'That was my main understanding of myself.' Growing up, Gino found literature that was 'queer coded' but nothing similar to 'Melissa.' Even Gino's own book does not mirror their lived experiences because they are nonbinary and Melissa - a transgender girl - is binary. Gino does not know how they would have turned out if books like 'Melissa' had been available when they were young. 'Because right now trans people are unsafe, and there might be discomfort with experiencing something that you're not used to thinking about.' 'All I had was different,' author of transgender children's book says 'A really important point is that it is important for people to be uncomfortable in order for other people to be safe,' Gino said. Gino felt the scene was written in an age-appropriate way. Even Melissa is uncomfortable thinking about her own body. She immersed her body in the warm water and tried not to think about what was between her legs, but there it was, bobbing in front of her.')Ī story about a transgender person cannot be told without also talking about their body, Gino said. (The scene: 'She took off her shirt while the tub filled waiting until the last possible moment to take off her pants and underwear. One part of 'Melissa' critics point to as being inappropriate for young children is a scene where she is taking a bath and references her genitals without going into any details. 'I'm proud of having written the book, not that people don't want it to exist.' Uncomfortable with their body

'Having my books challenged is not a point of pride, not at all,' Gino said in an interview with the Des Moines Register. Reactions to 'Melissa' have been mixed, Gino said. By 2015, Scholastic had published Gino's book under the title 'George.' The book was renamed in 2021. Gino began writing the book in 2003, a time when it would have been difficult to publish a story about a transgender child. More: Dozens of books are being challenged in Iowa schools. The bill, similar versions of which have been passed around the country, awaits Reynolds' signature. The bill also makes it easier for people to challenge which books are available in schools. Kim Reynolds’ sweeping education bill - which, among other things, bans school library books with descriptions or visual depictions of sex acts. In Iowa, legislators passed Senate File 496 - Gov. Nationally, there has been a push to restrict or ban what books public school students can access, particularly those about the LGBTQ community and social justice movements. It has also been criticized in Iowa, where a parent group objected to it in the Van Meter school district.

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