Once upon a time a boy was born who wanted to wear a dress – This is how it always is.
This is how – the blurb
This is Claude. He’s five years old, the youngest of five brothers, and loves peanut butter sandwiches. He also loves wearing a dress, and dreams of being a princess.
When he grows up, Claude says, he wants to be a girl.
Rosie and Penn want Claude to be whoever Claude wants to be. They’re just not sure they’re ready to share that with the world. Soon the entire family is keeping Claude’s secret. Until one day it explodes.
That’s what little boys are made of
First off I have to start with how much I loved Frankel’s writing. She had me from the opening sentence and kept me glued throughout. She clearly gets family life and the minuteness of everyday parenting. On top of the superb observations lies Claude a little boy who wants to wear a dress. We then follow Claude and their family as they circumnavigate bathrooms, hormone blockers and one big secret. A secret that just has to make its way out into the world. I found the last quarter of the book a tad too Grumwaldy (readers will find out pretty soon who he is). The Thailand trip was also a little bit too convenient, but these are two small points in a book chocked full of brilliance. A challenging subject to navigate, a challenging subject to write about but hats off to Frankel, she nailed it.
