It’s LGBTQ History Month, one of my favorite times of the year! Several new kids’ books on LGBTQ history and historical figures have come out since I last rounded them up, and a great new one is coming out shortly, so here’s a look!
First, coming out October 12 (but available to preorder now) is Stitch by Stitch: Cleve Jones and the AIDS Memorial Quilt, by Rob Sanders and illustrated by Jamey Christoph. Sanders shows why he’s one of the leading authors of children’s books about LGBTQ history, with a lyrical and moving book that conveys a life, an era, and a somber topic in a way both informative and age appropriate (4 to 8 years, according to the publisher). He begins with the quilt that Cleve Jones’ great-grandmother made for him as an infant, “piece by piece,” stitched together with love. Cleve was bullied in school, however, and left home after his parents said they didn’t approve of him being gay. Sanders continues the theme of the quilt as Cleve finds “a patchwork of friends” in San Francisco and becomes part of the burgeoning LGBTQ rights movement, “Action by action. Voice by voice.”
He doesn’t shy from mentioning the assassination of Harvey Milk and George Moscone and the hurt and anger that the LGBTQ community felt, as things went “from bad to worse.” Then young gay men began dying of a mysterious illness, which we now know as AIDS. Some people thought that those with AIDS “deserved it,” but it continued to spread to every community. One night at a vigil for Milk and Moscone, Cleve handed out cardboard and markers for people to write the names of those they knew who had died of AIDS. They taped them to the wall of a building, and Cleve got the idea for making a quilt, which he did with the help of friends. News of the Quilt spread and many people contributed panels; it was displayed on the National Mall on October 11, 1987, and toured other cities and towns. Slowly, people began talking about the disease and taking action against it, “Piece by piece…. Action by action.” Sanders tells us at the end that Cleve still has his great-grandmother’s quilt, the one that inspired the larger one, a “monument … of fabric and thread.”
Sanders also notes that before he penned the book, he wrote a poem on the subject. The poem is reproduced in full on one final page, but also woven throughout the story, giving the entire book a poetic, measured feel, just right for the seriousness of the subject matter. The allegory of the quilt may seem obvious, but it is masterfully done, spun out over the course of the book but tying back to Cleve’s grandmother’s quilt, reminding us of the interplay between small, personal acts of love and large movements.
Jamey Christoph’s illustrations are warm and expressive, a perfect counterpoint to Sanders’ words. Cleve Jones is White, but the LGBTQ community around him is shown with a variety of skin tones. Helpful end matter includes more detailed information on Cleve Jones and Gert McMullin, whom Jones called “the Mother of the Quilt”; a Glossary; Sources; Timelines of both the Quilt itself and of AIDS in America; and a Discussion Guide that looks at whether there is a cure for AIDS, how people get it, whether HIV/AIDS was just a disease that gay men got (answer: no), why the government did not do anything about it, and what discrimination is and why it happens.
Sanders does not talk down to his young audience but also manages to make the story accessible, clear, and respectful of its subject. Disease and discrimination are never easy to write about for children in ways that are neither sugarcoating nor unduly frightening, but Sanders shows it can be done, giving us a story of pandemic and prejudice but also of empowerment and hope. Highly recommended.
On a lighter but still informative note, Sanders earlier this year published Two Grooms on a Cake: The Story of America’s First Gay Wedding, illustrated by Robbie Cathro (Little Bee). It’s the story of the first same-sex couple in the U.S. to legally wed—back in 1971—told entertainingly by the two groom figurines on their wedding cake. Full review.
Were I Not a Girl: The Inspiring and True Story of Dr. James Barry
Leaders Like Us: Bayard Rustin, by J.P. Miller and illustrated by Markia Jenai (Discovery Library) is a biography that focuses on Rustin’s work with the Black civil rights movement, but that also notes “Some people treated Bayard unfairly because he was gay, but that did not stop him.” There is no mention of his later work speaking for gay rights or of how standing up for one part of his identity compelled him to speak up for the other, as this History article explains. Still, the fact that the text says he was gay is a step forward in picture book biographies of him.
Drawing on Walls: A Story of Keith Haring, by Matthew Burgess and illustrated by Josh Cochran (Enchanted Lion Books) is the story of the artist’s life from childhood until his death from AIDS-related complications, which are touched on but not in detail. Also mentioned is the fact that “He fell in love with a deejay named Juan DuBose,” and we see a lovely image of them snuggling on the subway.
People of Pride: 25 Great LGBTQ Americans, by Chase Clemesha (Capstone Editions) is a series of two-page biographies—a full-page image and a page of text—about LGBTQ Americans who have excelled in their fields. There are civil right heroes, sports stars, artists and musicians, scientists, politicians, and lawmakers. Many of the figures are contemporary or nearly so, but Clemesha also weaves in earlier figures. It’s a nice balance. In addition to the 25 people highlighted, an additional 14 are listed at the end with short one- to two-sentence blurbs about them. Clemesha conveys each person’s impact simply and clearly, though some of the profiles feel just a little too flimsy. Still, young readers may find inspiration here. The glossary and timeline at the back are less successful, however, as I detail in my full review.
Kid Innovators: True Tales of Childhood from Inventors and Trailblazers, by Robin Stevenson and illustrated by Allison Steinfeld (Quirk Books) is not a queer-specific book, but just like Stevenson’s Kid Activists volume in Quirk Books’ Kid Legends series, includes queer people in its 16 short biographies. In each profile of roughly eight to 10 pages, we learn about people who have innovated in science, technology, education, business, and the arts, with an emphasis on how their childhoods shaped them. In accessible but never patronizing prose, Stevenson sketches the stories of her subjects’ childhoods, deftly setting the scene for each one and providing informative details, engaging quotes, and sometimes humorous anecdotes. LGBTQ people mentioned are Alan Turing and Alvin Ailey. Stevenson not only notes that they were gay, but explains briefly how each faced homophobia.
Want even more kids’ books on LGBTQ history and the people who have shaped it? Filter my database with the “LGBTQ history” tag (or just use this link). There are some great ones out now (although there are plenty of topics, events, and people still to be covered)!