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ERIC Number: EJ1271300
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 11
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1521-7779
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Answerability in Children's Literature: Learning from Melissa in Alex Gino's "George"
Hermann-Wilmarth, Jill M.; Ryan, Caitlin L.
Journal of Children's Literature, v45 n2 p4-14 Fall 2019
When it comes to being productive allies and co-conspirators with and for transgender people, the authors have been particularly drawn to "George" (Gino, 2015), perhaps the first mass-marketed, #OwnVoices novel with a young transgender protagonist, a White fourth-grade transgender girl named Melissa. This article investigates the mechanisms through which Gino's (2015) text constructs a window into experiences of transgender people that is instructive for would-be co-conspirators. Through critical content analysis, the authors demonstrate how Gino asks readers of the text to be answerable to Melissa's identity through the information they (and Melissa) share about who she is. The analysis shows that this cyclical, reciprocal process of visibility and response that readers experience is also mirrored by the examples of other characters in the text as they navigate their interactions and relationships with each other and with Melissa as Melissa's identity becomes more visible to them. This allows these characters the opportunity to address her more accurately and be answerable to who she is as a transgender girl.
Children's Literature Assembly. e-mail: info@childrensliteratureassembly.org; Web site: https://www.childrensliteratureassembly.org/journal.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Information Analyses
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A