Call Me Max

By Kyle Lukoff Illustrated by Luciano Lozano

Article By SCOTT CLONAN

“Call Me Max” is the story of Max going to school and the troubles he encounters. It begins with a simple definition of transgender which should be easy to understand for most children. Max was born a girl but sees himself as a boy. When he goes to school he encounters some issues such as getting the teacher to use his preferred name and which restroom to use.

I am glad there are picture books that are addressing gender issues. If this book was written a few years ago it would have been ground breaking, which is only a testament about how far children’s picture books have come in a short period of time.

I found this book to be a little too self-aware and Pollyanna-ish. On the second page, Max states that when he looks into the mirror he sees “a boy who is transgender”. To be honest, I am a cis male and will not experience what transgender children do, but this statement seems to be too self-aware for a young child just starting school. Also, all of Max’s issues at school seem to be solved with very accepting teachers and friends. This is not a bad book and I loved the illustrations. I think there are better picture books out there that address the same subject matter such as “Introducing Teddy” by Jessica Walton. That being said, it is amazing that I can actually be picky about a picture book addressing gender identity. Like I said, a few years ago this would have been ground breaking, but now we have much more to choose from.