My Shadow is Pink

This book that teaches children how to be themselves, no matter what that ‘self’ may be, uses shadows to explain the concept.  The little boy in the story has realised that all the males in his family have blue shadows, strong and manly, but his own shadow is pink: ‘My shadow loves ponies and books and pink toys, princesses, fairies, and things not for boys.’  He loves and looks up to his Dad, and his Dad loves him very much, but sometimes worries too. ‘It’s just a phase,’ Dad says.  But the little boy knows it isn’t.  He’s not like the others in his family; he’s different. He must start school, and this worries him, but he is determined to dress like his shadow dresses and wear a dress for his first day. Dad is really worried now, and when the lad gets to school, the other children are shocked at the sight of a boy in a dress. He runs home in distress, and Dad finally understands that this really is important to his son. So… butch Dad puts on a dress too (he has his own secret interest evidently) and shows the boy pictures of people in their family who have interests outside their ‘shadow’ group – a blue-shadowed man who loves paintings and fashion, and a pink-shadowed girl who is into cars and engines in a big way. The boy’s pink shadow, though, is his very being, and he must learn to love it and live with it and go back to school proud of his different-ness. Which he does and finds friendship.  The theme is really a dual one – one of accepting that people can live happily in their own shadow and also share interests that are not usually part of that shadow, and the other that there are those whose shadows may never match the gender assigned to them, and that is fine too. The rhymes are very well done and the pictures fun and right for the story. I do feel, however, that the dual themes could be a little confusing as the main character has such a fully pink shadow. A good addition, though, to this very topical subject.