Not enough boys are reading books, and guess what? Women are to blame. So says British children's author Jonathan Emmett, who has put out a 24-page report claiming that boys' lower literacy levels are down to women in publishing, and the mums and grans who buy the books.

Emmett argues that because women dominate in children's publishing and reviewing jobs, the books that come out reflect their tastes – and in turn, the majority of people who buy books for children are women, so their tastes come into play too. Which sounds like a very poor deal for boys.

Young adult writers Emily Gale and Danielle Binks. Binks believes boys have the same emotional intelligence as girls when it comes to fiction. Credit:Josh Robenstone

Except that many other people in the business don't believe Emmett's argument. "Poppycock," says Australian writer and reviewer Danielle Binks. She agrees that women dominate the business of buying and selling children's books (except at CEO level), but says that the gender imbalance is the other way round, quoting a US study in 2011 that found that in 20th-century children's books, males were central characters in 57 per cent of books published per year, while only 31 per cent had central female characters.

The perception is that girls will read books designed for both girls and boys, but boys will only read books designed for boys, usually by a male author, or one with a neutral name, such as J.K. Rowling. And the industry caters for this: there's a rigid gender divide that starts with the covers (pretty pink or pastels for girls; thunderous action or naughty humour for boys).