Dotson: My Journey Growing Up Transgender

by Grayson Lee White, Stephanie Roth Sisson (Illustrator)

Overview

A memoir about what it’s like when they think you’re their daughter, but you know you’re their son.

For as long as he could remember, Grayson has known he is a boy, not a girl. While his identical twin sister wore princess dresses and danced ballet in a tutu, Grayson preferred his Spider-Man costume or sweats. He was uncomfortable in anything considered “girly.” People called him a tomboy, but he knew that wasn’t right either. He explained to his mother, “I know I’m supposed to be your daughter, but I feel more like your son. I guess I’m your… Dot-son.”

Grayson is now twelve years old. This is his story about what it’s like growing up transgender—from small moments, like getting a new haircut or playing football, to the big life events, like choosing a bathroom, coming out to his friends, and picking a new name. Filled with humor and joy, Dotson is a thought-provoking and honest story of one boy’s journey to becoming his best and truest self and sharing that with the world.

The book also includes helpful resources for transgender kids and families.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781513139333
Publisher:	Turner Publishing Company
Publication date:	04/04/2023
Pages:	136
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Grayson Lee White lives in the Midwest of the United States with his parents, two sisters, and two adorable golden retrievers. Grayson has always wanted to be a writer. Dotson is his first book.

Stephanie Roth Sisson is an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator. She has been drawing since she was a child and has since published her illustrations in over 60 books as well as magazine pieces. When she’s not traveling the world, Stephanie lives in Florida.

Table of Contents

A Note from the Author

Let's Start at the End: Age 12

Wishes: Age 2

Golf Shirt: Age 3 1/2

Dance Recital: Age 3 1/2

God Doesn't Make Mistakes: Age 5

Haircut: Age 6

Which Line? Age 6

A Boy Named ??? Age 6

The Speech: Age 7

It's Just a Bathroom: Age 7–8

My Day in Court: Age 8

Doctor Visits: Age 8

Coming Out… Again: Age 8

What If They Had Said No? Age 12

And Let's End at the End: Age 13

Grayson's Glossary

Discussion Questions

Resources for Transgender Kids & Families

Books

Support Hotlines

Editorial Reviews

04/10/2023

Transgender 12-year-old White details his challenges navigating his transition in this affirming autobiographical debut. Beginning with the doctor’s appointment where he would receive his first hormone blockers, White recounts his story through a series of vignettes that chronicle his life, detailing how he knew he was a boy in toddlerhood and spanning to the present day. While recollecting a conversation he had with his mother when he was two years old, he recalls asking her if she could “ask God to make me a boy please?” (To which his mother responds, “Girls are amazing!”) Subsequent events outline his joy at his parents gifting him a shirt from the boys’ section, his emotional tumult at being forced to perform in a tutu for a dance recital, and his euphoria after receiving his first gender-affirming haircut. Concise and youthful prose accompanied by full-page illustrations by Sisson (Persuading Miss Doover), rendered in soft washes of color, portray each triumph, making for a compassionate exploration of one trans child’s experience and the invaluable impact that support has had on his life. White and his family are portrayed with pale skin. Ages 8–12. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"Transgender 12-year-old White details his challenges navigating his transition in this affirming autobiographical debut… Concise and youthful prose accompanied by full-page illustrations by Sisson (Persuading Miss Doover), rendered in soft washes of color, portray each triumph, making for a compassionate exploration of one trans child’s experience and the invaluable impact that support has had on his life.” —Publishers Weekly

“Relatable and understandable… As an adult who is still learning about sexuality, gender, and more in the (LGBTQ+) community, this was a great way to experience “the other side” of the story. It can be for a younger child about ages eight and up, to read solo so they can also understand a sibling’s, family, friend or even their own journey maybe a little better. Or to be read to almost any age just as a way to open the conversation.” —Jeannette Sessions, bookseller

From the Publisher