A timely new picture book explores the role of protests in American history, so let’s take a look—and round up some other recent picture books and middle grade titles about protests and activism. They’re all queer-inclusive, but look at a wide variety of social justice movements and moments.
Picture Books
First, here’s my review of the brand-new one:
“Protest is American by definition!” asserts the vivid and timely Rise Up!: Powerful Protests in American History, by Rachel C. Katz, illustrated by Sophie Bass (Barefoot Books). From the Boston Tea Party to more recent efforts to stop damming the Klamath River, Americans have spoken out, marched, boycotted, and fought “When rights need expanding or wrongs need repair.” We have spread our messages through art, song, and words; gone to court; engaged in nonviolent actions, and more, and each spread of this colorful picture book focuses on a different type of protest, giving young readers plentiful real examples of each one.
The first Pride parades are here, along with the fight for AIDS awareness and for marriage equality—but we also see how people have pushed for Black civil rights, workers’ rights, women’s rights, disability rights, environmental protection, birthright citizenship, and more. There are events you’ve likely heard of, like the movement for women’s voting rights, or the Brown v. Board of Education case that desegregated schools, but also lesser-known ones, such as a 1968 strike by Black sanitation workers in Tennessee for better working conditions and an end to racist treatment.
Author Rachel C. Katz uses playful rhymes to carry the heart of the story, but prose call-out boxes add details about the events mentioned. At the end, young readers are encouraged to “find your personal mission” and join a long tradition of working against injustice.
Backmatter is plentiful, including a timeline, map, and further information about the people and protests in the main text.
While any such overview of American protests is understandably selective, it may seem somewhat odd that the “First Pride Parades” are highlighted, but there is no mention (even in the backmatter) of the Stonewall Riots, the iconic LGBTQ protest whose anniversary became the first Pride parade. Tradeoffs of content and emphasis have to be made in any volume of picture-book length, however, and editor Kate DePalma explained on Bluesky that “We chose to feature the first Pride parades rather than Stonewall because we wanted a big exuberant scene of queer joy, and we love how it shows that simply showing up and being seen can be a revolutionary act.” That makes sense. There’s more to every protest movement here, for that matter, even though Katz manages to pack in a surprising amount. If readers and their adults use the book as a jumping off point to learn more, about Stonewall or anything else, it will have done its job. In its wide scope, lively illustrations, and enthusiastic message, it’s a highly recommended volume.
Here’s a bigger look at queer-inclusive titles about protests and activism. (Click images for reviews.) Note that these are all more general volumes; you may wish to filter my Database of LGBTQ Family Books by the Social justice and Biography tags or the LGBTQ history tag to find more focused books about specific people and moments.
Middle Grade
