Parents rail against school district for book that teaches kids about being transgender

Parents in the Midwest are speaking out about a controversial book discussing a child's desire to transition genders - after it was pulled in several states but remains in theirs.

'Call Me Max,' a picture book penned by a transgender man, tells the story of a child who identifies as transgender - and is currently being read aloud to kids as young as four in Minnesota, public school officials in the state have confirmed.

Released in 2019, the 32-page story depicts a child who struggles with the gender they were born with, and asks teachers to call them by a boy's name.

Since its publication a few years ago, it has been banned in schools in several US states such as Texas and Florida, after inciting protests and anger amongst outraged parents.

The book has now resurfaced on shelves in the Great Lake state - spurring one parent, 47-year-old LaDawn Severin, to slam officials at a recent school district board meeting - footage of which is now going viral.

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Parents such as LaDawn Severin (pictured here slamming public school officials at a Brooklyn Park board meeting on Tuesday) are speaking out about a controversial book discussing a child's desire to transition - after it was pulled in several states but remains in Minnesota

'Call Me Max,' a picture book penned by a transgender man, tells the story of a child who identifies as transgender - and is currently being read aloud to kids as young as four 

'I’m just gonna read one page,' the Minneapolis mother with six kids aged 17 to six years old told Osseo Area Schools last Tuesday while producing a copy of the book she claimed was recently given to first-graders in the school district.

'You can figure out who’s been distributing these to elementary teachers in our district,' Severin continued, before reading an excerpt she and parents before her have found issue with.

In it, author Kyle Lukoff writes that when a child 'grows up to be transgender,' adults who originally called the child a boy or a girl 'made a mistake.'

'When a baby is born, a grown-up says, “it’s a boy!”; “or, it’s a girl!”' Severin is heard reciting in the newly surfaced clip obtained by Parents advocacy group Crisis in the Classroom.   

'If a brand-new baby could talk,' she continues with an air of restrained anger, 'sometimes that baby might say, "No, I’m not."

'When a baby grows up to be transgender, it means that the grown-up who said they were a boy or a girl made a mistake.'

Once finished, Severin is seen looking up at board members and others in attendance, visibly astounded by the message being preached in the book's pages. 

'Do you have ears to hear?' she asks dozens in attendance of the diversity, equity, and inclusion-laden anecdote she just read.

'Do we have ears to hear how this page alone assaults the sacred God-given identity of young males and young females?'

Severin on Tuesday pointed to a passage in the picture book she found problematic - one which asserts that when a child 'grows up to be transgender,' adults who originally called the child a boy or a girl 'made a mistake'

Released in 2019, the 32-page story depicts a child who struggles with the gender they were born with, and asks teachers to call them by a boy's name

Since its publication a few years ago, it has been banned in schools in several states like Texas and Florida - after parents took issue with messages being preached in its pages. In one seen here, the titular character is seen struggling with what bathroom to use at school

The now widely seen footage continues for a bit longer - in which the irate mother claimed the book was being provided to first-grade students at the districts Brooklyn Park school Park Brook Elementary.

'First graders are busy enough trying to master phonics and trying to learn how to read,' Severin asks in the clip. 

'Why would we allow authority figures to plant seeds of doubt in their existence simply as a boy or a girl, that it might be a mistake? And we wonder why there’s a mental health crisis.'

After Severin is seen slamming district officials one last time for providing such a book, the clip cuts out - but has since been viewed more than 5,000 times.

It is not clear from the clip what the reaction from district officials including third-year superintendent Cory McIntyre were, but a rep on Tuesday confirmed the book is 'included in kindergarten classrooms as an option during independent reading time.'

Spokesperson Kay Villella added that while the book is not listed as being part of the district's 35 school libraries and is used for instructional purposes, it was one of approximately 225 books hand-selected by kindergarten teachers for their kids.

'All our district's kindergarten teachers reviewed and selected books that they felt best represented their students,' Villella said Tuesday. 'These books then went into each kindergarten classroom across the district.' 

A review of the district's library catalog further confirmed that Call Me Max is not officially listed in any of the district's libraries - after being pulled from those of Texas and Florida in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is seen showing an image from the children's book moments before signing off a bill that banned it and other books from public schools in March 2022

The book was penned by Kyle Lukoff a transgender man, school librarian, and former bookseller who slammed officials in Texas for taking issue with the picture book -  while defending its contents as appropriate for children

The backlash against the book first surfaced in the greater Austin area, spurring the  Eanes Independent School District to be the first in the country to elect to ban it from its shelves in March of 2021.

The ban eventually spread to the Sunshine State, which at the time was in the midst of passing the Parental Rights in Education bill - championed by Ron DeSantis.

The legislation banned teachers from giving classroom instruction on 'sexual orientation' or 'gender identity' to students in kindergarten through third grade, and subsequently saw thousands of books, including Lukoff's, permanently pulled.

At a March 2022 news conference touting the bills' passing, DeSantis showed an image from Call Me Max specifically, in which young protagonist and narrator 'Max' is seen, deep in thought, debating his gender identity.

In another page, the titular character is seen struggling with what bathroom to use at school. 

'When I went to the store with my dad, I went to the bathroom with him,' the passage reads. 

'When I went to the store with my mom, I went to the bathroom with her. But at school, I had to pick which bathroom to use.'

As this backlash continues to be felt, author Lukoff, a transgender man, school librarian, and former bookseller who has written many books for young readers, has continued to defend its contents.

After the Eanes Independent School District in Texas apologized to families for reading the book to fourth-graders, Lukoff slammed the district for adhering to parents' demands.

'"Call Me Max" is an early reader, written intentionally to be accessible for early readers, typically children around first and second grade,' Lukoff said. 

'It is generally regarded as a sweet, gentle introduction to the subject of transgender identities and gender stereotypes, based on my experience as both a transgender man and an elementary school librarian.' 

His debut novel Too Bright To See, aimed at middle-grade children, received a Newbery honor, the Stonewall award, and was a National Book Award finalist.

Earlier this year, DeSantis added to campaign against the woke by rejecting an AP African American studies course in public schools because it is 'inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value.' 

His administration has also vowed to remove funding from diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in state universities across Florida, as well as several lessons on race.

Last year, DeSantis - who is rumored to be weighing a bid for the Oval Office come 2024 - signed laws that required schools to rely on these certified media specialists to sign off on which books can be integrated into public school classrooms. 

A report by the anti-censorship group PEN America pointed out the ongoing purge, where books about historical black and Hispanic athletes like Hank Aaron (pictured) have also been put on the chopping block due to its coverage of topics concerning discrimination

Books about Celia Cruz, a Cuban singer known as the “Queen of Salsa,' were deemed unfit to be displayed in Duval County schools while the review is underway

Several other titles - including My Two Dads and Me by Michael Joosten and Izak Zenou, and The Stonewall Riots: Coming Out in the Street by Gayle E. Pitman - were reportedly pulled while the review is underway because they contain LGTBQ topics

Guidance on how that would be accomplished, however, would not come until months later, when stipulations set by DeSantis' office were finally provided to schools.

Those guidelines demanded that all books found across the Sunshine State's more than 4,000 public schools must align with state standards set in previous laws - such as the so-called Don't Say Gay bill -  including to not teach K-3 students about gender identity and sexual orientation, or to feature lessons on critical race theory (CRT).

CRT refers to a relatively recent intellectual and social movement which examines systemic racism in American society, and preaches that race is not a natural construct, but one invented by humans to subjugate others.

Other laws included in DeSantis's war chest against the woke include the aforementioned Stop WOKE act, which restricts lessons and training on race and diversity in schools and in the workplace. The acronym stands for 'Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees.'

Also influencing officials' decisions in which books to pull is House Bill 1467, another guidance signed by DeSantis last year that prohibits books that contain 'pornographic' content or are 'inappropriate.'

DeSantis' office further declared that titles that include references to pornography and discrimination would also be banned. 

That said, of the books removed from Duval County, more than 30 were by Latino authors and illustrators or centered Latino characters and narratives.

Several others - such as My Two Dads and Me by Michael Joosten and Izak Zenou, and The Stonewall Riots: Coming Out in the Street by Gayle E. Pitman - centered around LGTBQ topics.

Also nixed was I am Jazz, a picture book by transgender advocate Jazz Jennings, 22, a biological male who more than a decade ago became a figurehead for the pre-pubescent transgender movement when she began hormone blockers at the age of 11.

Also nixed was I am Jazz, a picture book by transgender advocate Jazz Jennings, 22, a biological male who more than a decade ago became a figurehead for the pre-pubescent transgender movement when she began hormone blockers at the age of 11

Other titles under review include Celia Cruz, Queen of Salsa by Veronica Chambers and Julie Maren; Sonia Sotomayor (Women Who Broke the Rules Series) by Kathleen Krull and Angela Dominguez; and Henry Aaron’s Dream, by Matt Tavares.

Several have spoken out against the ongoing review since it came to light over the weekend, with Roberto Clemente's son,  Roberto Clemente Jr..

DailyMail.com has reached out to the district for comment.