Even Superheroes Have to Sleep
by Sara Crow
illustrated by Adam Record
Date: 2015
Publisher: Doubleday Books for Young Readers
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library
Toddlers will feel better about bedtime when they learn that superheroes, cowboys, princesses, and astronauts ALL have to sleep too!
It’s bedtime for superheroes... and KIDS! Young ones will enjoy this sweet, short rhyming story that lulls them into bedtime with the promise that all their heroes are getting tucked into bed too. And the book comes with stickers and a reward chart, so good bedtime habits can be reinforced each night when kids brush their teeth, put on their pj’s, and settle down to sleep. It’s a book and sticker package that will help parents achieve bedtime peace each night.
(synopsis from Goodreads)
Well, this was a disappointment. The premise is good, the rhymes are fun, and the pictures are cute. So what's the problem? It's the 21st century, and we're still giving girls the message that their career options are pretty much limited to "princess" (good luck with that) and "mommy". Of the eleven careers depicted in the book (superhero, construction worker, doctor, astronaut, princess, pirate, policeman, scientist, cowboy, rock star, and mommy), only three (doctor, princess, and mommy) are female. The way the text was worded, any of the others except for the policeman and cowboy could've been either gender, so it makes no sense to me why only about 1/4 of these jobs are done by females. It seems to be more of an issue with the illustrator, and perhaps his unconscious bias. (The book was written for the author's three sons, but that doesn't really explain why the illustrator depicted most of the characters as male, whether they were described as such or not.)
So a fun premise was taken down by gender-stereotyped illustrations. That's really disappointing.
Premise: 3/5
Meter: 3/5
Writing: 2/5
Illustrations: 2/5
Originality: 3/5
Enjoyment: 1/5
Overall: 2.14 out of 5
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