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This paper attempts to how gender plays a role in efforts to increase literacy in early childhood. Literacy is not just reading, but reading is the beginning of all. Of course not only reading textual, but also reading illustrated stories and so forth. One sign of an advanced nation is the high interest in literacy. Indonesian childrens interest in reading at PISA ranks 62th out of 72 countries surveyed. This data is not happy news. Boys usually have lower reading interests than girls. One of the efforts to increase childrens literacy based on gender-sensitive curriculum is with story books where the characters are male and female in equal order and role. The method used in this paper is literature study. Which of the previous studies conducted in Australia and other developed countries has implemented gender-based reading media and a big impact in fostering the reading interest of boys and girls. But in Indonesia as a developing country, which for the most part still overrides gender-based learning, finally and perhaps with gender-based media can contribute to efforts foster reading interest for all children in Indonesia.