In this story we meet a girl. She used to be happy. But as she grew things did not feel quite right. She felt more like a boy than a girl. What would happen if she told people? Would they understand? Would they help?
This Is Me is inspired by a real story and a former teacher's desire to reach out to young children in schools to talk naturally and openly about gender identity and gender transitioning.
How do you talk about sexual identity to a young child who does not yet know about sex? Is it right and appropriate to discuss sexual topics with young children? That's the point, this book is not about sex it is about self-esteem, self-awareness and self-identity: gender identity. With this understanding comes diversity and acceptance. This book easily finds a home at Your Stories Matter, alongside other diversities including dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD and autism.
By sharing this book with young children, the aim is to make gender diversity no big deal and no different to accepting and respecting ethnic diversity, religious diversity and forms of neurodiversity.
As with all of its books, the publisher - Your Stories Matter - aims to help people know they are not alone with what makes them different. If a young person or adult can relate to a story, it gives them hope and encourages them to share their concerns. The publisher aims to provide free teaching resources for all of its books that can be used in schools, to help improve understanding and celebrate differences.