Claudia's Dream

A cute tale of an elephant who meets a genie and continues dreaming of adventures where the character is typically a boy is actually a girl!

I enjoyed this because it shows that things that may be categorized as “boy” things don’t have to be exclusive to boys! Anyone can enjoy it.

This is a cute picture book about an elephant who encounters several fantasy characters in her dream such as a genie and a dinosaur. As she meets each of these creatures she mistakenly assumes they are male and is corrected each time. It turns out all of these characters she would have previously considered using male dominant gender stereotypes are actually females! At the end of the story she decides to rename her toy unicorn to change its gender identity.

I like that this book looks at gender as something that can't be assumed or set in stone. I think that without pushing boundaries too far we can give children a nudge in the direction that gender norms are not necessarily correct. It also brings awareness to the fact that many fantasy characters in stories are male. I'm not sure that this book alone can teach about LGBTQ and gender terminology or values and understandings, but I do think that for a simple story book about an elephant meeting interesting creatures in her dreams, adding in this element of gender is a positive opening for conversations and deeper thoughts about our own assumptions and prejudices. I would recommend this book for parents and teachers of children in the 4-9 age range. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book!

What a lovely story. The illustrations are super cute and the colors are vibrant. The themes of female empowerment are great and I think that it will encourage children to be more open-minded. Overall a great read!