Me and My Dysphoria Monster by Laura Kate Dale Book Review

Welcome to my review of Me and My Dysphoria Monster by Laura Kate Dale. This is an excellent little children’s book all about Gender Dysphoria. I found it on NetGalley while researching for my Pride Month Reads but forgot to mention it in my list. It’s short, bright and colourful, a great addition to any child’s library. It’s due out on the 18th of August, but you can pre-order a copy by clicking on the link below.

Click me to go to my Review

Synopsis

Nisha’s monster follows her everywhere. It used to be small, but recently her monster has begun to grow. And as her monster gets bigger and bigger, Nisha feels more and more unlike herself.

When people refer to her as a boy, or when she tries to hide her true gender identity, Nisha’s dysphoria monster grows larger and larger. Until, one day, Nisha meets Jack – a trans man – who shows Nisha how she can shrink her dysphoria monster back down to size.

This touching story is the perfect book for discussing gender dysphoria with children, explaining what it is and how they and their families can deal with it. It also includes an accompanying guide for parents with further information about gender dysphoria, terminology, and first-hand examples of the author’s own experiences.

About The Author

Laura Kate Dale is a queer trans woman and author, who uses She / Her pronouns. Laura lives near London, UK, with her cat Smudge, and her wife Jane. When Laura isn’t writing she loves to play roller derby, and play video games with her friends.

My Review

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.

Rated