This is one of those picture books with a message, but, to kids, it's just a book with great silly illustrations. I tend to cringe a bit about reading books with a message to children. My 7 year old daughter thought this was a lot of fun. She laughed out loud at over half of the illustrations. Her favorite was when the girl had a dinosaur tale.

The only part that bothered me was the girl proclaiming she doesn't wear dresses. I don't know why we have to keep picking on dresses. Dresses in a comfortable fabric afford the wearer better range of motion than denim. Let's put the blame squarely where it belongs; the shoes that go with dresses. But, that's one small point in an otherwise cute book.

This book is ideal for anyone who has ever recoiled at the "sugar and spice and everything nice" saying. I remember hearing that as a kid and immediately thinking that it didn't fit me at all. I was definitely more frog, snail and puppy dog tail myself. Additionally, the book manages to fit in the phrase 'fresh chicken butts'.. That is all.. lol

Perfect. Absolutely Perfect. Perfect story, perfect illustrations. So many have heard the saying “ What are little boys made of? Frogs, Snails, and puppy dog tails.” And girls are made of “sugar and spice and everything nice.” This story turns that saying on its head. Because some girls are made of dinosaur tales, and some boys of bumblebee wings. My favorite one is “balloons, mutts, and chicken butts”. A wonderful look at what makes a child.

I LOVE THIS BOOK. It takes the rhyme/saying about boys being made of snakes and snails and puppy dog tails and girls being made of sugar and spice and everything nice and dumps it on its head. The gorgeous illustrations suggest various other combinations that both boys and girls are made of, like girls being made of monkeys and dirt and lemon dessert and boys being made of flowers and swings and bumblebee wings. I love that it takes gender stereotypes and dumps them on their heads, letting both boys and girls be made of all sorts of things, from balloons to whales to rubber rain boots to fresh chicken butts.

I need copies of this on both my boys' bookshelves, and I need copies for all my friends with kids. My 3 and 1 year old would both love the illustrations and the fun ideas of what little boys and girls are made of.

I'm sure we have all heard the saying:
<blockquote>What are little girls made of? Sugar and Spice and everything nice. What are little boys made of? Frogs and snails and puppy dogs tails.</blockquote>
And if you have heard it, did you grimice, or just think it wasn't worth bothering with, or did you wonder why?

That is what this book does. It wonders why. The grandfather is telling the old rhyme to his grandchildren, and they ask why? Why can't it be other things? And so they come up with so many other things that it would be.

And so they muse, and it is so much fun, and the pictures, are great too, and very whimsical.
<img src="http://www.reyes-sinclair.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Screen-Shot-2018-01-15-at-10.08.57-PM.png">
<img src="http://www.reyes-sinclair.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Screen-Shot-2018-01-15-at-10.08.26-PM.png">

This should be a delight to all kids, and bring up discussions, or just read it on the level of being fun.


Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

This brilliant children's book boldly dismantles gender stereotypes with whimsical illustrations lighting up the page, and offers opportunities for young readers to add twists of their very own!