Free to Be You and Me

Rating:
Summary: countering negative messages about gender expectations
Review: .... It's a collection of songs, poems, and stories about being your own person and not having your options determined by gender. There are some great messages. ..... I did end up reading the book and hearing the music at a friend's house. I really like some of the pieces, and particularly "Parents Are People", about jobs mommies and daddies can have. However, having just reread the book and heard the CD as an adult, I can see why it put my mother off. Some of the pieces do heavily imply that there is a strong cultural pressure to conform to gender. While this is often true, some parents may choose not to harp on it. And, thank goodness, it's less true than it was when Marlo Thomas put the collection together, for which we can give Marlo her portion of the credit. :)

Rating:
Summary: countering negative messages about gender expectations
Review: .... It's a collection of songs, poems, and stories about being your own person and not having your options determined by gender. There are some great messages. ..... I did end up reading the book and hearing the music at a friend's house. I really like some of the pieces, and particularly "Parents Are People", about jobs mommies and daddies can have. However, having just reread the book and heard the CD as an adult, I can see why it put my mother off. Some of the pieces do heavily imply that there is a strong cultural pressure to conform to gender. While this is often true, some parents may choose not to harp on it. And, thank goodness, it's less true than it was when Marlo Thomas put the collection together, for which we can give Marlo her portion of the credit. :)

Rating:
Summary: This book will strip girls of a precious gift.
Review: Being influenced by this book at an early age robbed me of being distinctly feminine. Boys and girls are different and to deny that is ignorant.

Rating:
Summary: This book will strip girls of a precious gift.
Review: Being influenced by this book at an early age robbed me of being distinctly feminine. Boys and girls are different and to deny that is ignorant.

Rating:
Summary: Nostalgia!
Review: I am buying this book for my niece. I want her to be taught the lessons in this album at an early age. It's about not feeling bad about yourself, treating others with respect, good manners, and not falling into stereotypes but following your bliss, whether it's making a cake or building a tree house...

Rating:
Summary: Nostalgia!
Review: I still have my scratched up record and I recently bought the CD for my daughter. I believe this album was highly influential in my becoming the free spirited woman that I am. The absense or blending of gender specific roles should not rob a girl of her femininity as one reviewer claims. It allows one to realize that what is feminine is just as valid, important, and therefore equal to what is traditionally considered masculine. This album also teaches valuable lessons about cooperation, friendship etc.

Rating:
Summary: Independent child thinkers
Review: I still have my scratched up record and I recently bought the CD for my daughter. I believe this album was highly influential in my becoming the free spirited woman that I am. The absense or blending of gender specific roles should not rob a girl of her femininity as one reviewer claims. It allows one to realize that what is feminine is just as valid, important, and therefore equal to what is traditionally considered masculine. This album also teaches valuable lessons about cooperation, friendship etc.

Rating:
Summary: A book for children everywhere!
Review: I think about this collection of stories a lot, especially in reading other stories for children. One of the most beautiful stories I've read is in this book. It's called "Atalanta". In this rare gem of a fairy tale, the "happy ever after" for the princess comes not in marrying the prince, but in following her dreams. Lessons such as staying true to yourself abound in this book, and I truly feel young women such as my sister and I are stronger for having read it at such a young age.

Rating:
Summary: A book for children everywhere!
Review: I think about this collection of stories a lot, especially in reading other stories for children. One of the most beautiful stories I've read is in this book. It's called "Atalanta". In this rare gem of a fairy tale, the "happy ever after" for the princess comes not in marrying the prince, but in following her dreams. Lessons such as staying true to yourself abound in this book, and I truly feel young women such as my sister and I are stronger for having read it at such a young age.

Rating:
Summary: I love this book!
Review: I'm 15 years old and I was born in '83. I grew up reading and listening to "Free to be You and Me." It's the greatest. It teaches children not to get locked into gender goals. Boys can cry. Girls can play with trucks. Your can teach your child to be free, like me.