I was a bit disappointed with this book. I was expecting more in-depth and specific information. Most of the book was information I already had on the subject.

A quick read for little ones who are curious about the trans trend.
This book includes activities, quizzes, and basic info on transgender and transphobia.
While this book does give you a basic overview of what trans is, it didn't really delve into the subject. I wanted to know why transgenders think and feel this way, and the book just struck me as a simple pamphlet or poster. I liked that the book encouraged the readers to be kind to their peers regardless of their orientation but I was severely disappointed in the content. 1 star

I would love to see this book in sex-ed classes everywhere. It covers in a way tweens, teens, and adults can understand Transphobia and what to do when you see it happening. In today's world, where LGBT+ are often ostracized, ridiculed, and bullied by peers and those in authority positions, this book is more important than ever.

This book is written for children ages 8 and up. It is illustrated and has little quizzes that have questions to help guide the reader through different scenarios. It is set in Canada and refers to Canadian laws in a few places. I think it is a good, clear explanatory book about gender for tweens and teens.

It is interesting way of looking things and one I really like. This book is simply for everyone.

This non-fiction book is a great addition to any library - elementary or middle school and also a must have for all the guidance counselors. I even believe there are a lot of adults who would benefit from reading this clear and concise explanation of transgender and the issues they deal with.

Note that this is from an advance review copy for which I thank the publisher.

I would have really liked to have given a passing grade to a book with the aims this one has, but the presentation was inexcusably lousy and the book was literally unreadable on my phone, and practically unreadable on a tablet computer, which is to say that it was useless in two of the three media on which I tried it.

The reason for this once again seems to be, ironically, discrimination! The book was designed as a print book and yet it goes out to reviewers as a Kindle format ebook! The problem with that is the crappy Kindle app cannot handle a book presented and formatted like this one is, and the book should either have been thoroughly reformatted for Kindle and Kindle apps, or not offered in this format at all, which would severely restrict the distribution it can enjoy. It's poor attention to quality on the part of the publisher, and worse, no-one seems to have been bothered with actually looking at the resulting ebook. If they had, they'd see it was unacceptable.

For a book about inclusivity, the print-book snobbery here is laughable. The fact that this book is actively excluding various common reading formats would have been hilarious if it were not so hypocritical. The only format in which the ebook was readable was PDF format on my desktop computer, but even there, some of the print was so small that it was hard to read, and any medium with a smaller screen - even a tablet - would have made parts of it pretty nigh illegible.

In terms of content, the book doesn't do too bad of a job, but it's really not offering anything that will win converts to the side of tolerance and acceptance unless those 'converts' are largely converted already. In terms of offering help to those who need it, it doesn't do too bad of a job, but it was hard for me to determine what kind of an audience it was aiming for in terms of age and maturity.

But overall, I cannot recommend a book which so single-mindedly disrecommends itself. And if the publisher and authors evidently don't care about this, why should I?

When I saw this was a book explaining transgender things with a middle grade target audience, I was so excited to read it! I was already thinking in my head who to recommend this to before I opened it. Unfortunately, as I read, the star rating kept going down in my mind. The only excuse I can come up with is that this book was published in Canada and I live in the US, so the culture may differ.

PROS

**Overall, this is a good source for children who may have never heard "transgender" before.
**The illustrations naturally and explicitly include people of color, people of different religions, and people with disabilities. Everyone is represented.
**There is a note about intersectionality. It explains that young trans women of color is a very targeted group of people who are more likely to experience violence and other hate crimes against them.
**It explains that gender is on a spectrum rather than a binary and equally rotates pronouns and identities in its examples
**Mental health is discussed and the high suicide rate among transgender people is addressed well.
**The information is truly on a level for kids and people who have never encounter this before to understand.
**On the last page, there is a list of other sources including websites, phone numbers, reference books, and fiction books.

CONS

**Uses "sex" and "gender" interchangeably. It mentions something about the "sex you were assigned at birth". Maybe terms are different in Canada, but I've never heard that worded that way. I've always been told (by knowledgeable people) that sex is what you are physically and gender is what you are mentally. Therefore, you are assigned a gender at birth based on your sex.
**The use of "transsexual". This term is downright outdated. It's only used once, which makes the instance even weirder, because it's used in place of transgender. It's not even used to distinguish trans people who have had SRS from trans people who have not. That's the most common distinction I've heard between "transgender" and "transsexual", not that I agree with that usage.
**The use of GLBTQ. Listen, it's LGBTQ or LBGTQIA or LGBT+ or some other variation, but the L always goes before the G. There is no reason, other than sexism, why it needs to be GLBTQ. The gays don't need to be first. I am a Gay™ and I approve this message.
**The use of "transphobic" as a noun? There's a section titled "You're not a transphobic, are you?" and a quiz titled "*Are you a transphobic?" Maybe I'm getting picky here, but the word that should be used is "transphobe". I've never heard anyone call someone a "homophobic", because the correct word in that case is "homophobe".
**On page 8 it gives a scenario where during grad pictures boy are posed with a diploma while girls are posed with a rose. The explanation underneath says that this is sexist but not transphobic, and that's about it. Sexism and transphobia are closely linked because they both have to do with gender. I understand that explaining sexism can quickly become a book of its own, but couldn't the author briefly explain the reason this is sexism instead of transphobic? Could the author mention that it's sexist because it's making boys look smarter than girls, that it isn't transphobic because it's not targeting people who don't fit these gender roles?
**On pages 22-23 there is a list of 30 transphobic statements, but the book doesn't explain why they are transphobic. At the end it basically says that if you agree with any of these statements, you should educate yourself more. This would be an acceptable answer if you were bombarded with questions on the street or on social media, but this is a book explaining transphobia to children. You can't tell them something is problematic and not explain why. This may be their first source of information on the topic. This may be their only accessible source of information.
**On the "More Help" page, it recommends Luna and Parrotfish which are both infamous for being transphobic books with transgender MCs. Why would you recommend those books to children who might be transgender when you could recommend Beautiful Music for Ugly Children, Symptoms of Being Human, When the Moon Was Ours, literally anything by Jazz Jennings, and/or The Pants Project? Each of these books have problems of their own, but none of them are as bad as the infamous ones mentioned.

Final thought: Bearing these issues in mind, I would say it is up to the provider to decide if they want to give this to children. This is a rare source of information on transphobia that is geared towards late elementary/middle school aged children. Still, it leaves a lot to be desired. I, personally, would not recommend it, but I understand people who would want to because of it being one of few of its kind. Just be aware that this is an imperfect source.

I read this on the Kindle app, so the pictures - and sometimes text- got a bit jumbled, but that was a problem on my end, not the publisher's. I was able to read most of it just fine, though, and what I read was quite good!

This is a great pick for classrooms and libraries! It addresses misconceptions, encourages readers to try to love and feel comfortable with themselves, and offers potential real-life instances of transphobia for students to consider. It's very positive, but does not shy away from harsh truths, like the violence associated with transphobia - particularly against trans women of color - or that not all adults are "safe" adults to whom students can go to when they are facing transphobic comments or actions. It's written for middle school and high school students, I think, but would not be out of place on a college campus. Also, it was written for Canadians, so there is information regarding things like Canadian laws and resources that won't apply everywhere, but most of the book would work well in any English-speaking environment.
Here are some of my favorite bits:
"Transphobia is not trusting someone to tell us what sex or gender they are, when, really, we all should get to be our own experts. Nobody knows you better than you!"
"A person's 'true sex' is how the identify themselves. A person's 'real name' is the name that feels real to them, regardless of what's on their ID."
"Washrooms are safe when nobody behaves in ways that are unsafe, threatening, harassing, policing, or dangerous. It's not whether it's 'single-sex' or 'all-gender' - it's what people do inside them."
"Do know that you are precious and valuable exactly as you are."
"Don't assume that someone is in the wrong washroom."
"It's your job to figure out how to express your own style, and nobody else's. Don't feel limited by other people's assumptions and stereotypes."
"It's not enough to have good intentions, we need to think about what impact our words and actions might have on others."
"Always talk about a person using words that feel good to them."
"Don't speak on behalf of a targeted group you are not a part of."
"Don't respond [to transphobia] with other kinds of prejudice."

It's just really good, y'all. And bonus points for being non-binary-inclusive! Highly recommended for students, teachers, librarians, parents, and...well, anyone, really.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review!

Nonfiction
9-15
This is a new release from James Lorimer Books, the latest in the “Deal With It” series which tackles discrimination issues in colourful, illustrated books aimed primarily at middle school readers. In just 32 pages, readers learn what transphobia is and how they can be “gender transcenders.” The book opens with Transphobia 101, including a quiz to help readers identify situations of transphobia, just plain sexism, or simply lack of understanding. Using age-appropriate and accessible language and cartoon-like drawings, skelton and illustrator Nick Johnson collaborate to help readers learn how to respond to various scenarios in order to create a safe and supportive space for all genders. I particularly liked the advice-column style sections by Conflict Counselor and Dr. Shrink Wrapped, and the Gender Explorer Quiz which offers answer options that are Flare Up / Put Up / Speak Up. It is informative reading for adults as well as kids. And in The Witness Quiz, potential allies can explore ways to speak up and stand up as a defender, but also leaves space for readers to report an incident to someone they trust, or even choose to stay silent for safety reasons. Finally, as this is a Canadian publication, there are resources and interesting factoids useful for Canadian kids who want to learn more. While it’s a sad commentary that such a book is even needed, I’m glad it’s been published. It will be a welcome addition to school and public library shelves in Canada, and will have appeal in other English-speaking countries as well. My thanks to publisher James Lorimer for the advance reading copy provided in exchange for my honest review.
More discussion and reviews of this book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27788146

Formatting issues made it impossible to read on the Kindle.

This book is a good middle school read about transgender individuals, respecting their rights, their feelings, their name and their pronouns. It teaches the reader how to identify transphobia and how to handle or battle against it. While some people have suggested it's too Canadian (Is that a thing? Is it like being too polite?) I really don't think children in the proper age range (middle school) will have any trouble with the semantics of washrooms versus bathrooms. This book is well suited to both individual and group reading.

I do want to point out that one of the quizzes has what I believe is a reversal of answers. On page 17 of the print copy (19 in the galley) question 8 seems to have the correct responses (put up vs. speak up) for options b and c reversed. Doing nothing is clearly not speaking up.

Transphobia: Deal with It and Be a Gender Transcender by J Wallace Skelton is a short book but full of much needed info, unfortunately. This book is made for middle school and up. It starts by letting the reader know what trans gender is and what it isn't then what the transphobia is. There are multiple examples of transphobia behavior, those blatant and those subtle that seem harmless. The book gives quizzes then discusses the section at the end. Myths are also discussed. The book is great for those that are trans and those that are not. This book gives info so all can be educated and safe. Great pictures to bring home the point. Thanks NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

I feel that a book like this is more needed than ever. I think it would act as a good primer for an introduction about what it means to be transgender. That said I didn't realize that this was from a Canadian publisher. I live in a border state but I don't know if my library would appreciate a non USA POV about such a timely issue.

Super cute illustrations! A great book for middle school classrooms and libraries! I would definitely recommend.

I chose to read Transphobia: Deal with It and be a Gender Transcender because I am in the process of overcoming my own transphobia and figured a kids book that explained things super simply would be a good place to start. I stand up for Trans rights because I know that being transphobic is wrong. I know that it doesn't matter what gender a person is. I know it, and yet part of me still has trouble accepting it.

Transphobia is a 32 page book for Canadian children that deals both with how to deal with transphobia both as an outsider and as someone who is trans. It gives tips for educating yourself and people around you for people who are not trans, but wanting to know more about it. It has sections designed to help kids who are trans make their needs known.

I really liked the "Dear Conflict Counselor" and "Dear Dr. Shrink Wrapped" sections. I think Wallace did a good job in keeping the questions simple and on a level kids can understand. And the answers are very clear cut. At the same time, though, they're questions even adults might think (at least a variation of) so it is good for adults to read too!

The Transphobia Myths section covered all the common myths that I've heard and gave rebuttals for them.

The Quiz section had potential, but it felt a little off for kids. It was aimed specifically at kids who are questioning their gender, and asking them how they would react to various situations. The reactions were labeled with 'put up' 'speak up' or 'flare up' but there was no explanation as to why the kids should choose one or the other. (I can think of some adults who wouldn't know why, so I definitely get concerned about kids comprehension of it.)

Side note: There was one illustration in this section (referencing trans being a new thing) that (to me) looked like it was referring to Shakespeare's characters on stage. I was a bit confused by that because I didn't think that playing a role on stage (because girls didn't traditionally act back then) made someone considered trans.

I really liked the Choice of... section. It probably had the greatest impact on me, just because it put how to deal with things so easily.

There were things I wish they would have went into a little bit more detail on for kids. For example, one of the dos and don't section says "don't speak up on behalf of a targeted group you aren't a part of" - and that's good advice, but maybe explain to kids why they shouldn't do that.
Overall, it wasn't quite as good as I was hoping it would be, but I think it's a great starter book for kids who need to learn about Transphobia.

This was very informative, positive, and diverse. Definitely a must-read.

While it's sad that we need a book like this - due to lack of understanding and empathy from corner of society - it's still a great little nugget. For such a 'short' book, this is packed with a lot of advice and, dare I say it, should be something on school curriculum if for no other reason than to spread understanding.

I thought this book was well set out but was disappointed as there were no answers to the quiz sections and I am not sure why there are no British help sites or associations mentioned as I feel that there must be some. If not Childline would probably be able to help.

Do we need another book on transgender and transphobia. Yeah, unfortunately, we do. As long as there are people out there that don't get it, the more we will need these sorts of books. And this book is very clear, and gives examples of how to know if you are being transphobic, and what you can do about it.

The books uses cute, bright cartoons, as well as cleaver and funny situations to explain their points. The people include POC and is very diverse.

This book is apparently part of a series. The other books are about anxiety, bullying, cyberbullying, gossip, homophobia, racism, and teasing. I am so glad that there are such important books in this series, and I hope that everyone in middle school gets to read and work with these texts.

This book should be available in school and public libraries.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.