Kyle Lukoff

Kyle Lukoff
Born (1984-06-05) June 5, 1984 (age 42)
Skokie, Illinois, United States
EducationBarnard College
OccupationSchool librarian
Writing career
Notable worksWhen Aidan Became a Brother, Too Bright to See
Websitekylelukoff.com

Kyle Lukoff (born 1984) is a children's book author, school librarian, and former bookseller. He is most known for the Stonewall award-winning When Aidan Became a Brother and for Call Me Max, which gained attention when parents in Texas complained about the book being read in an elementary school classroom and a Utah school district canceled its book program after the book was read to third graders.

Personal life

Lukoff is a transgender man, who transitioned in 2004 while an undergraduate at Barnard College, a historically women's college. Much of his work centers on transgender children. He is Jewish.

Education

Lukoff went to Edmonds-Woodway High School then graduated from Barnard College in 2006. While at Barnard, he was a member of Columbia University's Philolexian Society. He earned his Master's degree in library science from Queens College in 2012.

Career

Lukoff was a school librarian at the Corlears School in New York City until he quit his job to write full time in 2020. His first book, A Storytelling of Ravens, was published in 2018 by House of Anansi Press and illustrated by Natalie Nelson. His second book, When Aidan Became a Brother, illustrated by Kaylani Juanita, is a story about a transgender boy awaiting a new sibling. The book was published by Lee & Low, an independent publisher known for works by unpublished authors and illustrators of color.

Lukoff's Max and Friends series was released in November 2019 with Call Me Max, illustrated by Luciano Luzano. In April 2020, he published Explosion at the Poem Factory, which was illustrated by Mark Hoffman. In 2021, he published Too Bright to See, which won the Stonewall award and a Newbery Honor, and was a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. He also wrote Different Kinds of Fruit. His 2024 novel A World Worth Saving is a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature.

Publications

Books

Title Year Notes Ref.
A Storytelling of Ravens 2018 Illustrated by Natalie Nelson
When Aidan Became a Brother 2019 Illustrated by Kaylani Juanita
Explosion at the Poem Factory 2020 Illustrated by Mark Hoffman
Too Bright to See 2021
Different Kinds of Fruit 2022
If You're a Kid Like Gavin With Gavin Grimm
Awake, Asleep 2023 Illustrated by Nadia Alam
There's No Such Thing as Vegetables 2024 Illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi
I'm Sorry You Got Mad Illustrated by Julie Kwon
Just What to Do Illustrated by Hala Tahboub
A World Worth Saving 2025
My Little Golden Book About Pride Illustrated by Michelle Jing Chan
Are You a Friend of Dorothy? The True Story of an Imaginary Woman and the Real People She Helped Illustrated by Levi Hastings
The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class: Sebastian Metzger Solves a Sticky Situation 2026 Illustrated by Kat Fajardo
The Vicious Cycle: A Story of Healing Illustrated by Priscilla Tey
Should I Stay or Should You Go? 2027

Book series

  • Max
Title Year Notes
Call Me Max 2019 Illustrated by Luciano Lozano
Max and the Talent Show
Max on the Farm 2020
  • Mermaid Days
Title Year Notes Ref.
Mermaid Days #1: The Sunken Ship 2022 Illustrated by Kat Uno
Mermaid Days #2: The Sea Monster
Mermaid Days #3: A New Friend 2023

Essays

Title In Ref.
"Taking up Space" Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation
"Evaluating Transgender Picture Books; Calling for Better Ones" School Library Journal
"Second Trans on the Moon" YA Pride
"A letter to trans writers who are thinking about trying to get published."

Awards

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2025 Kyle Lukoff Children's Literature Lecture Won
2022 Too Bright to See Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature Won
Too Bright to See Newbery Honored
2021 Too Bright to See National Book Award for Young People's Literature Finalist
2020 When Aidan Became a Brother Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature Won
Outstanding Fiction for Children Charlotte Huck Award Honored

References

  1. ↑ Flynn, Kitty. "Five questions for Kyle Lukoff". The Horn Book. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  2. ↑ Yorio, Kara. "LGBTQ+ Book Challenges Continue As Texas Parents Object to "Call Me Max"". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  3. ↑ EST, Samantha Lock On 2/15/21 at 10:28 AM (2021-02-15). "Transgender boy book prompts Utah school district to suspend reading program". Newsweek. Retrieved 2021-03-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ↑ "2019 Festival Author Lineup – Texas Book Festival".
  5. ↑ "Blog: Conversations About Queer and Trans Literature with Picture Book Author Kyle Lukoff".
  6. ↑ "Magazine Preview: In Transition". Bwog. 8 December 2009. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  7. ↑ "#49 - Poem Explosion with author Kyle Lukoff - Buttons & Figs (podcast)". Listen Notes. 9 April 2020. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  8. ↑ Kyle (2012-09-13). "A Letter to Corlears Parents". Corlears School Library Blog. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  9. ↑ "Staff Profiles | Corlears School | NYC". Corlears School. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  10. ↑ "A Storytelling of Ravens". House of Anansi Press. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  11. ↑ Lukoff, Kyle; Juanita, Kaylani (2019). When Aidan became a brother. Lee & Low Books Incorporated. ISBN 9781620148372. OCLC 1055840422.
  12. ↑ "Kyle Lukoff". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  13. ↑ "About Us | Lee & Low Books". www.leeandlow.com. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  14. ↑ "Reycraft Books | Max and Friends: Call Me Max". www.reycraftbooks.com. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  15. ↑ "Explosion at the Poem Factory". House of Anansi Press. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  16. ↑ "American Library Association announces 2022 Youth Media Award winners". 24 January 2022.
  17. 1 2 "Too Bright to See". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  18. ↑ "2025 National Book Awards Finalists Announced". National Book Foundation. The National Book Foundation. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  19. ↑ "Different Kinds of Fruit by Kyle Lukoff: 9780593111185 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  20. ↑ "If You're a Kid Like Gavin". HarperCollins. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  21. ↑ Lukoff, Kyle (2024). There's No Such Thing as Vegetables. Macmillan. ISBN 9781250867841.
  22. ↑ "I'm Sorry You Got Mad by Kyle Lukoff: 9780593462911 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  23. ↑ "Just What to Do by Kyle Lukoff: 9780593462942 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  24. ↑ "A World Worth Saving by Kyle Lukoff: 9780593618981 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2024-07-23.
  25. ↑ "My Little Golden Book About Pride by Kyle Lukoff: 9780593807859 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2025-02-24.
  26. ↑ Are You a Friend of Dorothy?. 2025-04-29. ISBN 978-1-6659-3166-3.
  27. ↑ The Kids in Mrs. Z’s Class: Sebastian Metzger Solves a Sticky Situation. 2025-07-07. ISBN 978-0-316-59431-8.
  28. ↑ . 2025-07-22 https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/kyle-lukoff/the-vicious-cycle/. {{cite book}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  29. ↑ "Should I Stay or Should You Go? by Kyle Lukoff". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
  30. ↑ "The Sunken Ship: An Acorn Book (Mermaid Days #1)". shop.scholastic.com. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  31. ↑ Bornstein, Kate; Bergman, S. Bear (2010). Gender outlaws: the next generation. Basic Books. ISBN 9781580053082. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  32. ↑ Lukoff, Kyle. "Evaluating Transgender Picture Books; Calling for Better Ones". School Library Journal. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  33. ↑ Lukoff, Kyle (21 November 2016). "Second Trans on the Moon". YA Pride. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  34. ↑ "A letter to trans writers who are thinking about trying to get published". Kyle Lukoff. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  35. ↑ "Kyle Lukoff to deliver 2025 Children's Literature Lecture | ALA". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2026-06-09.
  36. ↑ Harris, Elizabeth A. (2022-01-24). "Donna Barba Higuera Wins Newbery Medal for 'The Last Cuentista'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  37. ↑ HCHO (2020-01-27). ""When Aidan Became a Brother" and "The Black Flamingo" win 2020 Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature Award". News and Press Center. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  38. ↑ "Charlotte Huck Award (fiction for children)". NCTE. Retrieved 2020-01-27.