66 pages • 2 hours read
Alex GinoGeorge
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2015A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Introduction
George
- Genre: Fiction; middle-grade realistic; LGBTQ+ literature
- Originally Published: 2015
- Reading Level/Interest: Grades 3-7
- Structure/Length: 12 chapters; approximately 224 pages; approximately 2 hours, 57 minutes on audio
- Protagonist/Central Conflict: George is a story about a fourth-grade student, born as a boy, who knows she's a girl. The central conflict involves George's struggle to express her identity, particularly her desire to play Charlotte in her school's production of Charlotte's Web, which the school insists is a role for girls only.
- Potential Sensitivity Issues: LGBTQ+ themes; bullying and social exclusion
Alex Gino, Author
- Bio: Born 1973; American author who writes children's literature; identifies as genderqueer and uses singular they pronouns; a strong advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and representation; passionate about fighting for gender equality and diversity in literature; frequently speaks on these subjects at conferences and in interviews
- Other Works: You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P! (2018); Rick (2020)
- Awards: Stonewall Book Award (2016); Lambda Literary Award (2016)
CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:
- Secrecy and Shame
- Natural Versus Normal
- Coming Out in an Ambivalent World
STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:
- Develop an understanding of the social contexts that transgender people face, which the main character experiences throughout the novel.
