A much needed book in this time of fear and judgment.

The concept of a "dysphoria monster" really resonated with me as a trans genderfluid person. I feel like it truly captured the feeling of loneliness and fear that dysphoria can make a person feel and experience.

The part of the book for children is wonderfully illustrated and well thought out to help explain the feelings some children might have.

The part of the book for the parents, guardians, and adults in these children's lives is a great primer and an excellent resource to help navigate gender and transness with children in mind.

I wish I had books like this as a kid.

I received a digital copy of this book through Netgalley! I thought this would be a wonderful last read during pride month. As a picture book, it is definitely short and sweet. The illustrations are charming, full of color and cheer. I think this very much comes across as a book that can help both children and their parents get a glimpse at and understand some of what goes on with gender dysphoria. The focus on feelings is absolutely great and the picture book gives examples of things that cause Nisha gender dysphoria. These examples are common events that kids experience in their everyday lives, from the classroom to sports and having fun at the beach.

I appreciated how Nisha is never deadnamed, or referred to as her birth name. It might come across as something small for me to focus on, but it was a very important touch to me.

I think that this book might be of interest to parents and teachers of small children and perhaps could be read in a group setting, to help children broaden their world and to understand what a trans kid might feel. I think that a trans kid may specifically appreciate seeing a trans kid on the pages of this book, a young trans girl who is supported and uplifted by those around her.

This book was definitely sweet and lovingly presented. You could tell that Dale put a lot of thought in how gender dysphoria may make a child feel and how to present this in a manner that is child-friendly and light-hearted

This book was fantastic! Lovely illustrations to accompany such an important story. This book is a wonderful resource for kiddos and the adults bit in the back an important primer for their adults to assist in answering any questions. It clearly illustrates how important it is for trans kids to be able to socially transition and have access to representation and/or queer elders to see someone like them and talk with someone like them.
I'm so glad this book exists.

This review is based on an ARC.

Opinions In this review are a combination of mine, as a teacher, and of a trans teen, who I asked to read the book and share their insights.

This is a necessary book, which would be helpful to parents, therapists, school counselors and the like who have a young child who needs to understand a family member or friend who is transitioning. It is age and developmentally appropriate and gives language to use. However, like other similar books that explain a specific disability or other trait, it is education vs representation.

For this reason, I see it as being of limited use for a child who has gender dysphoria. At worst, it risks having the child see the dysphoria as a monster, as something they have to fight and as something to be feared. It makes recurrences of dysphoria, which do happen, feel like they’ve done something wrong and that something is intrinsically wrong with them. Kids who are trans already know how dysphoria feels. They don’t need a book telling them that. It also risks, without an adult to provide nuance, some kids who do not experience dysphoria seeing it as either scary (if they are scared of monsters) or “cool-a monster”. For kids who are trans or gender expansive, or as a group read-aloud, or as a book on the shelf of a classroom, books which include trans characters as part of the story, but the story doesn’t focus on gender, are preferred.

I do think this is a useful, necessary book in the right context. I am glad to see it exists. However, I am not going to recommend it unequivocally for school and in a library setting might be better shelved with parenting books vs children’s picture books.

hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced
Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5 stars

I loved this sweet story about a trans child talking about her discomfort with her birth name/pronouns and how it makes her feel. She doesn't have the words but knows how much it hurts her and how uncomfortable it makes her feel. She gets a chance to talk to a trans elder who helps her understand what she's experiencing and find a way to talk to her family about what she's experiencing which makes her a happier, more confident person as she discovers herself and is able to be herself!

i’m so glad i was able to read this book, it’s so beautifully written and the illustrations are so cute! i absolutely loved the art style.

the book is such a great introduction into gender dysphoria. It explains what it is in an easy to understand way, not only for kids but even for adults that don’t really understand what gender dysphoria is. the book also shows how family and friends can help, show support and ultimately deal with that gender dysphoria monster. as someone with my own gender dysphoria, this was such a heartwarming story that i wish i had growing up.

it also includes a guide to parents with further information about gender dysphoria, terminology and even a little questions section that answers some common questions asked by people, which i think is just so brilliant

i genuinely, even as a 24 year old, loved this book. it even made me tear up a little! that’s how you know it’s a good book! i cannot wait to be able to buy this for my nephew and niece!

This is a short book explaining gender dysphoria to children. Very bright and colourful, the text is easy to understand and is accessible fr children. I do wonder if there are easier words that children could use as many adults find the word ‘dysphoria’ difficult let alone children but maybe it's best to stick to the correct terms?

At the back, there is a guide for adults which is very helpful for opening discussions and being able to answer some of the questions children may have.

I liked the way the dysphoria was portrayed as a monster that followed the child everywhere and would grow when certain things happened like being told to use the boy's bathroom or be on the boys’ team. I am not transgender and do not know anyone personally who is but many other ‘disorders’ behave in the same way and I completely understand how this would be the case with gender too. I don’t mean to be dismissive or to suggest that this is a ‘just in their head’ type of thing, more that it’s a great way to describe how our feelings follow us to small children and allow them to visualise it easily.

I found this to be a good educational tool for children and an easy way to begin a discussion whether about them, someone they know or just generally.

A great way to explain dysphoria to children who don't experience it, and to help children that experience it not feel so alone. It is always helpful to be able to put words to your feelings as a child and this book does wonders

I adored this book! While, as a non-binary person, I’ve never visualized my dysphoria as a “monster” (that would be my anxiety), this was a very cute and relatable book. I can’t wait to add it to my public library’s collection!

This book was adorable and I hope it's available in every school!! I loved the simple yet emotional story about dysphoria told in a way that teaches both kids and parents how to deal with it. I thought it was perfect and the illustrations are absolutely beautiful.

It includes a short guide in the back for adults which is a nice addition for parents/guardians that may need to explain these terms to their kids (or even understand them themselves to support their loved ones!). Tbh this picture book could be useful to everyone.

I received and arc via netgalley but will def buy it!!

This picture book is a wonderful way to explain gender dysphoria to small children! So often we as parents describe fears and feelings as little monsters that can be scary to kids and can be bravely fought - this uses languages we're familiar with to explain things that may not be as familiar to us. Illustrations are adorably clear and the resource definitions at the end of the story will help grown-ups get familiar with explaining these concepts. A wonderful intro!

Explaining gender dysphoria in the simplest and most accessible terms I've ever seen, with absolutely adorable art work, this book will be an important resource for young trans kids and one every school library should have. I've read Laura Kate Dale's memoir before, which was a really valuable reading experience, and this one is just as valuable, just for a different target audience. More than ever, trans kids need support, and this book is such a great starting point for that. I loved seeing the support from the adults in the book as well. particularly Jack, as an adult trans person.

A really short book for explaining gender dysphoria to children. The text is easy to understand for the most part and I think it will be generally accessible to children. I also think it's good that there's a guide for adults included, which should help them open up these conversations.

I also liked the things the author picked to speak about, showing how dysphoria can increase when certain things happen, like being told to use a particular bathroom or play on a sports team that's exclusively male or female. I'm transgender and this definitely rang true for me.

I would have liked maybe a little more story to the book, as I think that can help children engage a bit more and connect with the character, but as an educational tool this is good.

Cute story for children that addresses the issue of gender identity. The back of the book has a supplemental, adult-themed glossary of all things gender related, so that adults can carry on a well-informed conversation with their child about what they just read.

Surprisingly thorough and informative. I'd recommend this for any child struggling with gender identity, as well as to their parent/guardian. Good book.

This was a gentle and beautiful way of expressing and explaining what dysphoria is, for both children and parents. Many people grow up with this ''monster'' that was mentioned and that only grows, and they suffer with it, a lot.
And then there are many problems, some parents cannot understand their children or know what to do and some children don't understand or don't know how to express what they feel. This is the kind of thing that should be taught to children while they are still young. They should learn these kinds of things at school because signs of dysphoria show up already when they are children, when they interact with people and over time when they start discovering more about themselves.
Illustrations of this type should also appear in places easily accessible to adults because they also need this type of information, if the child or teen discovers this about himself and the parents doesn't have the ''best reaction'', it ends up affecting the person a lot very negatively, because they need support and above all love, this is a really delicated subject that should be known by everyone and respected..
I found it very well illustrated and I liked the simplicity of the work.

Cute story about being trans as a kid. May be for slightly older kids (4-7ish) - the text may be a little lengthy for some of the younger kids. It is good information, though.

Representation: 10
Story: 10
Illustration: 10

Me and My Dysphoria Monster is a beautifully illustrated, impactful story. It uses simple-to-understand words, and it delivers the message from the point of empathy.

Books like these are so important, and I feel that any parent and educator should have them in their library. Gender dysphoria is a meaningful topic of conversation with children as we are responsible for raising a generation more tolerant, inclusive, safe and respectful than before.

** Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review. **

I love this book, and I believe it will be very useful to both children and adults. For transgender children, I know it will help them feel less isolated and alone, and for the adults around transgender children, both the story and the reading guide provide the necessary context for beginning the journey of supporting a transgender child. I particularly like that, while the two transgender characters in the story are a girl and a man, there is mention in the children's book as well as in the reading guide of nonbinary genders.

"Me and My Dysphoria Monster" is a beautifully illustrated children's book about a young trans girl named Nisha experiencing gender dysphoria. Throughout the book, her dysphoria is represented as an ever-changing monster that grows when she's misgendered, but starts to shrink and become more tame as she experiences gender euphoria. I love the premise of this - with children's books, illustrations play a key role in storytelling, and the idea to visualize gender dysphoria as a monster seems like the perfect way to explain such a complex topic to kids. As a trans person, I've found that kids frequently understand my transition and gender, but sometimes have a harder time understanding what gender dysphoria is if they don't experience it themselves - this seems like a great way to abstractly portray this concept.

There were some places where the dialogue or the writing in general felt clunky, but that's likely due to the book still being in the early phases of editing. The art carries the story so much that this didn't really hinder my experience with the book. The most that came from this were moments where I stopped and re-read a sentence a couple of times to make sure I understood the message. Regarding the book's use of language in general, I think that Dale does a good job simplifying trans concepts for kids so that they get the main idea without it becoming condescending. I also appreciated her inclusion of an "Adult's Guide" at the end of the book, which includes more text information about transitioning and what it means to me transgender, including FAQs and important terms/definitions to know. One thing I might like to see added to this section would be some sources for the information itself, or maybe recommended websites that readers could visit for more information, like the Trevor Project or PFLAG. I know that websites can sometimes become dated with time, but I still think it would be a good inclusion so that parents or teachers reading the book could expand their understanding of trans issues.

All in all, this was a delightful read - the colors and illustrations are vibrant, and the story was wonderful. To end, here are some short comments on things I really loved about this book: The reader meets Nisha as a girl and never learns her deadname, Nisha realizes she's trans after talking to a trans adult (whose "monster" is now a little frog perched on his shoulder! ADORABLE!!), and the book normalizes introducing yourself with your name and pronouns. I think this would be perfect for an elementary school class or library - certainly a great place to start discussions about trans folks in the classroom!

A short, yet informing read that tackles body dysphoria and transitioning. An important read and an excellent resource for helping both children and adults understand. Explained in a simple and easy to understand way, while still being engaging. A beautifully illustrated book.