A poet and author has expressed her shock at the backlash she has faced for penning a book encouraging children to love the body they were born in.
Rachel Rooney is the author of "My Body is Me!", which has been published with the support of Transgender Trend, a parent-led campaign group challenging gender transition in children.
The book is priced £4.99 and is illustrated with colourful pictures by artist Jessica Ahlberg. It is aimed at children aged three to six and has been designed to "promote a positive self-image and foster self-care skills".
"It introduces children to the workings of the human body, and celebrates similarities and differences while challenging sex stereotypes," Transgender Trend said.
Rooney, who is a qualified primary and special education teacher, wrote the book to offer "an alternative narrative" to the literature increasingly present in schools suggesting to children that they might have been born in the 'wrong' body.
She told The Times that she has not been able to sleep or eat properly since the book's release due to the backlash, which she said had come from other writers.
"I didn't know I'd be openly attacked by other authors. I certainly didn't expect it to be so explosive," she said.
She told the newspaper she had been "floored" by the negative response and that she was even considering leaving publishing.
Clara Vulliamy, creator of the children's "Dotty Detective" series, has been critical of both the book and Transgender Trend, describing the latter on Twitter as "a political motivated trans-hostile group seeking in particular to infiltrate schools and undermine support for trans and gender-enquiring children".
According to The Times, she has called on Authors Aloud, an organisation that connects writers with schools and libraries for storytelling sessions, to "be aware of this with author Rachel Rooney who is on your books," adding that "ideologically driven school visits could see us all in deep water".
Authors Aloud told The Times it had no plans to end its working relationship with Rooney.
"Rachel Rooney works with us in her capacity as a poet. We've had nothing but praise and compliments for the sessions she runs in schools so we've got absolutely no plans to stop working with her," it said.
