This Is Me: the girl who was really a boy
Book Summary
Description
This illustrated children's story explains what it feels like to be a child who isn't happy in their own body. It is aimed at young children to share what it means to be transgender or gender dysphoric without using the terms themselves. The story could also be used in discussion with young children about what it feels to be different.
RRP
6.99 GBP
7.99 EUR
9.99 USD
Format
Paperback ISBN 9781909320796
20.3 x 0.3 x 20.3 cm
34 pages
Full colour illustrations throughout
Published 1 Oct 2019
Audience
Aimed at 5-7 year olds
Key Stage 1 in the UK
Kindergarten to First Grade in the US
The Blurb
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?
Book Objectives
This Is Me is inspired by a real story and a teacher’s desire to reach out to young children in schools to talk naturally and openly about gender identity, gender transitioning and gender dysphoria - without using any of these labels.
Book Background
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.
Reviews
“Before you even open this book, the front cover is so appealing to children. Designed to look like a scrap book, I believe that children will feel familiar with the clear and effective illustrations and be keen to turn the first page and look inside. The blurb is also written perfectly to provide enough information without spoiling the content. It would also evoke a lot of discussion.
As you read the book, the sentences are simple to understand if read aloud by an adult and easy enough for children to read to themselves. Throughout, the book shows the various milestones that children go through as they develop and the memories that parents hold of their child. But along the way it demonstrates how the character is finding aspects of their life difficult. The facial expressions really emphasise the character’s feelings and I found it very emotional as I read on. As the issue of gender dysphoria becomes more apparent, it’s striking how the subject is dealt with in such a respectful but poignant way. It’s obvious (and I’m sure in many cases true) that the parents are often upset, confused, uncertain and I think that this book will be helpful for parents to recognise that this is ok, if they are in the same kind of situation when they read this book.
I did wonder how the short text would provide the right amount of information for this topic but it is written perfectly with just enough to get the message across. The simplicity demonstrates the vulnerability of the characters and the situation and the language is easy to understand without ‘long words’ or vocabulary that is too tricky. Towards the end, the text addresses issues that may still arise within the family network (the character no longer sees grandma and grandad) which I think is really important and I’m pleased that the negativity that can arise from this subject hasn’t been ignored. My favourite line of all is the very last page ‘This is me just being me.’
As a teacher, this is a fabulous book to share with individual children, a small group or even a whole class from early years through to upper primary. It doesn’t give too much information to make it ‘scary’ or ‘confusing’ but enough to show children that they are not alone if they can resonate with the topic and that this is something that is becoming evident in our society. I would highly recommend this book and believe it will really help to highlight the topic of gender dysphoria.”
“Emotional, honest and relatable This is Me is a story to make a difference to us all. As an educator I have no doubt of the positive impact this beautiful book will have on young lives. Imagine a generation of children proudly announcing “this is Me” and a world ready to accept who ever that may be. Groundbreaking.”
Book Resources
Currently under development
Book Availability
Most bookshops throughout the English-speaking world and of course Amazon. Contact us for a discount if you are an educational or support organisation wishing to purchase in bulk for resale or otherwise.
Paul Johnson
