percent) and parents with kids ages 6-17 (52 percent) want more books with diversity. Inspired by the story of Mary Edwards Walker, an unconventional nineteenth-century American woman who insisted on wearing pants, author/illustrator Keith Negley spins the tale of schoolgirl Mary in this, his third picture-book. Uncomfortable in the hot, stuffy dresses she is forced to wear, Mary rebels and puts on some pants. When this causes outrage in her community, she bravely carries on, insisting that she is not wearing men's clothing, she is wearing her clothing... But it’s all changing now, in this era of girl power, and it’s amazing to see women everywhere standing up, refusing to be silenced, and reaching for their highest potential. It’s both remarkable and astonishing to witness this revolution, this time that encourages young girls to be who and what they want to be.

Mary decides to continue wearing pants and faces down an angry mob in front of the schoolhouse, blazing the way for other girls to wear pants. In response to the objection that she is wearing boys' clothes, she defiantly answers, "I'm not wearing boys' clothes. I'm wearing my clothes." Merci is a scholarship student ata private Florida school and things are already tough and strange for this 12-year-old. Her beloved grandpa, Lolo, is usually her refuge. But he's acting weird, too. He's forgetting things and acting angry and the family is telling her nothing. This author of this 2019 Newberry winner looks at a family struggling with Alzheimer's through the heroine's eyes not with happy ending, but with strength and hope. I’ve always loved books that showcase children going against the grain to get what they want, and Negley’s Mary Wears What She Wants is a fabulous and special story doing just that.Except, there was one major problem. Most people didn’t like Mary’s idea. In fact, they rejected it in full force, so much so that they taunted Mary the whole way home from school on the day she wore pants. They ridiculed her and protested and made her almost regret her decision. Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.