This is a great children’s book about a little boy whose requests to read books is continuously denied by an elderly man who is substituting for the librarian. He keeps telling the boy that he cannot read books he’s requested because the main characters in the books he asks for, are not boys. The story even goes so far as to have the old man give a cat a book about cats; a robot a book about robots, etc. In the end, the elderly man discovers that that close-mindedness is silly and individuals should not be limited to reading something because it doesn’t contain characters exactly like them.

This book brought to mind the harms and inappropriately placed outrage about cultural appropriations. We shouldn’t narrow our views and become so closed minded. That’s what I read in this book.

This Book is Not for You by Shannon Hale

A young boy's ability to read books is initially denied by a librarian because the main characters in the books are not boys.
There are no concerns with this book.

Book Summary