When Max starts school, the teacher hesitates to call out the name on the attendance sheet. Something doesn’t seem to fit. Max lets her know the name he wants to be called by—a boy’s name. This begins Max’s journey as he makes new friends and reveals his feelings about his identity to his parents. Written with warmth and sensitivity by trans writer Kyle Lukoff, this book is a sweet and age-appropriate introduction to what it means to be transgender.
When Max starts school, the teacher hesitates to call out the name on the attendance sheet. Something doesn’t seem to fit. Max lets her know the name he wants to be called by—a boy’s name. This begins Max’s journey as he makes new friends and reveals his feelings about his identity to his parents. Written with warmth and sensitivity by trans writer Kyle Lukoff, this book is a sweet and age-appropriate introduction to what it means to be transgender. Read Less Description
When Max starts school, the teacher hesitates to call out the name on the attendance sheet. Something doesn’t seem to fit. Max lets her know the name he wants to be called by—a boy’s name. This begins Max’s journey as he makes new friends and reveals his feelings about his identity to his parents. Written with warmth and sensitivity by trans writer Kyle Lukoff, this book is a sweet and age-appropriate introduction to what it means to be transgender.
When Max starts school, the teacher hesitates to call out the name on the attendance sheet. Something doesn’t seem to fit. Max lets her know the name he wants to be called by—a boy’s name. This begins Max’s journey as he makes new friends and reveals his feelings about his identity to his parents. Written with warmth and sensitivity by trans writer Kyle Lukoff, this book is a sweet and age-appropriate introduction to what it means to be transgender. Read Less Description
When Max starts school, the teacher hesitates to call out the name on the attendance sheet. Something doesn’t seem to fit. Max lets her know the name he wants to be called by—a boy’s name. This begins Max’s journey as he makes new friends and reveals his feelings about his identity to his parents. Written with warmth and sensitivity by trans writer Kyle Lukoff, this book is a sweet and age-appropriate introduction to what it means to be transgender.
Kyle Lukoff has worked at the intersection of books and people for over half his life, first as a bookseller, then as a school librarian, and now as a writer. He is transgender, like Max, and lives in a small Brooklyn apartment with six overflowing bookshelves.
Luciano Lozano
Luciano Lozano was born the same year Man traveled to the Moon. That may be the reason why he has traveled a lot since childhood. When not traveling, he lives in Barcelona. His illustrations reflect his strong sense of color and texture, as well as his subtle sense of humor.
An excellent, and potentially groundbreaking, publication choice as an early reader title with a trans protagonist. Similar in format and tone to Dani Gabriel’s Sam, also a primary transgender coming-out picture book, but Max’s voice is more genuine. VERDICT: A welcome title for classrooms, libraries, and PFLAG and other support organizations’ collections.
—School Library Journal Reviewer
In this first installment of a new series, Max, who is confidently transgender (“When I look in the mirror, I see a boy”) runs up against a decidedly binary gender culture on his first day of school. Neither the boys nor the girls want him in their respective bathrooms, and he decides that the only course is to “hold it all day.” Writing in an empathetic, conversational style, Lukoff (When Aidan Became a Brother) offers an upbeat portrait of what’s possible: Max is able to ask for and receive the support he needs from the school and his parents (“the boys got used to having me in their bathroom,” he adds). Equally important, though, are eye-opening moments for Max: his new friend Teresa rejects his assertion that girls don’t like to climb trees and look for “gross bugs”; his friend Stephen firmly informs Max that, while he wears dresses, he identifies as a boy. Gender identity, Max realizes, is about everyone having the opportunity to be who they know they are. Lozano (Diana Dances) amplifies the reassuring tone with appealing cartoon-style illustrations.
When Max starts school, the teacher hesitates to call out the name on the attendance sheet. Something doesn’t seem to fit. Max lets her know the name he wants to be called by—a boy’s name. This begins Max’s journey as he makes new friends and reveals his feelings about his identity to his parents. Written with warmth and sensitivity by trans writer Kyle Lukoff, this book is a sweet and age-appropriate introduction to what it means to be transgender.
When Max starts school, the teacher hesitates to call out the name on the attendance sheet. Something doesn’t seem to fit. Max lets her know the name he wants to be called by—a boy’s name. This begins Max’s journey as he makes new friends and reveals his feelings about his identity to his parents. Written with warmth and sensitivity by trans writer Kyle Lukoff, this book is a sweet and age-appropriate introduction to what it means to be transgender. Read Less Description
When Max starts school, the teacher hesitates to call out the name on the attendance sheet. Something doesn’t seem to fit. Max lets her know the name he wants to be called by—a boy’s name. This begins Max’s journey as he makes new friends and reveals his feelings about his identity to his parents. Written with warmth and sensitivity by trans writer Kyle Lukoff, this book is a sweet and age-appropriate introduction to what it means to be transgender.
Author & Illustrator
Kyle Lukoff
Kyle Lukoff has worked at the intersection of books and people for over half his life, first as a bookseller, then as a school librarian, and now as a writer. He is transgender, like Max, and lives in a small Brooklyn apartment with six overflowing bookshelves.
Luciano Lozano
Luciano Lozano was born the same year Man traveled to the Moon. That may be the reason why he has traveled a lot since childhood. When not traveling, he lives in Barcelona. His illustrations reflect his strong sense of color and texture, as well as his subtle sense of humor.
Awards
2021 ALA Rainbow Book List Selection
Reviews
An excellent, and potentially groundbreaking, publication choice as an early reader title with a trans protagonist. Similar in format and tone to Dani Gabriel’s Sam, also a primary transgender coming-out picture book, but Max’s voice is more genuine. VERDICT: A welcome title for classrooms, libraries, and PFLAG and other support organizations’ collections.
—School Library Journal Reviewer
In this first installment of a new series, Max, who is confidently transgender (“When I look in the mirror, I see a boy”) runs up against a decidedly binary gender culture on his first day of school. Neither the boys nor the girls want him in their respective bathrooms, and he decides that the only course is to “hold it all day.” Writing in an empathetic, conversational style, Lukoff (When Aidan Became a Brother) offers an upbeat portrait of what’s possible: Max is able to ask for and receive the support he needs from the school and his parents (“the boys got used to having me in their bathroom,” he adds). Equally important, though, are eye-opening moments for Max: his new friend Teresa rejects his assertion that girls don’t like to climb trees and look for “gross bugs”; his friend Stephen firmly informs Max that, while he wears dresses, he identifies as a boy. Gender identity, Max realizes, is about everyone having the opportunity to be who they know they are. Lozano (Diana Dances) amplifies the reassuring tone with appealing cartoon-style illustrations.
