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Re: Trans middle-grade?
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From: K.T. Horning <horning_at_education.wisc.edu>
Date: Fri, 16 May 2014 09:29:47 -0500
Hannah, there were two books that were mentioned earlier but I will mention them again here with the CCBC annotations included since they both fit exactly what you are looking for. The first book below is from Canada and the second from Great Britain, but both are available in U. S. editions. Maybe others on this listserv who are from Canada, Great Britain, Australia or New Zealand will know more books like this that have been published in English outside the U. S. Like you, Hannah, I would really like to see more books like this for middle grade readers.
*
**Huser, Glen. /Stitches/. Groundwood, 2003* Travis is a kid who has been teased since he was in first grade. First, it was words like "girlie." As he grew older, it was "Sissy. Crybaby. Fruitfly. Fagface." As he enters junior high school, his interests in sewing, puppetry and theater are encouraged, first by an English teacher and then a home economics teacher, but these same interests are part of what mark by some students as a target for their continued bullying. Travis is sustained by his best friend, Chantelle, who helps him navigate the treacheries of school. Like Travis, Chantelle stands out as different. Most people don't see beyond her disfigured body, crippled since birth. But Chantelle is bright and lively: a kindred spirit to Travis. Travis also is supported at home. His mother is on the road a lot, so it is his aunt Kitaleen and her children who fill his life with love on a daily basis. Overweight Kitaleen is married to a bully herself and has to sustain her own share of verbal abuse. But her ability to embrace those around her and fill their lives with sustenance abounds, and her dignity is undeniable. Glen Huser's extraordinary book about a boy who is targeted from early childhood on because he doesn't fit the stereotype of what a "boy" should be is an unprecedented work. His funny, touching story is hard to put down, even as it treads down difficult pathways. As Travis moves through junior high school, what began as mostly verbal bullying leads to acts of severe humiliation, and, eventually, brutality. This thought-provoking, important novel that features one great character after another never overtly addresses Travis's sexuality, because Travis himself is barely beginning to consider that aspect of his identity. Instead, it focuses on the many facets of Travis's personality that make him the individual he is. The book doesn't shy away from the harsh reality of bullying and violence, but nonetheless it remains an uplifting story full of warmth, humor, and hope. 198 pages, $15.95 and $5.35. Ages 12-15
*Walliams, David. /The Boy in the Dress/. Razorbill, Penguin, 2009.* Twelve-year-old Dennis is fascinated by fashion. When he lets his appreciation for Vogue magazine slip out to Lisa, an older girl and aspiring fashion designer at his school, she invites him over to see her designs. It doesn't take too much urging from Lisa for Dennis to try on her most recent creation. "He felt so happy that he wanted to dance." The two hatch a hilarious plan for Dennis to attend school as Denise, Lisa's French friend. Everything goes well until Lisa's French class, when they realize that French is a language neither Dennis nor Denise can speak. The ruse revealed, Dennis is ridiculed by fellow students and expelled by the humorless headmaster. At home, his puzzled and angry father confiscates the only picture Dennis has of his mother, who left two years before. But more than one surprising turnabout is in store. Dennis's genuine pleasure in cross-dressing is sensitively portrayed in a story that is over-the-top and tender, and full of quirky, entertaining characters and absurdly enjoyable scenarios, including a climactic soccer game in which Dennis and his teammates storm the field in drag. Illustrations by Quentin Blake capture the blithe spirit of David Walliams's refreshing debut. 240 pages, $15.99. Ages 9-13.
--KT
On 5/14/2014 10:24 AM, Hannah G??mez wrote:
> A lot of the discussion here is centered around picturebooks that deal
> with gender nonconformity, generally with regards to dress or fairy
> tale tropes. And then we have the YA that we'll be reading and
> discussing in a couple weeks. But it seems like middle grade is a big
> gap. And given that ages 8-13 are when a lot of bullying starts to
> happen, in addition to the beginnings of puberty and starting to
> understand what your sex and what your gender mean to you and to
> others, I wonder why there doesn't seem to be any middle grade that
> touches on this (of course I'm not /actually/ surprised, given the
> backlash against such things in YA and in overall culture and society,
> but ya know what I mean). Or do I just not know what's out there?
Date: Fri, 16 May 2014 09:29:47 -0500
Hannah, there were two books that were mentioned earlier but I will mention them again here with the CCBC annotations included since they both fit exactly what you are looking for. The first book below is from Canada and the second from Great Britain, but both are available in U. S. editions. Maybe others on this listserv who are from Canada, Great Britain, Australia or New Zealand will know more books like this that have been published in English outside the U. S. Like you, Hannah, I would really like to see more books like this for middle grade readers.
*
**Huser, Glen. /Stitches/. Groundwood, 2003* Travis is a kid who has been teased since he was in first grade. First, it was words like "girlie." As he grew older, it was "Sissy. Crybaby. Fruitfly. Fagface." As he enters junior high school, his interests in sewing, puppetry and theater are encouraged, first by an English teacher and then a home economics teacher, but these same interests are part of what mark by some students as a target for their continued bullying. Travis is sustained by his best friend, Chantelle, who helps him navigate the treacheries of school. Like Travis, Chantelle stands out as different. Most people don't see beyond her disfigured body, crippled since birth. But Chantelle is bright and lively: a kindred spirit to Travis. Travis also is supported at home. His mother is on the road a lot, so it is his aunt Kitaleen and her children who fill his life with love on a daily basis. Overweight Kitaleen is married to a bully herself and has to sustain her own share of verbal abuse. But her ability to embrace those around her and fill their lives with sustenance abounds, and her dignity is undeniable. Glen Huser's extraordinary book about a boy who is targeted from early childhood on because he doesn't fit the stereotype of what a "boy" should be is an unprecedented work. His funny, touching story is hard to put down, even as it treads down difficult pathways. As Travis moves through junior high school, what began as mostly verbal bullying leads to acts of severe humiliation, and, eventually, brutality. This thought-provoking, important novel that features one great character after another never overtly addresses Travis's sexuality, because Travis himself is barely beginning to consider that aspect of his identity. Instead, it focuses on the many facets of Travis's personality that make him the individual he is. The book doesn't shy away from the harsh reality of bullying and violence, but nonetheless it remains an uplifting story full of warmth, humor, and hope. 198 pages, $15.95 and $5.35. Ages 12-15
*Walliams, David. /The Boy in the Dress/. Razorbill, Penguin, 2009.* Twelve-year-old Dennis is fascinated by fashion. When he lets his appreciation for Vogue magazine slip out to Lisa, an older girl and aspiring fashion designer at his school, she invites him over to see her designs. It doesn't take too much urging from Lisa for Dennis to try on her most recent creation. "He felt so happy that he wanted to dance." The two hatch a hilarious plan for Dennis to attend school as Denise, Lisa's French friend. Everything goes well until Lisa's French class, when they realize that French is a language neither Dennis nor Denise can speak. The ruse revealed, Dennis is ridiculed by fellow students and expelled by the humorless headmaster. At home, his puzzled and angry father confiscates the only picture Dennis has of his mother, who left two years before. But more than one surprising turnabout is in store. Dennis's genuine pleasure in cross-dressing is sensitively portrayed in a story that is over-the-top and tender, and full of quirky, entertaining characters and absurdly enjoyable scenarios, including a climactic soccer game in which Dennis and his teammates storm the field in drag. Illustrations by Quentin Blake capture the blithe spirit of David Walliams's refreshing debut. 240 pages, $15.99. Ages 9-13.
--KT
On 5/14/2014 10:24 AM, Hannah G??mez wrote:
> A lot of the discussion here is centered around picturebooks that deal
> with gender nonconformity, generally with regards to dress or fairy
> tale tropes. And then we have the YA that we'll be reading and
> discussing in a couple weeks. But it seems like middle grade is a big
> gap. And given that ages 8-13 are when a lot of bullying starts to
> happen, in addition to the beginnings of puberty and starting to
> understand what your sex and what your gender mean to you and to
> others, I wonder why there doesn't seem to be any middle grade that
> touches on this (of course I'm not /actually/ surprised, given the
> backlash against such things in YA and in overall culture and society,
> but ya know what I mean). Or do I just not know what's out there?
-- Kathleen T. Horning Director Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) 4290 Helen C. White Hall 600 N. Park St Madison, WI 53706 http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc horning_at_education.wisc.edu 608-263-3721 (phone) 608-262-4933 (fax) ==== CCBC-Net Use ==== You are currently subscribed to ccbc-net as: ccbc-archive_at_post.education.wisc.edu. To post to the list, send message to... ccbc-net_at_lists.wisc.edu To receive messages in digest format, send a blank message to... digest-ccbc-net_at_lists.wisc.edu To unsubscribe, send a blank message to... leave-ccbc-net_at_lists.wisc.edu ==== CCBC-Net Archives ==== The CCBC-Net archives are available to all CCBC-Net listserv members. The archives are organized by month and year. A list of discussion topics (including month/year) is available at... http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/ccbcnet/archives.asp To access the archives, go to... http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/ccbc-net ...and enter the following when prompted... username: ccbc-net password: Look4PostsReceived on Fri 16 May 2014 09:30:41 AM CDT
