What an absolute pearl of a book!
Me and My Dysphoria Monster is the perfect book to introduce and explain gender identities and related concepts to a child. The story is simple and realistic, the illustrations are beautiful and helpful in the story-telling, and the book ends with a useful terminology guide for adults who want to arm themselves with the right words to answer the kid's questions.
I HIGHLY recommend this book to any parent or educator for children age pre-K+

This is a very nicely written and informative book, with beautiful illustrations. It’s aimed at parents of and children who experience gender dysphasia, however I think it would be a quick lighthearted read for adults to appreciate a different take on their ‘monster’ too!

Thank you to Jessica Kinsley Publishers and NetGalley for the ARC (advanced Readers Copy) in exchange for an honest review.

At first glance, 'Me and My Dysphoria Monster' is colourful and attractive to the eyes with brilliantly made art illustrated by Hui Qing Ang. I can imagine young children would be drawn to this by not only the curious title, butthe art alone.

Meet Nisha who has a gender dysphoria monster that keeps getting bigger and bigger.

Follow them as they learn about themselves and learn to gain confidence to be honest with themself and the people around them.

Absolutely charming.

This recieved a five out of five because I'm absolutely in love with the art and the actual story as well and that doesn't happen often. 'Me and My Dysphoria Monster' would be a great LGBTQIA+ resource in both schools and at home.
It would be fantastic for introducing information about transgender and non-binary emotions into young children's lives.

Thank you so much to Jessica Kingsley Publishing and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Nisha is born as a boy but isn’t one at all and her monster follows her around everywhere. It gets bigger and bigger the more she is singled out as a boy. Then she meets Jack who explains everything about who they truly are and it gives Nisha the confidence to be herself.

What a simple yet effective and wonderful way of explaining it, it’s such a perfect way of children understanding themselves and others around them. It broke it all down into simple sections of who Nisha wasn’t but everyone says that she is, to the reasons behind why Nisha was who she truly was and Nisha getting the chance to live the life she deserved and desired to be living.

I loved the illustrations in this book seeing the change in Nisha, seeing the monster change from bigger and bigger to smaller and smaller. The story was really sad for a while but I was so happy for Nisha getting to live her true life as herself.

The back of the book provides a really detailed guide for adults to help them understand in a lot more detail, to help them offer the correct support and care for their children. It’s great that so much help and information was included in this book.

SO CUTE! Read this with my toddler and we both loved it. This is a great way to talk about the experience of gender with younger ones.

Very great book that helps describe things to a young child. Presents it as a way to help those with the feelings understand, but also help create empathy from those who do not feel dysphoria as well.

The art is also very well done.

As a nonbinary person, this is the type of book I had in my life as a kid! Having someone to understand the monster that loomed over me would've been life changing. This book will be so life changing for trans kids!

This book! Where to begin? Even the end pages are gorgeous with their pastel-coloured illustrations and don't get me started on the beautiful cover. Then, we have the empowering, magnificently-told story itself.

Like the title suggests, this book follows the main character (Nisha) and her struggle with gender dysphoria, which is portrayed as a monster. This is an incredibly powerful metaphor which I believe can help educate parents as much as children when they read this book. When Nisha talks about going to the beach, for example, her monster is shown as being especially huge. It's so big, in fact, that it stops her from being able to swim and have fun with her friends. Similarly, it grows larger when she is made to use the boy's toilet instead of the girls. Most notably to me though, the monster is present even when she is playing hide and seek, aka just trying to be a child rather than partaking in an activity where gender seemingly matters. To me, this shows how invasive and painful gender dysphoria is to people in the trans community and how it is ever-present. This is something I think all people should be made aware of.

The whole plot is engaging and educational, and it is told seamlessly. My favourite part though, has to be when Nisha meets Jack, a trans man with his own monster. Through years of validation (and implied gender euphoria) Jack's monster has shrunk to look like a small, very cute frog. And, thanks to his advice, Nisha's own monster soon begins to shrink. It's a very sweet story that I think children - and adults - will enjoy reading again and again.

A heap of extras are also included in this text, which make it even better. LGBTQ-friendly books are recommended at the beginning, and the final few pages are bursting with helpful information to be a supportive ally to people who are transgender. It even defines actions such as deadnaming and misgendering and explicitly explains why they are harmful. In short, providing a more in-depth version of the tale that is more informative for adults but less appealing to children.

I wish I'd had this book when I was growing up, and I can't wait to buy copies for any future additions to my family. I think both my family members and myself would have benefitted greatly from learning the lessons this book teaches earlier on in our lives.

Me and My Dysphasia Monster is such a cute, education, accepting book. It’s an important message that kids understand it’s okay to be themselves and express that. I loved that they brought in an older trans character to talk to Nisha about her monster. It was also a realistic talk. The monster will not go away but it will be less most the time. I love the story and meaning behind the book.

I absolutely loved this book! I will be buying it immediately. The author and the illustrator expressed gender dysphoria in such a relatable, easy to understand way. The artwork alone was heartfelt and invited the reader to really see how intense Nisha’s monster became. I loved how Nisha’s parents had their friend, who also struggled with a gender dysphoria monster, come and talk to Nisha and validate her. The Parent Guide in the back is a wonderful resource as well.

This book is so beautiful !!! It is so refreshing to see trans books aimed at a children, explained in a way that makes it simpler and easier for them to understand. Books like this will save kids lives, they will grow up and know why theyre feeling the way theyre feeling and know that theyre not alone, and that is truly beautiful.

Also, the style and colours used in the book are so expressive and illustrative and convey the emotions, I am honestly in love

This is a very important book for our young generation. As a teacher, it brings me joy to see that some realities that we see in our classrooms (and in the world!) are becoming normalized with books like this one. Children need to see that this happens, it's normal, that there is nothing wrong with them. And I'm really happy that Netgalley let me read this in exchange for an honest review :')

Me and My Dysphoria Monster is a gorgeous little book about Nisha, who comes into her own as a trans girl. Throughout the picture book, we get to see how uncomfortable she feels when being misgendered and how these sometimes seemingly small interactions with friends and strangers stack up to create a dysphoria monster Nisha finds hard to control.

I particularly enjoyed the art style. The colors are vivid and in beautiful harmony. The story flow is reflected in the illustrations, making the words and the art thoroughly intertwined. The characters were drawn with rounded lines, emphasizing that we are who we mold ourselves into. The angry cloud of dysphoria, black and menacing, gives us insight into Nisha's feelings. Focusing on one character makes the book personal but allows the reader to distance themselves from Nisha's story, allowing self-reflection. I think this was a great decision made by the author because, if read by someone who disagrees with the book's messages, it highlights how media can forget that every trans story is different and that we should listen to every individual one. The book also covers misinformation about how children can transition, clearly and subtly, throughout the book and directly describes what social transition is in the glossary.

Along with the messages of support and acceptance throughout the latter half of the story, there is a helpful glossary on the back for children and adults alike, covering misgendering, non-binary identities, tips for parents with trans children, and the difference between social and medical transitions.

Because of the age-appropriate discussions and the secondary storylines intended more toward older readers, this would make a wonderful gift and is a must-needed title in every children's library.

Super cute book explaining gender dysphoria to kids! I wish I had this as a kid to make sense of what I was feeling. I loved that the monster turned into a pet as she felt euphoria too, so it didn’t feel like transness was being turned only monsterous

Wow! This is such an important book for boys, girls, & nonbinary children. I love how simple it made the topic of gender dysmorphia for younger audiences to understand. I feel it will benefit both those going through and allow other children (and adults) more understanding.

I understand this is a hard subject to a lot of people, but it something that NEEDS to be talked about in today's environment. I've seen other LGBTQIA+ children's books, but not one that really talks about the struggle a lot of people go through.

I also really loved the information/glossary at the end of the book. As a cisgender, straight woman I want to know more and be more educated, not ignorant of the world around me. And as mother, I want my children to know & feel like they can talk to me about ANYTHING.

As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I was keen to find a variety of books within said category for my children. This one did not disappoint. Absolutely stunning illustrations with a perfect depth of explanation for young readers. I didn’t feel like they’d ask me anything I wouldn’t be able to answer after reading this book and it was just an all round massively enjoyable experience. Thank you for writing this.

Wow. What a beautifully written children’s book.

Firstly, the art style is beyond stunning. Secondly, and more importantly, this story has taken my breath away. I wish this book could find its way into the hands of every trans/non-binary/gender fluid child across the world.

This is such an important read and I believe it will save lives. It will be like a warm hug for so many trans children. And I think this book will help cisgendered children to be empathetic and to learn about the different experiences other children may have. No child is born hating other people but they may have been sheltered from seeing openly queer people around them. It is amazing to think that this story will be read out in classrooms and having trans classmates and peers will become normalised to so many cisgendered children who may not yet understand what it means to be trans.

Also, I believe this book will be incredibly important for parents who are trying to learn how to better support and empathise with their trans child/children. The adults guide is an especially helpful addition which is perfect for helping parents to use the correct language when they have important conversations with their children (whether they are cis or trans).

This quote made my heart burst and is so so important for others to understand: ‘I was still the same person I had always been, I just changed some things so that I was happier about myself’.

This entire book is so important and really emphasises the importance of supporting our trans youth to parents or peers who may not have understood how much using the correct pronouns (as an example) means to a trans person.

A ray of light and hope, this book is a must read! I hope it finds a place on every bookshelf in every classroom and library. Trans lives are so important and we should do everything we can to protect and support our trans children.

This was so cute! I usually get worried with using metaphors to show how dysphoria can feel but this felt really spot on. Showing how dysphoria blocks the main character from going swimming or saying yes to plans. I also loved how it grows from little things like shopping or sports or bathrooms. As a kid I didn't have resources or stories like this, I was really confused why I felt that way. Reading this makes me so happy that kids will get to understand themselves better and be fully themselves. I think this is perfect for parents to understand their kids and for parents to learn. If any parents don't think they can be fully supportive of their trans kids, this book will at least help them understand and I think that is wonderful.

As another bonus, I loved seeing the older trans person as a trans man and the younger trans person as a trans girl. So often we see transphobia arguing that trans men are only showing up recently and narratives of trans women focus on the adults. It's a subtle detail that does more work to unpack an assumption in society than many will realize but makes me, a transmasc person, very happy and validated to see.

Nisha has a monster. It follows her around everywhere and sometimes it grows bigger.

This is the book I wish I’d had as a kid! It’s simple while exploring complex issues and has a great guide for parents at the back. It’s sweet and loving while showing just how hard it can be to struggle with gender dysphoria. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

With colorful illustrations and easy-to-understand text, this little book very easily makes way for children, teens, and adults to all grasp a better understanding of gender dysphoria and self expression. A teaching tool alongside a relatable story this is worthy of a lot of praise.