William's Doll By Charlotte Zolotow

Zolotow, Charlotte, and William P. Du Bois. William's Doll. New York: Harper Trophy, 1972.

William’s Doll is the story of a boy who more than anything wants a doll. His father’s response is that he will buy him a basketball instead. His brother and friends call him a “sissy.” Finally his grandmother understands and buys him a doll so that he will know how to love and cradle a baby as a father some day. What I find most interesting about the book is that it was written in 1972 and for that time was pretty much one of a kind. Since then, there has actually been a lot of research and studies done specifically on William’s Doll and children’s reactions. I find the fact that there is real academic literature on the book very beneficial for any teacher. The more you know about a book you are considering for your library the better you will be able to teach and discuss it. One study in particular “William’s Doll Revisited,” published in Language Arts in 2000 takes responses to the book made by 4th graders in 1975 and compares them to 4th graders’ responses in 1997. Interestingly enough, the study showed no real change in the recognition or acceptance of gender stereotyping in the book. Textually, the book has a lovely rhythm that children will easily remember and read along to. The illustrations are fairly minimal but I think that works well to ensure that the message of the story isn’t overwhelmed and lost in the pictures. Since the book is older I can see how it might not be perfect in its tackling of overcoming gender stereotypes. It does reinforce the masculine stereotypes for most of the book, almost till the end, and when William finally does get his doll it is not just because he should be able to have one, it is for him to learn how to be a good father. And again, even at the end we do not see any change in beliefs of his father or friends. However, I think this book is very beneficial to include as a comparison and an good example of how the male gender and issues of stereotyping in children’s literature has evolved over time. Also, based on her personal experiences I would consider author Zolotow a borderline “insider,” however definitely “informed.” According to her website she focused on very specific experiences in her life that inspired her to finally write the book. She says felt like her husband was missing out on so much with her newborn son since he felt so uncomfortable and “wasn’t supposed to partake in the motherly duties.” Her husband also didn’t approve of stuffed animals for her son. Most notably she was in the park one day and heard a little boy crying to his father that he wanted a doll, his father replied “oh get him a gun instead.” The fact that she has a son and had these experiences puts her a notch above many other authors on the “insider” scale.