Queer Jewish Kidlit: Update

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

My original list was posted in 2022. Since then I've identified 49 more titles to add to the list, and done 13 more interviews with authors whose books include queer content.

 

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.

To keep up with diverse Jewish representation in kidlit, keep an eye on my constantly-growing Diverse Jewish Kidlit LibraryThing database.

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 
• Rainbow Allies by Nancy Churnin
  
• The Rosh Hashanah Recipe by Laura Gehl
• The Hanukkah Hunt by Laura Gehl
• The Flower Girl Wore Celery by Meryl G. Gordon
• I Am a Jewish Star by Meridith Gould
  
• The Purim Superhero by Elisabeth Kushner
• Frankenstein's Matzah by K. Marcus
  
• Just Like Queen Esther by Ari Moffic 
• Love Remains: A Rosh Hashanah Story of Transformation by Ari Moffic
  
• Jamie and Bubbie: A Book About People's Pronouns by Afsaneh Moradian
  
• Joyful Song: A Naming Story by Lesléa Newman
• Shabbat Is... by A.J. Sass 
• The Last Place You Look by J. Wallace Skelton
• Banana Menorah by Lee Wind
  
• Ava's Homemade Hanukkah by Gerladine Woberg
  

MIDDLE GRADE

• Almost Flying by Jake Maia Arlow 
• The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet 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
• The Puttermans Are in the House by Jacquetta Nammar Feldman 
• Not Nothing by Gail Forman
• Lily & Dunkin by Donna Gephart
• What Jewish Looks Like by Liz Kleinrock & Caroline Kusin Pritchard
  
• The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher by Dana Alison Levy
• The Family Fletcher Takes Rock Island by Dana Alison Levy
• The Jake Show by Joshua S. Levy
  
• The Book of Elsie by Joanne Levy
• Lucky Penny by Aimee Lucido
  
• A World Worth Saving by Kyle Lukoff [interview coming in September 2025]
• Benji Zeb Is a Ravenous Werewolf by Deke Moulton 
• Don't Want to Be Your Monster by Deke Moulton
• Glitch Girl by Rainie Oet 
  
• All Three Stooges by Erica Perl
• Nightmares in Paradise by Aden Polydoros
• Ring of Solomon by Aden Polydoros
  
• Lion's Legacy by L.C. Rosen
• King's Legacy by L.C. Rosen 
• Ana on the Edge by A.J. Sass
  
• Ellen Outside the Lines by A.J. Sass
• Camp QUILTBAG by A.J. Sass 
  
• Just Shy of Ordinary by A.J. Sass 
• My Sister's Girlfriend by Gail Schwartz
• Naomi Teiltelbaum Ends the World by Samara Shanker
  
• The Renegade Reporters by Elissa Brent Weissman

YOUNG ADULT

• Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler
• Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler 
• Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli
• Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli
• Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
• The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
• How to Excavate a Heart by Jake Maia Arlow
  
• Believe by Sarah Aronson
• Sunhead by Alex Assan
  
• I Am J by Chris Beam
• Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert
• It's a Love/Skate Relationship by Carli J. Corson
  
• The New Queer Conscience by Adam Eli
• A Million Quiet Revolutions by Robin Glow
• Sweet Like Sugar by Wayne Hoffman
• In the Ring by Sierra Isley
  
• Finally Fitz by Marissa Kanter 
• Rachel Friedman Is Not the Queen by Sarah Kapit
• Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg
• The Forbidden Book by Sacha Lamb
  
• When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb
  
• 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
• Planning Perfect by Haley Neil
  
• Starglass by Phoebe North
• Starbreak by Phoebe North
• From Dust, A Flame by Rebecca Podos
• The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros
• Wrath Becomes Her by Aden Polydoros
  
• Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick
• Eight Nights of Flirting by Hannah Reynolds
  
• The Papercutter by Cindy Rizzo
• A Warning About Swans by R.M. Romero
  
• Camp by L.C. Rosen
• Emmett 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
• Night Owls by A.R. Vishny
  
• Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker
• Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl by Sara Waxelbaum
  
• Zoe Rosenthal Is Not Lawful Good by Nancy Werlin
• D.J. Rosenblum Becomes the G.O.A.T. by Abby White
  
• The Gender Binary Is a Big Lie by Lee Wind
  
• Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger
• The Wonderful Adventures of Benjamin and Solomon by Elena Yakubsfeld
• Boys of the Beast by Monica Zepeda