Cover of a children's book titled "This Book Is Not for You!" featuring two children, a boy and a girl, with a cat and a robot holding books, on a light blue background.

Written by Shannon Hale & Illustrated by Tracy Subisak

This Book Is Not For You!

A zany picture book that pokes fun at overly gendered notions of “boy books” and “girl books” and celebrates the pleasure of a good book.

An ALA Rise: A Feminist Book Project selection!

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About this book

From New York Times bestselling and Newbery Honor–winning author Shannon Hale and award-winning illustrator Tracy Subisak, comes a zany picture book that pokes fun at overly gendered notions of “boy books” and “girl books” and celebrates the pleasure of a good book.

Stanley’s thrilled for bookmobile day—until the old man at the window refuses to lend him the story he wants, all because it features a girl. “Girl books” are only for girls, the book man insists, just like cat books are only for cats and robot books are only for robots. But when a dinosaur arrives at the bookmobile and successfully demands a book about ponies, Stanley musters the courage to ask for the tale he really wants—about a girl adventurer fighting pirates on the open seas. By speaking up, Stanley inspires the people, cats, robots, and goats around him to read more stories outside their experiences and enjoy the pleasure of a good book of their choosing.

The details

RELEASE DATE: April 19, 2022

AGES: 3-7

PAGES: 40

FORMAT: Hardcover

PUBLISHER: Dial Books, Penguin Random House

ISBN-13: 9781984816856

Look Inside

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Praise

  • “Subisak (Amah Faraway) brings her characteristic, doodle-reminiscent style to pages that expertly balance white space with dot-eyed characters human and nonhuman alike, rendered in light-hued washes of India ink, Japanese watercolor, pastel, and colored pencil. A gently delivered, persuasive case against the idea that books’ audiences are innately gendered or otherwise limited.”

    — Publishers Weekly

  • “Told with Hale’s delightful trademark wit and humor, [This Book Is Not for You!] gently hammers home the concept of censorship and how even well-meaning adults can unknowingly restrict a child’s right to read. . . . The mix of narrative text and speech bubbles gives the picture book an almost graphic-novel feel that readers will enjoy, and the book’s message is well worth spreading.”

    — Booklist

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Press

Seven Impossible Things

SLJ’s 100 Scope Notes with Shannon Hale

A drawing activity sheet titled "This Book Is Not for You!" with a prompt to think about a main character and story plot and draw a book cover. The sheet features a simple illustration of a closed book and decorative characters like a bird and a snail in the corners.

For Teachers & Readers

This Book Is Not For You! Activity

Think of your main character and story plot and draw your book cover!

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Tracy Subisak smiling outdoors on a grassy area holding a book titled 'Jenny Mei Is Sad' in front of her chest. Background includes trees, a river, and a bridge.

About Tracy

Tracy Subisak is the mixed-Taiwanese American author and illustrator of Sorry, Snail and award-winning Jenny Mei Is Sad. She has also illustrated many picture books including The Inactivity Book, written by Kyo Maclear and Amah Faraway, written by Margaret Chiu Greanias. Her books have been featured in publications such as the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and PBS Books. Tracy currently resides in Portland, Oregon with her family and copious amounts of plants.

MORE ABOUT TRACY