Status
Available
Publication
Scholastic Press (2022), 224 pages
Library's review
George, a fourth-grader who knows she is a girl, despite appearances, begins to tell her secret.
The word “transgender” is used midway through, but far more work is done by the simple choice to tell George’s story using third-person narration and the pronouns “she” and “her.” Readers
Warm, funny, and inspiring. (Fiction. 9-12)
-Kirkus Review
The word “transgender” is used midway through, but far more work is done by the simple choice to tell George’s story using third-person narration and the pronouns “she” and “her.” Readers
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then cringe as much as George herself when bullies mock her or—perhaps worse—when well-meaning friends and family reassure her with sentiments like “I know you’ll turn into a fine young man.” Each year the fourth-graders at George’s school perform a dramatized version of Charlotte’s Web, the essentials of which are lovingly recapped (and tear-inducing ending revealed) for readers unfamiliar with the tale. George becomes convinced that if she plays Charlotte, her mom will finally see her as a girl. George’s struggles are presented with a light, age-appropriate, and hopeful touch. The responses she gets when she begins to confide in those closest to her are at times unexpected but perfectly true-to-character—most notably her crude older brother’s supportive observation that, “No offense, but you don’t make a very good boy.” A coda to the Charlotte’s Web story, in which George presents herself as a girl for the first time, is deeply moving in its simplicity and joy. (This review was updated to reflect a change to the title.)Warm, funny, and inspiring. (Fiction. 9-12)
-Kirkus Review
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Awards
Lambda Literary Award (Finalist — 2016)
Commonwealth Club of California Book Awards (Winner — Juvenile — 2015)
Georgia Children's Book Award (Recommended — Grades 6-8 — 2017)
William Allen White Children's Book Award (Nominee — Grades 3-5 — 2018)
Vermont Golden Dome Book Award (Nominee — 2017)
Stonewall Book Award (Winner — 2016)
Oregon Reader's Choice Award (Nominee — 2018)
Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing (Nominee — 2017)
Kids' Book Choice Awards (Finalist — 2016)
ALA Rainbow Book List (Selection — Juvenile Fiction — 2016)
E.B. White Read-Aloud Award (Honor Book — 2016)
Charlotte Huck Award (Recommended Book — 2016)
NPR: Books We Love (2015)
CCBC Choices (2016)
Notable Children's Book (Middle Readers — 2016)
Nerdy Book Award (Middle Grade Fiction — 2015)
Los Angeles Public Library Best of the Year (Children's Books — 2015)
El día de los niños / El día de los libros (3-5 — 2016)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2015
ISBN
1338843419 / 9781338843415