George
Author: Alex Gino
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Illustrator: --
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Date: 2015
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About the book:
In a society full of gender stereotypes, George did not feel like he fit into his. He dreams of looking like girls in magazines that he stole from his mom. When he decided that he wanted to be Charlotte instead of Wilbur in the play Charlotte's Web, he realized he couldn't keep his secret any longer. George needed to let someone know that he is a girl.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
"She looked in the mirror and gasped. Melissa gasped back at her. For a long time, she stood there, just blinking. George smiled, and Melissa smiled too." Page 181 in George
Alex Gino has released a book that can spark interesting and necessary conversations about the LGBTQ+ community. George is all about a girl, but society sees her as a boy. She is struggling to come out to her friends and family because of lack of knowledge and discomfort about the topic. She was surrounded by great support from her friend and was able to find herself as Melissa. Gino does a great job of including both George and Melissa simultaneously in the sotry. I believe this choice was because Gino didn't want to lose who George was even though he was becoming Melissa. George is still the same person he was before but felt like Melissa suited him better. It's not about gender, it's about being who you are. At the end of the book in the Q&A section, Gino talks about what we should say and what we shouldn't say. Everyone is different, but it doesn't make them a different person than who they were before. They may want to be spoken about in many different ways, but it's all about communication.
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This book is great way to start conversation about transgenders and how people may feel like their body doesn't fit the gender they are. This book is written in an #OwnVoice, therefore the author knew about times that they felt uncomfortable or times that reflected the difficulties. Seeing this insight allows the reader to be more cautious in what they say and do around others they don't know or even ones they do know. In this vlog below, I begin to talk about the realizations that I had while reading the book on what I need to be cautious about becoming a future teacher.
Personally, in this video I was struggling with correct pronouns when talking about George and even the author. In all honesty, I have always been aware of people who are transgender, but I have never really spoken out loud about it. I knew I could redo this video and have it be perfect, but I need to promote that not always are we going to be perfect talking about something. It always comes with practices. A way to practice discussing pronouns, gender stereotypes, sexuality, and gender identity, is to connect it to a text and then discuss the book. Like Gino said at the end of the book, George is a fictional character. It reflects a lot of people in our society today who are struggling to come out with their true gender identity, but we won't offend anyone by practicing dialogue about this topic. Using Anti-Defamation League's discussion questions about George, we can begin to practice appropriate dialogue in a safe space. Here are some of the questions below:
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What is the book about?
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How would you describe George's personality and how does she change throughout the book?
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Why do you think George hid the fashion magazines from her Mom? What happened when George's Mom found her magazines?
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In what ways did George's classmates tease and bully her?
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Why do you think it upset George when her teacher said, "I know you'll turn into fine young man?"
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How did George feel when she was rehearsing the part of Charlotte with her friend Kelly? Why do you think she felt that way?
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What happened when George auditioned for the role of Charlotte? How did George feel when Mrs. Udell told her she couldn't play the part of Charlotte?
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What did George mean she said, "Sometimes transgender people don't get rights."? What do you know about the rights of transgender people?
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Why did George want her Mom to see her playing Charlotte in the play?
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When Principal Maldonado said to George's Mom, "You can't control who your children are, but can certainly support them," what do you think she meant by that?
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What was Kelly's idea for helping George to be Melissa in the world?
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What is the overall theme and message of the book?
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These discussion questions do a great job of summarizing the book, but after these questions have been answered, I believe the discussion can go even further about this topic. Here are some discussion questions that I thought of after reading through ADL's questions:
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Why do you think it was difficult for George to talk to his mom and Kelly about what was going through his mind?
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Why do you think the author decided to call George "she" all throughout the book? What did the author want to tell you about pronouns?
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How has this book changed your thinking?
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Do you have someone in your life that reflects George's life? How can you be an ally to a person who is going through this difficult transition in their life?
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What did Kelly do that you can do to help someone who is transgender?
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What would you do if someone like Rick and Jeff tried to bully someone who is transgender?
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What are your pronouns?
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Is your idea of gender identity and gender stereotypes different now after reading George?
#OWNVOICE
About the Author
Alex Gino is a transgender who used #OwnVoice to talk about what it is like to figure out who you are and share it with the people around you. In this interview, Gino talks about how amazing it would've been if they found this book in the library when they were trying to figure out who they were growing up. This book is all about what Gino had gone through and the discrimination they have had in their life. Gino is Mx which means mix. They don't classify themselves as either a boy or girl. This is different than what George had to go through because she knew that she wanted to be just a girl. It is a similar process, but when critically analyzing this book, it's not the exact same situation.
Teacher Takeaway
This course has taught me all about how to create an environment where everyone feels accepted. One of the biggest takeaways I have is about how books can reflect such a positive classroom in a way I never imagined. The books that you provide to your children allow them to find comfort in seeing familiarity, seeing the world in a new way, or entering into a book to reflect on life. Before this class I was so concerned about quantity and not as much quality. I had heard a statistic about needing 20 books per kid in a classroom. I do think this still needs to be true, but the quality of the book is just as important. I want kids to look at a book and see themselves or someone they know within that book. I want books that can provide great discussion. I want books that will help children love to read. This doesn't stop with just books about disabilities, race, ethnicity and religion. It also needs to reflect gender identity as well. We can't think that the students are "too young" to know who they are. They are growing into the person they will become and will need guidance and perseverance at a young age to help them get there. Susan Gilbert and Thomas Doyle believe the book selection can really mold a great mindset to not only the student who is figuring out their gender identity, but also anyone who will be a part of their life. Gilbert and Doyle said, "through the selections of literature read aloud, teachers have the power to break the barriers of stereotypes, teach acceptance for children who demonstrate nonconforming behaviors, help students value gender diversity, recognize and cross gender barriers, and take action to promote equity and justice." Even as a preservice teacher I need to start preparing my library of books that are good quality books while also having a wide range of diversity. Dana Stachowiak believes it is never too early to start preparing. We have to be proactive rather than being too late to help a student. If we start early, we can only grow from there and create a wide selection of books that can guide students through self identity.