This time of year, we're surrounded by advertisements urging us to get gifts for our friends and family members. The ads targetted specifically to families and parents remind us to pick up the latest toys and gadgets for kids and often leave out books, performing arts, and other such hobbies and endeavors. Commercials and print ads that split up gifts for girls and gifts for boys clearly cater to different interests for different genders - but must we do this? Why can't there be a new basketball hoop or football on the two-page spread for girls' items, instead of clothes, jewelry, and undergarments? Why aren't there more items related to cooking and crafts on the boys' pages? Instead of cultivating this great divide between young girls and young boys, I'd rather there be a "cool stuff for kids and teens" section which displayed creative and timeless items instead of commercial and immaterial things.

I've chosen the example of a big-name retailer to explore in-depth. I am not affiliated with it in any way, shape, or form, nor should this be considered a negative piece about their products, stores, or company. Please note that this article is simply to capture my reactions to their gift recommendations, in hopes that I can encourage readers to think outside the box and not hesitate when they want to give or learn about something or do something that's not quote-unquote "typical" for a certain gender. Just say no to gender bias.

Disclaimed and affirmed, let's go.

Target has a Christmas section (their name, not mine - I would have called it "Holidays" or "Gifts for the Holidays") at their website where they recommend gifts for different genders and ages. The initial breakdown offers:

Gifts for Her
Gifts for Him
Gifts for Girls
Gifts for Boys
Gifts for Teen Girls
Gifts for Teen Boys
Gifts for Baby
Gifts for Couples

In two separate windows, I looked over the options for Teen Girls and Teen Boys. First, I was asked to narrow it down by age, tweens or teens, then by personality.

The options for teen girls:
Miss Outdoorsy
Creative Thinker
Fashionista
Techie Girl

The options for teen boys:
Active Dude
Mr. Techie
Creative Kid
Video Gamer

I clicked into Miss Outdoorsy in one screen and Active Dude in the other. Each screen had 32 items pictured and listed. The boy was offered a baseball bat, a caster board, a portable basketball hoop, a basketball, and weight lifting equipment for the guy. None of these things were recommended to the girl, though she was offered lots of hiking items as well as golf clubs, a bicycle, a tennis racquet, and inline skates. For the boy, Lazer Tag Nerf and the Wii games called Punch Out! and Sports Resort were recommended; for the girl, there were pieces of jewelry, a journal, a tote bag, and the Wii game Active Life: Outdoor Challenge.

The Techie Girl and Mr. Techie page were more similar, each with a Wii console, TVs, and iPods, but many of the items on the girl page were pink, while the items on the boy page were mostly white or black. The recommended watch, camera, TV set, messenger bag, netbook, audio cube, and Nintendo DSi on the girl page were all pink. Even the iTunes gift card on the girl page was pink, while the iTunes gift card on the boy page was blue.

Creative Thinker (girl) and Creative Kid (boy) were the next pairing. When arranged by Best Sellers, the top row for girls had gray suede boots, the pink Nintendo DSi console, a blue sphere chair, a purple iPod Nano, and blue leggings, while the same arrangement for boys had a black iPod Touch, PlayStation 3, a black Nintendo DSi console, a blue iPod Nano, and a recharging mat. I was very happy to see an adjustable drawing and craft table on both pages. There were various pieces of clothing on the girl page, but no clothes for on the boy page. The girl was also recommended a hair dryer, a purse, and makeup.

They recommended five books for the creative boy:
Slayers: The Motion Picture Special Edition
The Dangerous Book for Boys
Instant Art History (From Cave Art to Pop Art) by Walter Robinson
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Creative Edge (Exercises to Celebrate Your Creative Self) by Mary Todd Beam

The five books recommended for the creative girl:

Oh, wait. They didn't list any books for her. Not one book. Instead, there are DVDs of The Breakfast Club and Daria: The Movie, a Hello Kitty 3-piece body spray set, and a board game called Boys are Stupid.

Now, I've been trying to keep a pretty neutral tone while relaying these lists of items throughout this piece, but I have to say something right now: I doubt anyone could get away with making and marketing a game for boys to play called Girls Are Stupid. There's no need to have ANYTHING that puts down the opposite gender. I would not want to see a game recommended to kids (or anyone, for that matter) that put down a certain race or culture.

I have not played the Boys Are Stupid game (and I never will), so I cannot give it a proper review. I don't want to judge it unfairly, however, so let me share the summary from the website so you can make up your own mind: "Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them-but first you need to collect the rocks. Do a wacky dare or answer an embarrassing truth to get 5 rocks and work your way home to win the game. The perfect slumber party game for girls of all ages. Also great for after a break-up or as an anti-Valentine's Day gift. For 2-4 People. Play Time of 30-60 Minutes."

I know that some of you are thinking, "It's a harmless game - get over it," but I ask you again to think of the scenario with a flip of genders: Would you think it was harmless if they were encouraging boys to throw rocks at girls, even if they were imaginary rocks in the context of this game? Do you really think it would be okay to market a game which encouraged violence towards young girls? I wasn't born under a rock (ha), so yes, I have heard the expression, "Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them," and I've never, ever thought any part of that was funny or appropriate.

All right, final pages: Fashionista for girls and Video Gamer for boys. The names say it all: the girl page is filled with clothes, jewelry, and beauty products while the boy page is filled with games, game consoles, and controllers. Yes, some girls love getting all gussied up, but some love making touchdowns and blocking goals in the mud. Yes, some boys love playing video games, but so do lots of girls. Bethany and Robert might both turn out to be video game developers, or Bethany might pursue a job in sports medicine while Robert designs gowns and suits to be worn on the red carpet.

Back to the Fashionista and Video Gamer pages. There are two versions of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for the guys, as well as Madden NFL 10, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10, and that Punch Out! Wii game again. They also recommend Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms, a memoir-slash-travelogue-slash-pop-culture book by Ethan Gilsdorf which I hadn't heard of before now, to the boys, while the girls are recommended The Fashionista Files: Adventures in Four-Inch Heels and Faux Pas by Karen Robinovitz as well as the abridged audio edition of The Devil Wears Prada - adult titles, not young adult titles, yet again overreaching the age group.

I can't stress it enough: Pre-teens, tweens, and teens are at different stages in development and in society. Let's not encourage them to grow up too fast. Let them be kids for as long as they can be, as they should be, and ease them into the adult world rather than throwing them in too early.

But that's another article for another time. For now, I wish you and yours the happiest of holidays - and hope that you encourage your kids to follow their hearts and realize their dreams, no matter what their genders or ages. If your teen son wants to wear a pink tie and skinny jeans, let him. If your teen daughter wants to take martial arts classes, find a reputable and affordable studio with an awesome sensei. If your kids show interest in something creative and active, support them. Help them learn more about all the different things they could do as hobbies or professions. Let them do what they love.

More to consider:
Just Say No to Gender Bias
More posts with the "gender bias" tag at Bildungsroman blog

If you want to give books as gifts to your friends and family members but aren't sure want to get, I have lots of suggestions and recommendations for you!

I have many booklists available, arranged by age/reading level and/or topic, which you may access at my archive site. Alternatively, you can click the "booklists" tag here at the blog, which are in chronological order, meaning you will see my most recently updated booklists first.

To make your holiday shopping easier, I have the Suggested Sets booklist, which groups together books with similar themes, as well as the If Then lists (If you or the person you're shopping for like this book, then you/he/she will like this book...) for Elementary School, Middle School, and High School.

I make "best of" booklists every month and every year, listing the best books I read in that time period by audience, age, and topic. You can get these lists at my archive site or right here at the blog by clicking the "best of" tag.

At the end of the month, I will post my Best Books of 2009 list here at Bildungsroman. I have a sneak-peek version available at Amazon: Best Books of 2009 (So Far).

I hope you find these booklists, recommendations, and reviews useful!

Liz at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy has posted a round-up of bookish gift ideas.

This just in from The Longstockings:

To celebrate the launch of our beautiful new site, and to celebrate you our longtime readers... The Longstockings are going to offer up our workshopping services to TWELVE LUCKY READERS during 2010!

To enter, just send one email to thelongstockings@yahoo.com with the subject line JANUARY WORKSHOP! We will be accepting entries until December 31st.

Here's how this will work...

From the emails received each month, we will select one lucky writer (at random) to submit a maximum of 25 pages to our workshop group. And that writer will receive a document compiling the helpful notes, suggestions and (surely) lots of praise from The Longstockings!

So enter now for January! We'll announce our first workshop winner on Monday January 4th. And fear not if you don't hit the jackpot this time, as we will repeat this process EVERY SINGLE MONTH OF 2010!

Get excited! Get typing! We can't wait to read your words!

If you're interested or want to learn more, please visit their site.

Tamora Pierce will be chatting live at the readergirlz blog TONIGHT, Wednesday, December 16th. The chat will begin at 6 PM PST/9 PM EST and last for about an hour.

Prepare yourselves. In February 2010, The New Dead shall rise.

Publishers Weekly Starred Review:

The 19 provocative, haunting, and genuinely unsettling original stories in this zombie anthology move the genre beyond its usual apocalyptic wastelands. David Liss’s novelette "What Maisie Knew" is a stunning and gruesome meditation on the banality of capitalism and evil. Mike Carey’s "Second Wind" is a haunting tale of an undead stockbroker who comes to question whether he ever truly lived. Lovers of more traditional zombie fare will also not be disappointed. Joe Hill’s ingenious "Twittering from the Circus of the Dead" tells a classic slasher film story through Twitter posts, while Jonathan Maberry’s heartbreaking "Family Business" describes a ruined America populated by kindly monks and zombie hunters. This powerful anthology shines a bright and unflinching light on the fears of death, decay, and loss that underpin America’s longstanding obsession with the undead. (Feb.)

Jacket Summary:

Resurrection!

The hungry dead have risen. They shamble down the street. They hide in back yards, car lots, shopping malls. They devour neighbors, dogs and police officers. And they are here to stay. The real question is, what are you going to do about it? How will you survive?

How will the world change when the dead begin to rise?

Stoker-award-winning author Christopher Golden has assembled an original anthology of never-before-published zombie stories from an eclectic array of today's hottest writers. Inside there are stories about military might in the wake of an outbreak, survival in a wasted wasteland, the ardor of falling in love with a zombie, and a family outing at the circus. Here is a collection of new views on death and resurrection.

With stories from Joe Hill, John Connolly, Max Brooks, Kelley Armstrong, Tad Williams, David Wellington, David Liss, Aimee Bender, Jonathan Maberry, and many others, this is a wildly diverse and entertaining collection...the Last Word on the New Dead.

Publishing Information:
Trade Paperback, 400 pages
Release date: February 16th, 2010
Published by St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN-10: 0312559712
ISBN-13: 978-0312559717

Tamora Pierce will be chatting live at the readergirlz blog tomorrow, Wednesday, December 16th. The chat will begin at 6 PM PST/9 PM EST and last for about an hour.

The three Reel sisters, Joey (8), Stevie (10), and Alex (12 and three-quarters), are thick as thieves. Dramatic Alex, the oldest girl, is an aspiring actress who, despite her attempts to appear mature and sophisticated at times, still secretly confides in her beloved sock monkey. Stevie, the middle sister with a beautiful singing voice, prefers to work behind the scenes. Young Joey finds joy in almost everything. All of the girls are creative and enjoy writing in some form, which is expressed through the narrative: Stevie is the main narrator, telling the majority of the story in first-person past tense, while her sisters' contributions (handwritten and illustrated pages from Joey's journal, typed scenes from Alex's life-as-a-screenplay) are placed between Stevie's straightforward chapters. Each girl has a distinctive voice and different hobbies as well as shared interests. Their parents are fun. Though the girls have their spats from time to time, which only makes the characters and the family seem more realistic, their house tends to be filled with love and laughter.

Megan always does such a great job writing for and about this age group. I absolutely adore her books about Judy Moody and her little brother, Stink. I read The Sisters Club right when it was released, and I absolutely loved it. I consequently regularly and regularly recommended it to 8- to 12-year-old readers, especially young girls who had sisters close in age.

I was thrilled when Rule of Three, the sequel to The Sisters Club, came out in 2009. I'm pleased to say that it not only met my expectations, but exceeded them. Rule of Three offered compassion, cupcakes, and song. When Stevie and Alex both try out for a school production of the musical Once Upon a Mattress, chaos ensues. Stevie isn't sure whether or not to try out, not only because she's shy, but because she doesn't want to upset Alex. Alex is not used to competing with her younger sisters, and she really wants to be the star. Soon, the girls become irritated with each other. I'm a sucker for a good story about productions, especially musicals.

Meanwhile, Joey works her way through the novel Little Women. She is so moved by the scene in which Jo donates her hair that she decides to do the same. Throughout the book, she bugs her sisters to measure her ponytail until it's long enough to donate to charity. Stevie bakes dozens and dozens of cupcakes - different types, depending on her mood - which Joey not-so-secretly snitches. Credit and kudos to Pamela A. Consolazio for illustrating Joey's cute journal entries and lists.

I really hope that Megan McDonald continues writing and sharing the adventures of the Reel sisters. I'd love to watch them continue to grow, and I'd follow their stories all the way through high school.

Related Booklists:
But I Don't Want to Be Famous!
But I DO Want to Be Famous!
Sisters