Self-immolation is a horrible way to go, but no one seems to have told that to the children’s publishing industry. Driven by religious and ideological fervour, children’s literature has rushed to adopt ‘inclusivity’ and progressivism at the cost of diversity of thought. The result is a stream of turgid books obsessed with ‘trans’.

On 17 June the group SEEN in Publishing (SiP) launched its latest report in the House of Lords, hosted by Baroness Jenkin of Kennington. It’s a document that publishers should heed, though they have a history of sticking their fingers in their ears. That obtuseness is all part of their desperation to burnish their devotion to ‘progressiveness’ at all costs – even, in the case of transgenderism, at the cost of children’s wellbeing.

The report, Through the Looking Glass, as its title suggests, is an exploration of a world where reality is inverted and truth distorted. It hears from authors and children’s advocates, and is backed up by contributions from medical authorities. Its conclusions are damning, its seven recommendations sane and urgent. It’s a pity, then, that sanity is unfashionable in the world of children’s literature. It’s far from clear that the report will be accepted by those who should take it very seriously indeed.

That obtuseness is all part of their desperation to burnish their devotion to ‘progressiveness’ at all costs – even, in the case of transgenderism, at the cost of children’s........

© The Spectator