Customer Reviews

Oliver Button Is a Sissy

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an excellent book that confronts gender stereotypes and the importance of accepting people for who they are. Oliver Button does not engage in the traditional activities that boys do, and thus, he is faced with repercussions and consequences (based on how others feel Oliver should behave/act). I teach fourth grade and - though a picture book - it is the ideal book to discuss self-confidence and diversity and the significance of accepting individuals while recognizing their accomplishments and contributions.

In this day and age of name calling and teasing, this is an important book to have around to teach children some important values. Oliver Button is a boy who likes to do things that not "all other boys" do such as dance. The other boys at school often tease him and call him names. Even his own father thinks he should do more "boy things". However, Oliver proves that he has his own talents and he is a star for being himself and doing what he likes to do and what he is good at. If you are familiar with Tomie DePaola's other works, this is yet another one of his fantastic books for children.

I watched a special on TV about this book. It's a story about a little boy who gets picked on and eventually finds good things about himself. It was similar to what my nephew experiences in school. He is a boy who loves playing with the girls and isn't real "tough", so he has a hard time with some kids. This book was wonderful for him to read. I sent it to him through amazon. He got it in the mail, read it that night and then took it to school and read it to the class the very next day! He brought home a special award for sharing such a wonderful book! I think all teachers should share this with their classrooms and use it as a way to address bullying!

I really enjoyed this book. It is about a little boy named Oliver Button. This little boy doesn't really care what other people think, he likes to do what he thinks is fun, and that is it. He doesn't do normal things like other boys, he dances, and jumps rope for exercise. He got a new pair of tap shoes and the older boys teased him and called him a sissy and wrote it on the wall. Oliver still kept going to dance school and practicing and practicing.
When there is a talent competition, Oliver signs up to be in it. During the competition he did a tap routine and ends up losing. His parents still thought of him as a champion and when he goes back to school, instead of Oliver Button is a sissy on the wall it says Oliver Button is a star. I would recommend this book to a lot of people because this is a very entertaining book. It shows that if you have fun doing something thats a little different, keep doing it no matter what other people say.

I bought this book because Oliver Button is very much like I was at his age. He is more interested in playing with girls and doing activities that are not usually done by boys. I also thought it would be a good way to teach children that they don't have to conform to gender roles. However, having worked with elementary school children in various settings for years, I found the story to be very unrealistic.
The beginning is good. We are presented with a feel for Oliver's dificulties. Everyone wants him to be more like other boys. His father wants him to play sports, but he wants to dance instead. His mother enrolls him in a dance school, and he learns how to dance. He perseveres despite the fact that his peers are pestering him for being a "sissy"; they even write "Oliver Button Is A Sissy" on the wall (hence the title). The girls defend him by giving the bullies a talking-to. The bullies stop beating him up, which is a bit unrealistic; boys who are bullies hate girls as much as they hate boys like Oliver.
I was disappointed by the ending. Near the end, Oliver signs up for a talent show. His act involves tap dancing. The other children in his class, at the teacher's suggestion, go to see him perform. If you think this seems unrealistic (why would children who hate Oliver go to see him perform?), you will be even more disappointed by the last page, when Oliver goes to school after the talent show (which he didn't win) and finds that the wall no longer reads "Oliver Button Is A Sissy" because the word "sissy" has been crossed out and replaced with "star." Just because he does a performance doesn't mean those who formerly hated him will like him. I know this because I tried it myself at his age!
Though I like the ideals the author was trying to communicate, such a tacked-on happy ending is very misleading. You want a book about teasing, read Chrysanthemum. You want a book about prejudice, read Dr. Seuss's The Sneetches. You want a book about children who become successful, read Ibi Lepscky's Famous People series. You want a book about gender roles, read William's Doll. Anything but this book!

Once Oliver did thing that girls did. He didn't play with boys or didn't play any spots. All he did was to play with paper dolls, pick flowers, jump rope, draw and dance. He asked his mother if he could take some dance lessons so he went to Mrs. Leah's dancing class with other boys and girls.

My favortie part was when every one said he was a star at tap dancing because he has been practicing really hard at home and at Mrs. Leah's class. At home he was practicing when he got home from school everyday.

Tomie made it for his mother named Flossie his mother is still alive. His mother is in her 90s.

I liked it when he practiced with his black pair of tap shoes and when a girl told the other kids to leave him alone two girls said to five boys in the schoolyard.

When I first read this book to my library classes, I was a little curious on how they would react. Yet I was suprised to find that after the story was finished, the children cheered and clapped. There were many attentive children throughout the story and some(whom I personally believe)were wondering why Oliver was so 'different.' Maybe it could be that more than a handful of children could relate to this story. It was fun for me acting out the different parts, and the children enjoyed these visuals also. We also shared how we would feel in the situations Oliver was set in. I recommend this book to all!

Tomie dePaola states in the liner notes that Oliver's story is partly autobiographical. "I could spend hours drawing, and nobody ever asked me to play on their ball teams because I was so bad at it."

Oliver's pursuits are less than gender-appropriate in the eyes of his male peers. He enjoys dancing, dressing up, acting, reading, and drawing. His father doesn't approve, either, but his mother and his female peers come to his aid. This help, however, works to Oliver's detriment: "Gotta have help from girls," the boys say teasingly. In the end Oliver, however, Oliver succeeds on his own terms.

This testimony to being oneself was written in 1979, and includes dePaola's signature drawings using a limited color palette. Though it isn't as charming as the Strega Nona books, it effectively delivers its message.

This book describes how Oliver is happy, not playing sports like all the other boys, but taking dance lessons. His parent support him, but at school, he is called a sissy. After a community talent show, which Oliver does not win, his schoolmates realize he is a winner. Oliver stuck with his dreams and desires, against the odds. To me, this story is great for kids, as it illustrates how to stick with something if it is what you desire. It has a great message for children as well as care-givers. The illustrations are wonderful, too.

Great story about teasing and gender role assignments and stereotypes. Provokes great classroom discussion. I use with my kindergarteners.