Books about masculinity

Leonard is a gentle lion: just because you’re a lion doesn’t mean that you have to roar. A book about ignoring the aggressive voices in our society and lending an ear to our quieter thoughts, this is a warm and reassuring story. 

When Julian spots three women in lavish mermaid costumes, it fires his imagination and all he can think about is becoming a mermaid himself – with a little help from his nana’s soft furnishings.

Sink is a massive fan of trucks, but he realises he has none that are pink. Rebelling against the normal ​“colour rules” he decides to build himself a brilliantly pink truck. 

Ferdinand the bull doesn’t want to butt heads or fight the Matador – he just wants to sit quietly and smell the flowers. Munro Leaf’s gentle picture book about simply being yourself is just as poignant and powerful today as it has ever been.

What if heroes weren’t always the strong and silent type? Vita Murrow brings the stars from some of our favourite stories into the modern day with this thought-provoking collection.

Billy’s starting secondary school, but he’s worried that his stammer will make it hard to fit in. He has to get rid of it before he can pursue his dream of being a stand-up comedian – so he comes up with an unusual list of ways to deal with it…

An excellent all-encompassing guide to being a boy, covering essential topics in a conversational tone. Sensible, sensitive and searingly honest.

When Max meets Tal and his two dads, he learns that there are lots of different ways to be a man, and that his own dad’s expectations of him at such a young age aren’t fair. An utterly remarkable book about families, being a boy and coping with loss. 

An essential and fascinating book which follows black history across many centuries to today’s contemporary world.

This timely and excellent book explores what it means to be a man in today’s society. It poses thought-provoking questions to develop readers’ critical thinking skills, and will give them the confidence to question conventions and stereotypes. 

An informative, no-nonsense guide looking at the concept of gender and the different issues surrounding it, featuring personal stories to bring it all to life.

Anton is the King of Year 9, but he’s forced to hang out with the school’s biggest loser. A hilarious coming-of-age story.