George is a girl. She has an older brother Scott and best friend Kelly. She is being bullied in school by a boy named Jeff.

All is good and well with exception that only George knows she is a girl. 

There is a school play Charlotte's Web. George wants to be Charlotte but she isn't allow to audition for the part because the teacher didn't know she is a girl yet. 

It is hard and confusing for a young transgender child to tell their family and friends of their gender. A lot of things are so depending on the perspective of gender. What to dress, what roll to play in a school play, and the expectation that comes with it. 

Good that George school is LGBT friendly. Even so, it is still not easy for a young child to find acceptance. 

Good that George has a best friend Kelly. Who after George told her, not only accept her as she is, but helped out by letting her dress for a day out to the zoo with her uncle. George could finally go out as Melissa. 

It is hard to find good book on transgender child. This is a really good one and by reading, more adults and children might get how to be around transgender children that might be more helpful to them. 

One of my favorite children's books about LGBT+ that may help a future student. It is about a little girl that was born a boy and she wants people to see her for the person she is. This book easily explains what trans means and how it feels to be transgender. I like how honest this book is and how it illustrates how others may react to someone that is trans. The important lesson that Melissa learns is that she should be true to herself and that her friends will always support her. 

Lexile: 790

Reading level: 3-7 grade

I picked this title to fill a Pop Sugar prompt. What a lovely story about a trans kid coming to terms with her identity and beginning to out herself. Due to the great writing by Alex Gino, I really connected to George/Melissa from the beginning and saw her as a girl from the first page. I loved Scott's reaction to Melissa's coming out to him; not only does it make sense for Melissa to identify as a girl, it also made sense to Scott, as it finally clicked into place how he sees Melissa and feels about her. And I loved Melissa's BFF Kelly, although at times she seemed aggressively positive at Melissa's coming out; it seemed the school principal had a much more subtle approach to Melissa's gender expression that conveyed support but not so loud as to draw unwanted attention to Melissa as she navigates this stage of her life.

Overall, a great MG read with humor and heart.

George is a great little book narrated by one of the best kid narrators around. Younger than I usually read, I found George (both character and book) wonderfully endearing. It's a clever way to introduce readers to a non-controversial and easy-to-love trans person. I couldn't be more different from George, but I found it very easy to empathize with many parts of her experience.

Who could be less threatening than this little person with the dream of playing Charlotte (the famous literary spider) in her class play? What a simple dream that is. Why must we make it so complicated by assigning arbitrary gender roles to Charlotte's Web?

George is lucky to have a great best friend who very nearly steals the show in more ways than one. There's no super preachy human rights or politically correct diatribe here, but it's not totally Pollyanna either. It's a simple story of a person who doesn't fit, her precocious friend, a school play and then about as many more layers as you choose to see -- like many good children's books. But don't get me wrong, this is told in a way that even kids could understand with a little helpful guidance.

George is young enough that a newcomer to these issues or a child doesn't have to deal with sexual reassignment or anything terrifically explicit. I wish this book had existed long before now, but I sure am glad it's finally here.