Bill's New Frock

By Anne Fine

I first read Bill's New Frock back in the UK when I was first starting out in my teaching career. My students loved it then and my current class is loving it now. There are a couple of jokes in there that don't translate well into New Zealand schools, an example being the "Wumpy Choo" being a "1p chew".
When I read it 20 years ago I had some parents come in, worried that I was promoting trans-sexuality. But as I made the point back then that this story was written to open discussion about the differences between girls and boys, the social norms and expectations around academic achievement, dress code and sporting prowess. In essence, it allows the boys to see more clearly issues that girls deal with, for example, dresses being impractical.

Besides, it's very funny in its innocence.

Synopsis

When Bill Simpson woke up on Monday morning, he found he was a girl... Forced off to school in a frilly pink dress, Bill discovers one of the worst days of his life is about to begin.
Baffled by the way things are just different for girls, Bill falls headlong into trouble. As the amazing day drags on, Bill's new frock becomes dirtier and tattier. How will it all end for him - or her?

Author

Anne Fine, OBE FRSL (born 7 December 1947) is an English writer, best known for children's books although she also writes for adults. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and she was appointed an OBE in 2003. (Wikipedia)

Other books by the author

• Scaredy-Cat (1985) 
• Stranger Danger? (1989)
• Only a Show (1990)
• The Worst Child I Ever Had (1991)
• Design a Pram (1991)
• The Same Old Story Every Year (1992)
• The Haunting of Pip Parker (1992)
• Press Play (1994)
• The Diary of a Killer Cat (1994)
• Care of Henry (1996)
• Jennifer's Diary (1996)
• Countdown (1996)
• Roll Over Roly (1999)
• Notso Hotso (2001)
• The Jamie and Angus Stories (2002)
• How to Cross the Road and Not Turn into a Pizza (2002)
• The Return of the Killer Cat (2003)
• Nag Club (2004)
• It Moved! (2006)
• Jamie and Angus Together (2007)
• The Killer Cat Strikes Back (2007)
• The Killer Cat's Birthday Bash (2008)
• Jamie and Angus Forever (2009)
• Under a Silver Moon (2012)
• Out for the Count (2016)