What Makes a Family: Children's book aims to promote diversity education

The book, which can be used in nurseries, schools and libraries, uses cartoon animals to introduce children to different types of families, including those with same-sex parents, single parents, and young carers, to encourage inclusive attitudes among children.

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C-Jay, who is currently working as a learning support worker for children with SEND, has been involved in youth work and education since she was a young person, and her journey as an activist began when she became a member of the Glasgow Youth Council and Scottish Youth Parliament.

C-Jay speaks to CYP Now about her own experiences as a transgender, queer activist, her self-publishing journey, and the response the children’s book has received so far.

What was your experience like as an LGBTQ+ young person?

I’ve known I was transgender since I was around 13 years old. I knew there was something different. But there wasn’t much out there at the time about the LGBTQ+ community, especially transgender people. It felt very much like a taboo, so I tried to push it down and keep it inside, because I didn’t want to be an outcast.

One of the things that upset me most was prom – I had to go wearing a suit, while watching all the girls with their lovely dresses. That was when I decided to come out to my family at age 18.

Tell us a bit about your journey as a queer activist

I’ve always been an advocate for youth rights. But when I was in my early twenties, I went on a trip to Brussels with the Glasgow Youth Council, where I met lots of other young people.

When I told them about my LGBTQ+ journey, they suggested I speak about it publicly, and run to be a member of the Scottish Youth Parliament for LGBT Youth Scotland, which I later did.

Around the same time I was working in youth work, and my boss suggested I could be the transgender role model that I never had when I was growing up. I decided to be more open about my own journey, so that other transgender young people can know they are not in this alone.

Why is this book so important?

As someone who is in a same-sex relationship and will one day be married with kids of my own, it always frustrated me that all the books I used to read to my young sister contained very ‘typical’ family dynamics – it’s usually a mum, a dad and about two children.

I thought it must be upsetting for children who don’t fit into that dynamic and as a result don’t see themselves enough in books – such as those who are adopted, are young carers, have step-parents, same-sex parents, single parent families, or mixed-race families.

I wanted to show that no matter what your family looks like, the only thing that matters is love.

Tell us about the book’s characters?

Lots of different families are showcased in the book, and we wanted to use animals for the characters, to make it more fun for children.

For example, we used lions to represent a family with same-sex parents, because male and female lions look visibly different. So, by including two lion dads with manes, it makes it easy for a child to understand that there are two dads in that family.

Another thing, which we included very subtly, is that the main character Riley is non-binary. We didn’t make it a plot point, we simply used ‘they/them’ pronouns to refer to them.

And it’s funny, that in a current climate where you see a lot of outrage over non-binary language, most people who read the book don’t even notice the pronouns. But the important thing is, maybe one day a non-binary child will read the book and see themselves in Riley, and can have that character as a role model.

How was the self-publishing process?

The book originally started as a silly idea during lockdown. I mentioned it to my friends, and then Wiktoria Orlicka, the book’s illustrator, said she had always wanted to illustrate a children’s book.

Through the Scottish Youth Parliament, I heard of a funding opportunity from Young Scot and Creative Scotland called the Time to Shine fund, which gives funding to young people working on creative projects.

Once we received the funding, we came up with the idea to publish the book in February during LGBT history month and put all the profits towards Purple Friday, LGBT Youth Scotland’s fundraising project.

We worked really hard to a very tight deadline, putting all the pages together and carrying out the entire self-publishing process.

What has the response been like?

The response was amazing. I saw people posting online that their children loved the book, which was great to see. We managed to raise £500 for LGBT Youth Scotland within a few months, which they were very grateful for.

But the best response I had was from my partner’s little cousins, who have a step dad. In the book there’s a family of hippos, with a stepdad represented by a rhino. And when these two boys saw this page, they lit up, pointing to it and saying ‘that’s us!’. It’s one of their favourite books now, because it represents their own family dynamic. And that’s really why we made this book.

Can educators use this book in their settings?

I’ve seen a few nurseries buy it already to teach these lessons to the children in their settings, and they’ve loved it. They said they thought it was a great way to teach younger children about different family dynamics.

I also 100 per cent believe this type of educational tool can reduce bullying among students. For example, since my little sister was born, I’ve been open with her about what being LGBTQ+ means, and that being queer is okay. And seeing her attitude, compared to that of some of her classmates who haven’t been taught that, just shows the positive influence that inclusive education has on kids.

Early years educators, teachers and parents can purchase the book on Etsy, and are invited to contact the seller about bulk orders for use in nurseries, schools or youth groups.