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Sample Reconsideration form #6 It Feels Good to be Yourself
"Some people are boys. Some people are girls. Some people are both, neither, or somewhere in between." Are you confused yet? The description calls this book "straightforward." I don't agree.
Download Reconsideration Form HERE
You can also pick up a reconsideration form at your local library. Ask any librarian and she/he can retrieve one from behind the desk.
How to obtain a copy to read:
Place a hold for a hard copy at the library. The book will be delivered to your library of preference for you to pick up with your library card. It might even be on the shelf; if so, it will be at the following libraries:
Central Library - Conroe
South Regional Library - The Woodlands
Mitchell Library - West Woodlands
I strongly encourage everyone to read this book. Even if you don’t plan to turn in a reconsideration form, reading these books for yourself will help you understand what our kids may face culturally.
If you didn’t see our previous posts about Reconsideration Forms, here is a recap:
You can go to any public library in Montgomery County and ask for a reconsideration form from any help desk. Fill it out and turn it in to the librarian there. If you would prefer to fill it out at home, you can download and print the form here.
We are not asking for the books to be completely removed from the library because literature reminds us of where we’ve been and where we never want to go again. For instance, Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler is in our libraries. You can see all of our suggestions (moving the book to the adult section, labeling the book, etc.) on the reconsideration form example below.
Each book can only be reviewed by the reconsideration board once a year. Therefore, we are asking everyone to reconsider books as a group, we are making recommendations, and see what the response is before moving forward. Hopefully, if we win, the libraries will begin to make changes on other books on their own.
In the coming weeks look out for future reconsideration reviews. So far, three books promoting gender confusion have been moved out of the children’s department. For more information about this, see last week’s substack post:
(Since this post was written, God Made Boys and Girls was ordered for our libraries.)
The Reconsideration Form Example:
Author: Theresa Thorn Title: It Feels Good to be Yourself, a book about gender identity
Type of Material: Children’s Picture Book (for ages 4+)
Specific objection(s) to Material including specific page(s) or instances:
Cover: The colorful cover is enticing for a new reader to pick up on their own.
This book attempts to convince children that gender is a spectrum, a wide range of possibilities that “cannot even fit into a book.”
Children at this age are beginning to categorize their world. A child can look at 50 different shades of pink and name them pink. The world is a vast, chaotic and frightening place. Learning to categorize this world is how children make sense of their world. Bringing in gender as a spectrum, as if this is commonplace, which until recently was not, is confusing and destabilizing to a young child. Consider the attached article and consider how a book like this could disrupt the developmental process.
Young Children - Transgender Trend
The last page of the book explains, “Your feelings about your gender are real. Listen to your heart.” This tells a child that the child SHOULD be considering the possibility of another gender when the child might not have ever needed to consider such a thing. For some children this will cause anxiety and stress.
In the back of the book intersex is defined. It seems to imply that those who identify as non-binary are intersex. No discussion is given to the reality of how rare it is for a person to be born intersex.
What was good about the material?
Nothing.
Are you considering the material as a whole?
Yes, I have read the entire book. Unfortunately, this book contains information that is dangerous to children.
Have you read any reviews on this material?
Yes, let’s compare Kirkus’s review of this book with another shall we? I think you will find this an interesting exercise.
IT FEELS GOOD TO BE YOURSELF | Kirkus Reviews
This expansive, straightforward framing of gender emphasizes curiosity, joy, and positive self-expression. - Kirkus Reviews on It Feels Good to be Yourself
GOD MADE BOYS AND GIRLS | Kirkus Reviews
Clumsy propaganda for those already in the target audience. - Kirkus Reviews on God Made Boys and Girls
See what I mean?
I have researched the author and am familiar with her journey with her oldest child. I realize she wrote this book from a place of wanting to provide this as a resource for other parents. I think those parents can pick this book up from the adult section. While there, they can look at Peanuts and Calvin and Hobbs since those books are also in the adult section.
Here is one of the articles I read about the author:
Jesse and Theresa Thorn on parenting a gender-nonconforming child. (slate.com)
How did this material come to your attention?
Two Moms and Some Book’s Substack of course!
What would you like the library to do about this material?
1. Move it to the adult section (preferred) or young adult section at the very least. This material is not for kids and should not be picked up by kids. Parents can pick it up from the adult section if they want it.
2. Move it to a high shelf out of reach of children with a “controversial material” label.
3. Move behind the librarian’s desk for request.
Requester Represents: Individual: yes Organization: _____ Other: ______
Request initiated by (please print): Your name goes here.
Again, the rest is self-explanatory. If you don’t have a library card, get one the day you turn it in and write it on the form. You can turn the form into any library, and it covers every single copy of the book you are asking the committee to reconsider.
Providing Additional Information: It may be beneficial for you to provide additional evidence as to why encouraging minors to consider a different gender on the spectrum could bring harm for a child. If you have a background in education or as a therapist, providing information about your educational background and how you have seen this kind of information harm a child could be helpful for the committee. Every unique viewpoint is beneficial as we each make our case.
Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart for helping us with this initiative. We have already made a lot of progress, but there is still so much more to be done.