A Reading Group Guide to

My Princess Boy
Written by Cheryl Kilodavis
Illustrated by Suzanne DeSimone

The name 'My Princess Boy' is a trademark of KD Talent LLC and the copyright for the book 'My Princess Boy' is owned by KD Talent LLC. These materials are used with permission from KD Talent LLC. All rights are reserved.

Discussion Questions

1. Why do you think author Cheryl Kilodavis decided to write My Princess Boy? What do you think she hopes to accomplish by writing this book?

2. A note on the title page states, "As a community, we can accept and support our children for whomever they are and however they wish to look." Talk about the importance of communities in our society. What are some examples of the different communities your students are a part of? What can a community do to help someone when they need support?

3. Princess Boy is unique in many ways. What does it mean to be unique? How is everyone in your class or your family unique? How does Princess Boy teach us to understand and celebrate his uniqueness?

4. Define the word "acceptance". How can you accept someone for who he or she is? Is this easy to do, or hard to do?

5. Why do you think people laugh at Princess Boy when he wants to buy something that is pink and sparkly, or when he dresses up in a princess dress for Halloween?

6. As a class, discuss the illustrations in My Princess Boy. Why do you think illustrator Suzanne DeSimone chose not to put faces on the figures in this book?

7. Princess Boy expresses himself by dressing up in girly dresses and dancing like a ballerina. How do you choose to express yourself?

8. Ultimately, Princess Boy is happy because he is loved for who he is by his family and his friends. What is unconditional love? How does your family show you unconditional love?

9. What message does this book share with you as a reader? Will you act differently as a person and a friend now that you’ve read this book? Why or why not?

Activities

Create an accepting classroom environment by celebrating the uniqueness of your students. Based on the age of your students, have each child create a drawing or poster showing how they are unique. Students can draw themselves, their families, their interests, their favorite things, and pictures depicting their culture or background. Display all of the pictures or posters in your classroom.

Prevent bullying in your classroom. Host a classroom discussion about bullies. Why do bullies exist? How can your students prevent problems in the classroom and outside of the classroom? How can everyone make school a safe place for all? Have your students brainstorm solutions to this problem, and declare your classroom an anti-bully zone.

Act out the story of My Princess Boy. Have your students act out the roles found in the book to further explore the feelings of Princess Boy and his family. In addition to the main character of Princess Boy, students can play the roles of family members, trick-or-treaters, and shoppers at stores. What do they learn after putting themselves in Princess Boy’s shoes?

This guide has been provided by Simon & Schuster for classroom, library, and reading group use. It may be reproduced in its entirety or excerpted for these purposes.