The Moon, the Being and I

Ylva Karlsson & Sofia Falkenhem

Månne, eight years old, is so tired of always having to explain about not being a boy and not being a girl. How hard can it be? Not at all! That’s why Månne is going to become a Youtuber. And the youngest Youtuber ever!
Månne tells you about everything in those Youtube videos: about the talks with the moon, about the
best friends ever – Rut and Jörgen. About The_Pink_Rainbow_Girl who is going to teach Månne everything she knows about being a Youtuber, and about playing the synth. But also about all the difficult things that happen every single day, just because Månne is not a boy nor a girl. About all the peabrains out there who don’t get it. Everything that eventually creates a nasty creature from a plate of ordinary mashed potatoes. A slimy thing with red eyes that refuses to go away.

Because there are people who believe that you have to be a boy or a girl, anything else doesn’t exist. That Månne doesn’t really exist.

 

“I have written the book about Månne in collaboration with a non-binary child. A child who, already at the age of four or five, said “I’m not a boy, I’m not a girl, I’m X”, when someone asked. That child has allowed me to take part in their everyday lives, they have shared difficulties, misunderstandings and joys, and from that I have later written the fictional story about Månne. As soon as I was uncertain, I was able to ask and reason with X. I have also talked to and listened to other transgender people, both children and adults, as well as parents of non-binary children. Many have generously shared their experiences and helped me understand.
The entire manuscript has been reviewed by several trans people with different competences in the subject.”

Ylva Karlsson