This picture book pairs the stories of youth activists with poems from exceptional adult poets of similar identities who were inspired by their work. Unsurprisingly, there are queer voices among them.
“No voice is too small/to solve a problem/that’s big,” begins Lindsay H. Metcalf’s poem at the start of the book. In its pages, we meet Samirah “DJ Annie Red” Horton, who shares anti-bullying messages through rap; Ziah Ahmed, who held face-to-face conversations with everyone in his high school as a way to forestall anti-Muslim hate; Levi Draheim, who became the youngest of 21 kids who sued the U.S. government for failing to act to stop climate change; Jasilyn Charger, who helped launch the Standing Rock Pipeline Resistance Movement, and more. Most are people of color. Each person profiled gets a two-page spread with warm and approachable images drawn in Bradley’s digital pastels and charcoals on an earth-toned, textured background. On the left page of each spread is a poem about the person’s impact; on the right is a prose paragraph with further details. The poems are by an array of well-known and award-winning writers, including Carole Boston Weatherford, Nikki Grimes, and Guadalupe Garcia McCall
Also profiled is transgender activist Jazz Jennings, with a poem about her by author S. Bear Bergman, founder and publisher of queer micro-press Flamingo Rampant. We also meet Zach Wahls, whose speech about his two moms to an Iowa House committee went viral in 2011, and whose Scouts for Equality organization helped pressure the Boy Scouts of America to allow gay scouts. His poem is by Lesléa Newman, best known as author of Heather Has Two Mommies
There are a number of queer-inclusive books about young activists, including Kid Activists
