X: A Fabulous Child's Story, written by Lois Gould, was first published as a short story in the magazine Ms. in 1972 and republished by Daughters Publishing as a picture book in 1978 with illustrations by Jacqueline Chwast. The book tells the story of X, a child raised as part of an experiment to keep its[a] gender unknown to everyone but its parents and the scientists conducting the experiment.
X: A Fabulous Child's Story received praise for its thought-provoking conceit and witty prose. Meanwhile, some writers have questioned the extent to which the story successfully challenges gender roles. X: A Fabulous Child's Story is sometimes considered a precursor to later picture books about transgender characters, and it has been anthologized several times. The story inspired a 1975 experiment and was adapted into an animated short film in 2016.
