Queer Jewish Books

 

 

June is Pride Month! In celebration, I am happy to provide this list of queer Jewish kidlit. This list includes a broad range of representation, from queer Jewish protagonists to minor characters.

 

Please note that I have not read all of these books myself, so cannot vouch for their quality. On the other hand, some of these are books or authors I've podcasted about, and if so I'll provide a link. If you have any feedback about these titles, or any others to suggest, please leave a comment!

 

PICTURE BOOKS

• Havdalah Sky by Chris Barash
• Adopting Ahava by Jennifer Byrne 
• The Rosh Hashanah Recipe by Laura Gehl
• The Hanukkah Hunt by Laura Gehl
• The Flower Girl Wore Celery by Meryl G. Gordon
• The Purim Superhero by Elisabeth Kushner

MIDDLE GRADE

• Almost Flying by Jake Maia Arlow 
• You Be You: The Kids Guide to Gender, Sexuality, and Family (Yiddish edition) by Jonathan Branfman, translated by Lili Rosen
• Repairing the World by Linda Epstein
• Lily & Dunkin by Donna Gephart
• The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher by Dana Alison Levy
• The Family Fletcher Takes Rock Island by Dana Alison Levy
• The Book of Elsie by Joanne Levy
• All Three Stooges by Erica Perl
• Ellen Outside the Lines by A.J. Sass
• The Renegade Reporters by Elissa Brent Weissman

YOUNG ADULT

• Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler
• Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli
• Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
• The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
• Believe by Sarah Aronson
• I Am J by Chris Beam
• Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert
• The New Queer Conscience by Adam Eli
• A Million Quiet Revolutions by Robin Glow
• Sweet Like Sugar by Wayne Hoffman
• Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg
• Wide Awake by David Levithan
• Gravity by Leanne Lieberman
• The Girl with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke
• The Spy with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke
• This Rebel Heart by Katherine Locke
• It's a Whole Spiel by Katherine Locke & Laura Silverman
• Continuum by Chella Man
• Once More with Chutzpah by Haley Neil
• Starglass by Phoebe North
• Starbreak by Phoebe North
• From Dust, A Flame by Rebecca Podos
• The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros
• Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick
• The Papercutter by Cindy Rizzo
• Camp by L.C. Rosen
• Never Mind the Goldbergs by Matthue Roth
• My Awesome Awful Popularity Plan by Seth Rudetsky
• All Kinds of Other by James Sie
• You Asked for Perfect by Laura Silverman
• Those Summer Nights by Laura Silverman
• Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker
• Zoe Rosenthal Is Not Lawful Good by Nancy Werlin
• Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger
• The Wonderful Adventures of Benjamin and Solomon by Elena Yakubsfeld
• Boys of the Beast by Monica Zepeda

 

BONUS INTERVIEWS: 

 

Lesléa Newman, a queer author famous for writing Heather Has Two Mommies, has appeared on The Book of Life many times, to talk about her Jewish books (which don't happen to have queer content) Here Is the World, Ketzel the Cat Who Composed, social justice, and Welcoming Elijah.

 

I celebrated Pride Month in 2020 by interviewing Lee Wind (author of Jewish picture book Red and Green and Blue and White) who blogs at I'm Here, I'm Queer, What the Hell Do I Read? Lee's LGBT titles (not Jewish) include Queer as a Five Dollar Bill and No Way, They Were Gay?