George

I love kids books. I love how they deal with issues a lot of kids face: bullying, family problems, all the problems of growing up. This was the first time I have seen a kids book tackle this issue, and it did it in such a charming and wonderful way.

George, by Alex Gino, is about a fourth grade girl who was born a boy, and her struggle to fit into her own skin when she can't self express. When her class puts on a play of Charlotte's Web, George wants to play Charlotte but is told she cant because she's a boy. Her friend Kelly (who is such an amazing character) conspires to switch places with her during the school play so that everyone can see George for who she really is: a girl.

This book was wonderfully charming. It dealt with the issues that transgender children face when they are learning to self express themselves. I love how Kelly never questioned the fact that George is a girl, once she found out, and neither did Scott, Georges older brother. It dealt with Georges mother wrapping her head around the Georges identity and being worried because "life is already hard."

This book was wonderful. I'm sure that it will be challenged in schools, but I feel that books that deal with anything of substance generally are. I hope a lot of people read it. It is such a charming story with a very wonderful message that I feel more children need to hear, regardless of their gender, age, or sexual orientation: "Be who you are."