Pride Month Jewish Reading Recommendations
To celebrate Pride Month this June, I posted a Jewish LGBTQ+ kidlit recommendation each day on Facebook. Here are all of the recommendations with links to podcasts or reviews, for your #PrideMonth reading pleasure. #JewishBooksAreDiverseBooks
June 1, 2023
Ellen Outside the Lines by A.J. Sass, a 2022 Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Middle Grade category, and a heartfelt novel about a Jewish neurodivergent thirteen-year-old navigating changing friendships, a school trip, and expanding horizons. A nonbinary friend and Ellen's questioning of her own gender and sexual identity are positive features of the story.
June 2, 2023
Lion's Legacy by L.C. Rosen, book #1 in the Tennessee Russo YA series of Indiana Jones-inspired adventures. Gay Tennessee is on a quest to find the rings of the sacred band of Thebes, an army of gay couples in ancient Greece.
June 3, 2023
When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb, YA winner of the 2023 Sydney Taylor Book Award, the Stonewall Award, and a Printz Honor award. Like a Jewish "Good Omens," it's the story of an angel and a demon who are Talmud study partners, and features a range of LGBT+ representation.
June 4, 2023
The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet by Jake Maia Arlow, a funny and gentle MG novel about a Jewish lesbian kid with Crohn's Disease, releasing 8/1/23. Her friends include gay, nonbinary and asexual characters.
June 5, 2023
The New Queer Conscience by Adam Eli, a YA 2021 Sydney Taylor Notable Book. It's a nonfiction activist manifesto that holds up k'lal yisrael, or Jewish solidarity, as a model for the queer community to emulate.
June 6, 2023
From Dust a Flame by Rebecca Podos, a YA fantasy in which Hannah begins daily magical transformations after her 17th birthday. Along with her new lesbian love interest Ariel, Hannah and her brother create a golem, battle a demon, and explore their newly discovered Jewish roots.
June 7, 2023
Planning Perfect by Haley Neil, a YA romcom about a biromantic ace spectrum Jewish girl from Boston with anxiety and perfectionist tendencies, who takes on planning her own mother's wedding.
June 8, 2023
Ring of Solomon by Aden Polydoros, an exciting MG fantasy in which closeted gay Jewish Zach befriends Ashmedai, the King of Demons, and battles a variety of monsters from Jewish legend.
June 9, 2023
How to Excavate a Heart by Jake Maia Arlow, a cute Jewish lesbian romcom that includes a thread about non-Christians dealing with the ubiquity of "Christmas cheer" in wintertime America.
June 10, 2023
Havdalah Sky by Chris Barash, a sweet board book about the rituals marking the end of Shabbat, in a family with two moms.
June 11, 2023
The Jake Show by Joshua S. Levy, a middle grade novel about a boy navigating the varying Jewish observance levels of his divorced parents. Caleb, a strong secondary character from Jake's Modern Orthodox school, is gay and his coming out is significant to the plot.
June 12, 2023
Mooncakes, a YA graphic novel by Suzanne Walker, illustrated by Wendy Xu. It's an expansion of the original webcomic, a cozy fantasy with Chinese-Jewish-queer-hard of hearing witch Nova and nonbinary rep love interest werewolf Tam.
June 13, 2023
Zoe Rosenthal Is Not Lawful Good by Nancy Werlin, a YA anti-romcom about a girl leaving a relationship and finding her community through fandom. Zoe is casually Jewish; her friends include strong nonbinary and gay as well as autistic characters.
June 14, 2023
Camp QUILTBAG by Nicole Melleby and A.J. Sass, a fun middle grade novel about a summer camp for LGBT+ kids finding friendship and navigating crushes.
June 15, 2023
The Flower Girl Wore Celery by Meryl G. Gordon, a cute picture book about the excitement of being the flower girl at Cousin Hannah's Jewish wedding to her girlfriend Alex.
June 16, 2023
Adopting Ahava by Jennifer Byrne, a sweet picture book about a boy adopted by a pair of Jewish mamas, being taken to the shelter to adopt a dog of his own.
June 17, 2023
The Puttermans Are In the House by Jacquetta Nammar Feldman, a middle grade novel of a Texas hurricane, a baseball-obsessed Jewish family, and cousins learning to understand each other better. One of the three point-of-view characters, Matty, has realized that he's gay and is trying to figure out what that means for him as a baseball player.
June 18, 2023
A Million Quiet Revolutions by Robin Gow, a YA novel in verse about two trans gay boys: white Jewish Oliver and Puerto Rican Catholic Aaron, uniting through reenactment of a pair of possibly trans historical Revolutionary War soldiers.
June 19, 2023
Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert, a gripping YA novel about the moral dilemmas cropping up in the relationship between Black Jewish bisexual Suzette and her white Jewish bipolar straight stepbrother Lionel.
June 20, 2023
Ana on the Edge by A.J. Sass, a middle grade novel about Jewish Asian-American figure skater Ana's realization that they identify as nonbinary, triggered by extreme discomfort with a girly princess ice routine.
June 21, 2023
Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler, a YA "Sliding Doors" romcom in which bi Jewish Natalya lives two timelines: one in NYC going for the girl she's always wanted and the other in LA with the boy she never saw coming.
June 22, 2023
Zay Getray Zikh Aleyn, or You Be You: The Kid's Guide to Gender, Sexuality, and Family by Jonathan Branfman, translated into Yiddish by Lili Rosen. This is middle grade nonfiction (available in English, Yiddish, and other languages) that explains the facts of life in a simple, family-friendly manner.
June 23, 2023
The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros, 2022 YA winner of the Sydney Taylor Book Award. It's a queer Jewish gothic fantasy thriller set during Chicago's 1893 World's Fair.
June 24, 2023
The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher by Dana Alison Levy, a middle grade everyday adventure about four adopted boys and their two dads. The family celebrates a variety of holidays: Christian, Hindu, and of course, Jewish.
June 25, 2023
The Purim Superhero by Elisabeth Kushner, a picture book about a Jewish boy with two dads, finding his voice and learning that he doesn't have to follow the crowd during the Jewish holiday of Purim.
June 26, 2023
It's a Whole Spiel: Love, Latkes, and Other Jewish Stories edited by Katherine Locke and Laura Silverman, a YA collection of moving and funny short stories about Jewish teens of varying observance levels, which includes several queer entries.
June 27, 2023
Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart, an award-winning middle grade novel about the growing friendship between a trans girl, Lily, and a Jewish bipolar straight boy, Dunkin.
June 28, 2023
My Sister's Girlfriend by Gail Marlene Schwartz & Lucie Gagnon, a gentle middle grade novel about a Canadian Jewish tween adjusting to her big sister coming out as a lesbian.
June 29, 2023
Destination Unknown by Bill Konigsberg, a YA novel about two gay teens in the 1980s, figuring out whether their relationship is platonic or romantic under the looming threat of the AIDS crisis.
June 30, 2023
Wide Awake by David Levithan, a classic YA novel set in a surprisingly realistic near future. When the first gay Jewish US president is elected, Duncan and his group of queer and straight friends become activists, fighting against bigoted election deniers.
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