George

Gino, A. (2015). George. NY: Scholastic.

George is 10 years old.  She knows that she is a girl.  The only problem is that everyone else sees her as a boy.  She feels very uncomfortable in her skin.  Her fourth grade class is putting on a Charlotte’s Web play.  George wants to audition for the part of Charlotte.  Her friend Kelly and George rehearse together and Kelly believes she is good enough to get the part.  When it was George’s turn to audition, her teacher did not allow her to do it.  George was very disappointed, but Kelly came up with a plan.  The day of the performance, George would take over the part of Charlotte without anyone knowing.  It would be too late to try to get him off the stage.  She successfully pulled it off and everyone knew who she was.  George finally told her mom, brother, and Kelly and they were all accepting and supportive of her.   At the end, Kelly and Melissa (George) went to the zoo and George got to dress like a girl.  She was so happy and excited.  She said it was the best of her life so far.  This book is age-appropriate for children from 8-12 years old, but I would recommend it to adults as well.  George allows you see how children his age feel trapped in a body that doesn’t feel like he belongs too.  I think one of the strengths of this books is that it allows readers to be emotionally invested in her life.  It can teach children who are struggling with their gender identity, self-acceptance.  This is a realistic fiction book.  Many children today can relate with George’s feelings.  One of the themes of this book is friendship.  Kelly and George develop a friendship where Kelly encourages George to pursue what he is feeling.  Some other themes are gender identity, bullying experiences, and self-acceptance.