An Australian children’s author has fired back after Donald Trump singled out his book as promoting “radical gender ideology”.

The US president appeared onstage with a school student, who said he was forced to read My Shadow is Pink by the Australian author and illustrator Scott Stuart.

The book is about a boy who loves “things not for boys” such as princesses and fairies, and challenges gender stereotypes.

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Trump introduced the 12-year-old student, who stood on a riser behind a podium at a Religious Liberty Commission event and delivered a short speech.

Trump said that in 2024, when the boy was in fifth grade, he had been “forced to read a book to a Kindergarten student promoting a message of radical gender ideology that is contrary to his religious beliefs and ours”.

The boy said he was afraid when his family spoke up about it.

“The school treated us badly, and kids started bullying me and my brother because of our faith, and the school did nothing to stop it,” he said.

“I believe kids like me should be able to live our faith at school without being forced to go against what we believe. I hope no other family has to go through what mine did.”

Stuart responded in an online video, saying Trump was using his children’s books to further his own political agenda, and that the student who made the speech was being used as a pawn.

“The irony here is that they want acceptance for their beliefs, but not to extend that acceptance on to others,” the author said.

The My Shadow books are not about culture wars, but about helping kids be themselves without prejudice, according to Stuart, whosaid his inbox had been filled with messages of hate since the speech.

Stuart’s literary agent, Sarah McKenzie, also responded, stating online that she was proud of his “groundbreaking” picture book.

“When Trump and Fox News are angry, you know you’re doing something right,” she said.

“Pity the conservative right can’t grasp the simple and beautiful message about acceptance, equality and love.”

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My Shadow is Pink was published in 2020 and adapted by Stuart into a short film in 2022. A television series has also been optioned.

In January, the Malaysian government banned another book from the series, My Shadow is Purple, stating it “may be harmful to morals”.

That story is about a child who does not identify as either a boy or a girl, with the story using colours as a means to discuss not conforming to gender expectations.

“My Dad has a shadow that’s blue as a berry, and my Mum’s is as pink as a blossoming cherry,” it reads.

“There’s only those choices, a 2 or a 1. But mine is quite different, it’s both and it’s none.”

The book was published in 2022, and a teacher in the southern US state of Georgia was fired the following year for reading it to her fifth-grade students.

In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978. In the UK, the charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on 0800 1111. In the US, call or text Mental Health America at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.