Gay author publishes gender-neutral children’s books

Raleigh, NC – Drag Queen Story Hour continues to capture the imaginations and hearts of the children in its audience. The books read have an important meaning for the narrator Kiara Mel.

“Growing up younger and just being yourself at times when the status quo was outside was viewed in a very negative light,” Mel said.

The kids at Raleigh’s LGBTQ Center are excited as the books in the Storytime Rhymes Collection are read aloud. Author Mike Gauss told ABC11 they wanted to be as inclusive as possible. The characters are dressed in a t-shirt and jeans with shoulder-length hair.

“With Storytime Rhymes, we do things like use non-gender specific nouns. We use appropriate pronouns: they, them, us, I, us. We will never use he or she because that genre identifies and limits who can relate to history, “Gauss said.” No matter who you are, we all love to wear t-shirts and jeans. It could be a boy, a girl, or a non-binary person. “

This collection has been preparing in Gauss’s mind since the age of 14. At 54, the gay author claims the extra time spent at home due to the pandemic prompted him to write and publish all 12 books.

He created space in the books for children to see themselves so that insecurities don’t carry over into adulthood.

“It took me 50 years to get over this since I was a kid,” Gauss said. “I know adults in their 70s to 80s who are still struggling. They feel like strangers. In a way, they feel like they’re not doing well. They can be better in some way or another. ‘another. They need to hear it’s good to be you, boo. ”