This is such an amazingly beautiful book. The illustrations are gorgeous. the words, meaningful. It's just everything a parent needs to read to their kids, boys and girls. It's really needed. It's so sweet and wonderful.

What a beautiful and important book! An exploration of what it means to be a boy in today's world. No gender norms and toxic masculinity here! This book encourages boys to look past what society has traditionally taught and explore their "softer" side. The message is fabulous, the verse poetic, and the illustrations... oh my!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

When You're a Boy had such a beautiful, poetic message and stunning illustrations of a boy in nature. As a boy mom, I loved the message that boys can embrace a broader range of emotions & expressions. We can teach our boys to be kind, patient, & content!

I received this via Netgalley in exchange for a review.

Aww, this was cute. I love how the expectations society put on boys is contrasted with the reality the narrator cherishes. I wish more boys would be encouraged to explore their emotions rather than bury it deep inside.

As a boy mom, I believe this book is beautiful, and every father out there will agree. It emphasizes the meaning of love and care for a boy and that no matter what, it is GOOD to have feelings and express those feelings. Even when society has taught us that "boys do not cry," boys are also human and have the right to express their beautiful feelings and hear others apologize when needed.

4 stars

When You’re a Boy is a beautifully written and illustrated book that reimagines boyhood through themes of gentleness, nature, and emotional expression. It offers a powerful alternative to the common messages boys receive about needing to be tough, stoic, or aggressive.

The poetic language and advanced vocabulary may be difficult for younger children to fully understand on their own, as the symbolism isn’t explicitly explained. Because of that, I see it working best as a shared read or with older readers. As a mental health professional, I look forward to using this book in sessions with teens and young adults to spark meaningful conversations about identity, emotion, and self-worth.

I was given the opportunity to read the ARC version of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I guess I was expecting more here. The art is ok/good, though some of it doesn't look realistic, like someone went out of their way to be abstract. I think that instead of countering what the boy learns, it should be adding to it. For example, add "I have also learned..." and go with that. The one picture of the child crossing the log a distance away from the adult, while walking over a rushing river, sent warning flags (child endangerment and all that). Most of the art was good, a nice soft touch throughout. However, I think the book can be worked over again to present a better message.

How do you act and respond to the good and the bad when you are a boy? Blake Nuto provides direction for this question in "When You're a Boy." Nuto acknowledges how boys the stereotypical expectations for behavior, then provides alternative ways to look at life. The artwork is colorful and interesting, and the story is a quick, easy read. It's perfect for parents rearing a boy in the modern world.

This was a simple story about a boy taking charge of his emotions. Not going with the older generations of boys don't cry motto. I loved the illustrations in this book. But I did feel the story lacked in some areas. I wasn't a fan of the book always saying "When you're a boy you're told how to be like....". I have 2 boys and I want to guide them but also allow them to make up their own minds.

I loved the illustrations showing a parent and child, probably father and son but doesn't have to be, exploring nature and enjoying time together. The text, however, felt like a spoken word poem delivered by a grad student asked to ponder the issue of masculinity. The metaphors and word choice would make the text inaccessible to any children likely to pick up this picture book or have it read to them at story time. Yes it is great to talk to our children about being themselves instead of feeling boxed into strict gender roles, but using language far above their ability is unlikely to make an impact on concrete thinkers.

2.5/5
The story has good intentions for its audience but I do not fit anywhere in that audience personally.
I am an elementary school librarian that reads many books and recommends more that I could ever read but I don't know that I would have a student I could even recommend this to.
The reading level is challenging, with few words throughout the story, they are a bit complex for the younger ones but with it being so short it wouldn't appeal to the older students still reading picture books.
It is great for boys who are struggling with gender expectations if that is what you're looking for.

Such an important read! Loved every single page of it. The metaphors were so on point and the messages conveyed even more so. I would recommend this to every parent or educator.

This picture book has nice poetic imagery and a good message about how boys can be tender, soft, and quiet in addition to being tough, strong, and bold. Some reviewers have criticized this for implying that boys need to reject their natural masculine tendencies to become more feminine, but I didn't take it that way, and saw it as a both/and approach. However, even though I don't have a problem with the book's message, I don't foresee it being particularly successful with young audiences.

The poetic text is very abstract and metaphorical, which means that it doesn't speak to children's experiences directly. There's nothing here that will really engage boys or describe struggles they may have, and this is mainly just something for adults to appreciate and take into consideration as they interact with boys.

Blake Nuto uses beautiful illustrations of nature to explain emotions and characteristics in When You're a Boy.

The juxtaposition of characteristics such as strength and power with internal feelings shows the complexity of childhood and expectations.

The overall tone of the story is joyful, and the illustrations enhance that tone. As a parent of two young boys, this is one I want on my bookshelf.

Thank you to Jolly Fish Press for the advanced copy. #WhenYoureaBoy #NetGalley

Embracing your full humanity provides much more depth to life.

Gentle, true and deep feelings are an antidote to one-sided machoism. Textured and nuanced, the illustrations surface the depth of feelings that all boys can welcome into their lives, beyond the stereotypical things they may be told to be by the world around them.

Thanks to @NetGalley for sharing this DRC with me for an honest review.

As a mother of a boy, one of my recurring concerns is raising my son to become someone who knows that there are many untruths about what culturally is understood as a "to be a man". I believe that it is culturally shaped from childhood, even in small things like "boys wear blue and girls wear pink." It may seem silly, but I don't believe it really is.

Boys often grow up thinking that they can't cry, can't be vulnerable, can't be sensitive. And what a huge loss we have when these boys become men who have been deprived of expressing their emotions. Even worse, many grow up believing that to be a "real man," one must act violently in certain cases, confusing assertiveness with brutality.

But fortunately, I truly believe that the seed of change lies in these boys themselves. If they know that they have much more freedom than they imagine. If they understand that being strong goes far beyond physical strength. Being strong, most of the time, has more to do with following one's own convictions. But to do this, we need to let them form their convictions sincerely. Boys don't hold back their tears. Boys also get sad, and there's nothing wrong with allowing themselves to cry if sadness demands it.

And books like "When You're a Boy" propose this, to show boys that there are many ways to be a boy.

The book begins:

"When you're a boy,
you're told how to be
like the white-roaring oceans.
But I've learned
the fierceness of flowers,
the glory of color,
and the beauty of dreaming."

And it's in this direction that the book continues, exposing examples of what is expected of boys, but contrasting them with something infinitely more beautiful and stunning.

I haven't read this book properly with my son yet. I believe it's one of those books that needs to be read in a physical edition, with its very large illustrations, accessible to children, because the images, with their delicacy, also express a great narrative power.

I recited it while he was drawing, but some passages caught his attention in a way he put down the markers for a while and asked me to describe better what was happening in the scene. And I find that simply wonderful and enriching. It's the kind of book I would love to have at home. It will be released in November of this year (2025), but it is already available for pre-order on Amazon.

The book's narrative is poetic, as you can see from the excerpt I brought above, making it a book with few words, easy for children to retain, but with enormous power for reflection and teaching.

I'm looking forward to reading this book with my boy.

*Review will be posted on April, 2nd (2025): https://percursosliterariosblog.com/2025/04/01/when-youre-a-boy-blake-nuto/

Soft imagery with messaging about how boys are told to be stoic, violent, in aggressive pursuit of more, etc. but a father figure is telling the boy the power he’s found in slowness, contentment, nature, song, etc.

It’s very sweet. The vocabulary is advanced and there is a lot of symbolism at play that would require deeper conversation for a child to understand the messaging.

It was a fun read. The artwork in it was good and fit the words perfectly. I liked the message behind it and will read it to my kid later to see what she thinks of it.

I loved the theme of this book and my kids (girl and boy) enjoyed the storytelling, but even more so the illustrations. They loved the eagle page most of all. It’s important to appreciate both strength and tenderness. Would be a perfect baby shower or newborn gift actually to have on the shelf and read over the years.

An adorable read for the little boys inside of us who were raised with a singular view of what a boy/man should be.

Very charming. Thank you for the opportunity.