The Boy In The Dress

So You Want To Read The Boy In The Dress

It is a novel by David Walliams, first published in 2008. It is aimed at middle-grade readers, roughly ages 8 to 12, though kids outside that range read it fine too. The story follows Douglas Cleevely, a boy who loves wearing skirts and dresses, and his eventual acceptance by his family after a particularly rough patch at home. The book is available as a paperback, ebook, and audiobook. Most people buy the paperback from Amazon or Barnes & Noble. The audiobook is narrated by the author himself, which is a nice touch. You can also borrow it through your local library's digital service, Libby or OverDrive, if you have a card.

The Boy In The Dress Summary And Where To Get It

The plot is straightforward. Douglas lives with his mother, father, and older sister. His dad has died of cancer, and his mother becomes emotionally distant, drinking heavily and ignoring him. Douglas finds solace in crossdressing, something he first tries on when he is alone at home. He eventually joins a crossdressing group run by a character named Miss Antoinette (an older drag queen), and through her guidance, he learns to be confident in who he is. The main conflict resolves through a school play, which feels rushed by the end, but the emotional beats land for most young readers. I should mention the one problem I ran into when recommending this to people: the hardcover edition has a different cover than the US paperback, and some kids get confused looking for the wrong one. If you are ordering online, double-check that the ISBN matches the edition you want. The UK paperback ISBN is 978-0007259229, and the US edition is 978-0061563638. They are the same text, just different covers and slightly different page counts because of formatting differences.

There is also an illustrated edition with illustrations by Tony Ross, the same artist who worked with Roald Dahl. Some readers prefer the illustrated version because it breaks up the text nicely, but others find the illustrations break the immersion. There is no objective right answer here, just personal preference. A few things beginners usually miss about this book. First, it is often shelved in the children's section of libraries and bookstores, but it gets banned or challenged in some school districts for its themes around gender identity and crossdressing. If you are ordering it for a classroom or library, check your local district's materials selection policy first. Second, the audiobook runs about 5 hours and 28 minutes, which is a bit long for younger listeners. I usually recommend starting with Chapter 3 or 4 if the kid seems bored early on, because the first couple chapters are setup-heavy. The book is not without flaws. The pacing drags in the middle section where Douglas spends a lot of time at the crossdressing club, and some of the humor feels dated now, especially the jokes about Miss Antoinette's age. The resolution with the father's ghost appearing is a bit heavy-handed. These are real issues, and if you are looking for something with tighter writing and more nuance on similar themes, I would also look at George by Alex Gino or Carter Loves Kafka by Patrick Hoskin. Both handle gender nonconformity with more subtlety.

That said, for a first book on this topic for a young reader, it works. It is accessible, funny in places, and the message is clear without being preachy. The target audience finishes it and talks about it, which is the real metric that matters. You can find it at most major retailers. Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores if that matters to you. Libraries have it in stock. The ebook version is priced around $6.99, the paperback around $7.99 to $9.99 depending on where you shop, and the audiobook runs about $14.95 unless you use a library card, which removes the cost entirely.