Bailey dreams of dresses, beautiful dresses unlike any other. But when she tells her mother, father, and brother about her dreams, they insist that she is a boy ("But...I don't feel like a boy," Bailey answers) and that dresses are not for her. Bailey takes a walk and finds a frustrated girl sitting on a porch, trying to sew a dress--and Bailey helps her by sharing details from the dreams. The girl ultimately tells Bailey, "You're the coolest girl I've ever met." This book actually made my eyebrows raise, and not much does. The matter-of-fact way in which Bailey is referred to by the narrator as "she," phrases like "Together the two girls made two new dresses"--it's astonishing, really, how cool this book is. As far as the narrator, Bailey, and the other girl are concerned, Bailey is a girl--none of them ever think or suggest otherwise. Quite something, really. Surprising.

posted Oct 27, 2009 at 11:24AM

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