"Ruby has a Worry" meets gender dysphoria! This book was adorable and so accessible! So many young kids feel this way without representation or the language to describe the way they're feeling. The personification of Nisha's feelings was amazing and I love a kids books that highlights the ways adults in their lives can be accepting and helpful! Also, the resources for kids and adults alike at the end of the book are so helpful and will encourage people of all ages to engage in conversations abt gender and sexuality, whether it's applicable to themselves or just to the greater world we live in.

This is a great book about being different and owning it, even if a monster is following you around.

I can already see the hate this beautiful book will get and see it being on some stuffy school's banned books list. In that case, buy 5 copies and share them with any and every person you can!

I read this book with all 5 of my children and it was a wonderful experience. My oldest cried. My middle 3 had so many questions that I'm sure they wouldn't have even thought to ask; about themselves and others alike. My youngest who is too small to really understand much other than the basics was drawn in and constantly pointing out the illustrations.

The story is centered around a young person whose gender does not match what they were told at birth. Each time this mismatch is pointed out, whether by someone using the wrong pronouns, name, or forcing this person to play on the wrong team, their monster grows more upset.

The acceptance and love that you can feel radiating from this book is wonderful and I fully plan on adding it to my physical library and those of all my friends when possible.

This book perpetuates a factually inaccurate and potentially very harmful narrative. Self-acceptance should always be the first port of call. If a boy child wants to wear a dress and grow their hair long, fine. That does not make them a girl. The doctor does not sometimes get it wrong when babies are born and they say whether they are a boy or girl. Stop, just stop.

The art on this was great. There was some missing text on one of the pages. The idea that the inner voice was a monster didn’t resonate with me since the inner voice was what they believed so calling it a monster didn’t make sense to me. The adult guide was extensive.

10/10
Me and My Dysphoria Monster is a children's book following Nisha, a trans girl who's dysphoria is stopping her from doing things she wants to do, like go swimming or hang out with her friends. It grows when she is called a boy, or has to use the mens restroom. This is a story about Nisha learning how to deal with her dysphoria monster.
I loved everything about this book! The artwork is gorgeous, the story is cute and informative, and there is even information for adults at the end of it. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested!

This is a sweet children's book which helps explain to young people what dysphoria might be and also what transgender children may go through. I think not only is this book sweet and beautifully written and illustrated but it's also useful to adults too - with the adults section at the end which helps educate adults and help them answer any questions their children may have about the book. My only issue is there is some missing text bubble in the book - which hopefully will be recified by publishing.

What a tremendously empowering read! As someone learning and growing in order to be a force of good in the world, I appreciate books like this I can utilize as learning and teaching tools!

As an adult who has struggled with a gender identity for their entire life, goodness I did not think this book was going to hit me hard. Its everything I wish I was told when I was younger. Its a simple book with cute artwork, and it gets the feeling of body dysmorphia across in a way that all ages can understand. This book can be a great way for younger kids to learn the words needed to describe their feelings and be able to ask for support while also allowing adults who may not be as familiar to have a way to open the conversation. Overall I love this book and hope to see more inclusive kids books in the future!

Me and My Dysphoria Monster does a wonderful job at presenting gender dysphoria in a way that kids can understand. Nisha's perspective gives children with their own dysphoria monster a story to see themselves in. It's also told in a way that is easy for children comfortable with their gender to understand what others may be going through and how it can feel to be transgender, non-binary or gender queer in some way.

Additionally, the artwork is beautiful, colorful, and vibrant.

This book was so cute!

The illustrations were GORGEOUS, especially for the people and the dysphoria monster. I was just amazed by the artstyle the entire time.

The metaphor for dysphoria was clear enough for a child to get, and overall I loved how this, even though the issue it deals with can be quite heavy, was unashamedly a kid's book. Queer books often have the pressure to be dark and heavy and are rarely allowed to be for children. I loved how this book went against that and gives trans youth a heartwarming story that makes them feel understood. It's not only for trans kids though, I think any kids who want to understand either people around them or just how it is being trans would really like this book. As a nonbinary person, I definitely related to this book and I think a lot of other trans people will as well.

But like I said, this is very much a kids' book, and adults or older kids shouldn't expect it to be anything else. Don't treat this like it's supposed to be a thought-provoking masterpiece because it's about dysphoria, treat it like you would any other children's book or you are bound to be disappointed.

So yeah this was a really cute and educating kids' book with a good metaphor, that might not leave an adult going in expecting an all-encompassing ya book left satisfied but definitely does what it's aiming to do in a stellar fashion and would probably leave the target audience much more understanding, of either themself or others, than they were before.

Miigweetch to NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for giving me an copy of this book to review.

This is a delightful, straight-forward book about gender dysphoria, written for young children. Nisha is the protagonist of the story and is struggling with gender dysphoria when people refer to her as a boy. Upon meeting an Elder trans person, Nisha comes to understand her "dysphoria monster," what it is, why it appears, and most importantly, what Nisha can do about it.

What I especially like is that the author shows by doing, including not dead-naming Nisha. Deadnaming is the act of referring to a transgender or non-binary person by a name they used prior to transitioning, such as their birth name. Deadnaming may be accidental, or an intentional attempt to deny, mock or invalidate a person's gender identity. This and other terms are helpfully explained in an additional index featured at the end of the book (this portion is aimed at adults).

Overall I though the book was very well-done and a valuable resource for all families with transgender or nonbinary children. It would also make an excellent addition to any school library.

Nisha has a monster, one that grows every time someone calls her the wrong name, or makes her use the wrong bathroom, and more. It grows and grows until Nisha meets a friend of her dad’s, who helps her understand how to shrink her monster and express her true feelings.

Great reference to help kids understand either how they are feeling, or helping others understand why things like gender affirmation are so important. There is also a helpful glossary at the end of the book to help adults reading this book to children learn about terminology so they can better explain some of the concepts. I absolutely loved the illustrations, too.

This book has given me LIFE! I really love the art and it's such a sweet story about understanding your feelings, coming out as a kid, and receiving loving support from the people around you. I also really loved the adult guide at the end as it works as material for both children and parents.

This was a cute work helping adults and children to talk about a difficult topic. The story was a little cute for children, but I did wonder at some of the wording being suitable for children? In my experience with younger children's books, the fewer words on the page, the better. So, really, I thought it was too wordy on some pages. Finally, there was an error on one of the pages. Perhaps it was just a fault with downloading it on the NetGalley Shelf app, but one of the comic bubbles said, "Missing Third Speech".

The best part about this book for me was the illustrations. They really made the story pop! The artist did a wonderful job.

I really liked the book, and with a little tweaking with the one error and the wordiness, it would have gained a higher rating. I do think this is an extremely important topic for a children's book. We need more like it.

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!