Are You a Friend of Dorothy?: The True Story of an Imaginary Woman and the Real People She Helped

Book

Are You A Friend Of Dorothy?

Lukoff, Kyle
Published Date: 2025
ISBN: 1665931663
Page Count: 40

From Newbery Honor and Stonewall Book Award–winning author Kyle Lukoff and celebrated picture book illustrator Levi Hastings comes a picture book about how people found community in a time when they had to keep their true selves secret.

“Are you a friend of Dorothy?”

In a time when the LGBTQ+ community was forced to hide in the shadows, a woman named Dorothy helped her people find each other in the dark and celebrate themselves in the light.

But who was Dorothy? Was she from the neighborhood, someone’s wife, mother, or sister? Was she that clever writer, who threw parties where there were no rules about who you could and couldn’t dance with? Or was she a girl from Kansas, who dreamed of leaving her black-and-white, small-town life and finding a vibrant, colorful world that loved her?

Dorothy might have been all these things—because Dorothy, as known by the post-WWII queer community, wasn’t real. Still, she helped a community find connection and care amidst adversity.

Language

English

Representation

Genre

Children’s, Educational

Other Info

None

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A World Worth Saving

Book

A World Worth Saving

Kyle Lukoff
Published Date: 2025-02-04
ISBN: 059361898X
Page Count: 352

A groundbreaking, action-packed, and ultimately uplifting adventure that intertwines elements of Jewish mythology with an unflinching examination of the impacts of transphobia, from Newbery Honor-winner Kyle Lukoff

Covid lockdown is over, but A’s world feels smaller than ever. Coming out as trans didn’t exactly go well, and most days, he barely leaves his bedroom, let alone the house. But the low point of A’s life isn’t online school, missing his bar mitzvah, or the fact that his parents monitor his phone like hawks—it’s the weekly Save Our Sons and Daughters meetings his parents all but drag him to.

At SOSAD, A and his friends Sal and Yarrow sit by while their parents deadname them and wring their hands over a nonexistent “transgender craze.” After all, sitting in suffocating silence has to be better than getting sent away for “advanced treatment,” never to be heard from again.

When Yarrow vanishes after a particularly confrontational meeting, A discovers that SOSAD doesn’t just feel soul-sucking . . . it’s run by an actual demon who feeds off the pain and misery of kids like him. And it’s not just SOSAD—the entire world is beset by demons dining on what seems like an endless buffet of pain and bigotry.

But how is one trans kid who hasn’t even chosen a name supposed to save his friend, let alone the world? And is a world that seems hellbent on rejecting him even worth saving at all?

Language

English

Representation

Genre

Middle Grade, Mythology, Fantasy

Other Info

None

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Different Kinds of Fruits

Book

Different Kinds of Fruit

Lukoff, Kyle
Published Date: 2022
ISBN: 0593111184
Page Count: 320

In this funny and hugely heartfelt novel from a Stonewall Award winner, a sixth-grader’s life is turned upside down when she learns her dad is trans.

Annabelle Blake fully expects this school year to be the same as every other: same teachers, same classmates, same everything. So she’s elated to discover there’s a new kid in town. To Annabelle, Bailey is a breath of fresh air. She loves hearing about their life in Seattle, meeting their loquacious (and kinda corny) parents, and hanging out at their massive house. And it doesn’t hurt that Bailey has a cute smile, nice hands (how can someone even have nice hands?) and smells really good.

Suddenly sixth grade is anything but the same. And when her father shares that he and Bailey have something big (and surprising) in common, Annabelle begins to see herself, and her family, in a whole new light. At the same time she starts to realize that her community, which she always thought of as home, might not be as welcoming as she had thought. Together Annabelle and Bailey discover how these categories that seem to mean so much— boy, girl, gay, straight— aren’t so clear-cut after all.

Language

English

Representation

Genre

Middle Grade, Contemporary, Romance

Other Info

None

Related

Max on the Farm

Book

Max on the Farm

Lukoff, Kyle
Published Date: 2020
ISBN: 1478868635
Page Count: 32

Max's class goes to visit a farm and after visiting the animals, having dinner, and learning to square dance, the children go to bed in the hay loft. Later, Max and Theresa, his best friend, sneak out for their own adventure.

Language

English

Representation

Genre

Children’s Picture Book, Adventure

Other Info

Max and Friends Series: Book 3

Series

Related

Max and the Talent Show

Book

Max and the Talent Show

Kyle Lukoff
Published Date: 2019
ISBN: 1478867892
Page Count: 32

Max's friend Stephen is great at many things. But more than anything else, Stephen can tell a story. His stories have the ability to change listeners' initial impressions of people and situations. When Stephen signs up for the school's talent show, Max signs up to be his assistant.

After selecting that just-right dress and those just-right shoes for the show, the moment arrives. Stephen steps onto the stage. The lights shine brightly in his face. He looks out into the crowd knowing he has prepared everything, except the one thing that matters--his performance. What will Max, standing in the wings, do to help his friend?

Language

English

Representation

Genre

Children’s Picture Book, Adventure, Kids

Other Info

Max and Friends Series: Book #2

Series

Related

Call Me Max

Book

Call Me Max

Kyle Lukoff
Published Date: 2019
ISBN: 1478868627
Page Count: 32

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.

Language

English

Representation

Genre

Children’s Picture Book, Kids

Other Info

Max and Friends Series: Book #1

Series

Related