Nurseries are encouraging children to question their gender by reading them stories that challenge male and female stereotypes.

Books including characters who believe the are the wrong gender will be read to children as young as three after LGBT inclusion group Educate and Celebrate put them on nursery and primary school reading lists.

One features a teddy bear named Thomas, who says 'in my heart, I've always known that I am a girl teddy', according to The Sunday Times.

The book asks: 'Does it matter if Tiny is a boy or a girl? Should Tiny be allowed to play football and dress up as a fairy?'

Educate and Celebrate, which was funded by the the Department for Education, has backed dozens of schools in adopting gender-neutral toilets and uniforms.

Stories encourage girls to consider a career in fire-fighting and boys to cook dinner for their families.

Introducing Teddy, which is published by Bloomsbury, features an exchange between Thomas and his friend Errol, in which Thomas says: 'I need to be myself, Errol. '

In my heart, I've always known that I am a girl teddy, not a boy teddy. I wish my name was Tilly, not Thomas.'

Another on the list is a picture book called Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?

The story's main character, Tiny, questions their gender identity and discussion topics are listed at the back of the book, including: 'Does it matter if Tiny is a boy or a girl? Should Tiny be allowed to play football and dress up as a fairy?'

The teddy bear called Thomas tells a friend called Errol: 'In my heart, I've always known that I am a girl teddy'

Campaign for Real Education chairman Chris McGovern branded the move a mistake.

'I do not question the intentions of the people using and promoting this material, but it is misguided,' he said.

'They are inflicting adult neuroses about gender onto children who are not interested in gender. Children do not have issues about their gender in 99.9% of cases.

'Adults need to stop thinking children see the world the way they do. They do not.

'They may play at being a goblin one day, a dragon the next. They do not see the world in the way adults do and inflicting adult neuroses about gender onto children is damaging and cruel.'

The initiative comes after one mother called for Sleeping Beauty to be banned from the classes of younger pupils at her son's primary school because the prince kisses the princess while she sleeps.

She argued the fairy tale promotes inappropriate sexual behaviour because the princess has not consented.

A reading list has also been drawn up for older pupils up to the age of 11, including short novel Gracefully Grayson, whose central character is 'a girl on the inside, stuck in the wrong gender's body'.

Also featured on the list is George, about a boy who 'knows she's not a boy', which appears alongside the book Jamie: A Transgender Cinderella Story.

Educate and Celebrate claims to be 'expert in transforming schools and organisations into LGBT-friendly places'.

'Adults need to stop thinking children see the world the way they do. They do not. They may play at being a goblin one day, a dragon the next,' said Chris McGovern

The group gives lesson plans and reading lists to nurseries as well as primary and secondary schools, which are welcome to buy them from its website.

The organisation, which sends trainers into schools to work with teachers, was set up by music teacher Elly Barnes.

She says the reading lists are necessary to combat an education system that treats distinct and traditional genders as the norm.

'The book collections we have sourced for schools are much needed to break the heteronormative model to reflect real-life families, which come in all different shapes and sizes,' she said.

'Our young people are not born racist, sexist, homophobic or transphobic. The problem lies with the grown-ups and giving them the confidence and the resources to be inclusive of gender identity and sexual orientation — the books provide an accessible way for teachers to do this.'

The DfE confirmed it had funded Educate and Celebrate in the past to tackle anti-LGBT bullying in schools.

But it says the department was not involved in the charity's work providing the reading lists to schools.