Bill's New Frock

Blurb

Bill's New Frock is a book by Anne Fine and illustrated by Philippe Dupasquier for younger readers, first published in 1989, and reissued by Egmont in a new edition on 1 August 2002. The story concerns a young boy, Bill Simpson, who wakes up one morning to find he has transformed into a girl. Forced off to school in a frilly pink dress, Bill discovers one of the worst days in his life is about to begin. Baffled by the way things are just different for girls, Bill falls headlong into trouble. The book was adapted into an television special, which first aired on 6 June 1998.
The book has been used successfully to challenge gender stereotyping. In a study by A. Wing, in 2002 by the Social Science Research Unit, University of London children were read Bill's New Frock.
The content of the book was discussed with them. Children were able to articulate, and reflect on, their stereotypical constructions of gender and those in the world at large. There was evidence of children considering ‘the different treatment that boys and girls receive’, and of classroom discussion enabling stereotypes to be challenged.