This biography follows Gilbert Baker, creator of the rainbow flag, from his childhood, through adversity, to his creation of the rainbow flag and regaining his sparkle.
Author Gayle Pitman has already written several children’s books on LGBTQ history and culture, including Stonewall Book Award-winning This Day In June, about a Pride parade; When You Look Out the Window, about LGBTQ-rights pioneers Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin; and A Church for All, about an LGBTQ-inclusive church. This work shows us not only a key moment in queer history, but also the journey of a boy to becoming his true self. A few gaps in explanation, however, will require grown-ups to reference the Reader Note at the end.
Sewing the Rainbow starts in Gilbert’s dull Kansas hometown, where he “was full of color and sparkle and glitter.” He would watch his grandmother sew in her clothing store, while he drew pictures of gowns and costumes. Then one day, “his father took away his art supplies and tore up his drawings.” Pitman provides no reason for this, though, which may puzzle (or frighten) young readers.
Although Gilbert hoped to go someplace “filled with color” when he turned 18, he instead received a letter that “knocked every last bit of sparkle out of him.” Pitman doesn’t tell us what the letter said, however. On the next page, we simply read about his life in the army; adults will need to explain what a draft letter was.
Readers will feel almost as happy as Gilbert, however, when he finally makes his way to San Francisco, learns to sew, and creates costumes for famous singers, banners for (unspecified) marches and rallies, and “regalia for Mama José and her Imperial Court.” Even the Reader Note, however, doesn’t tell us what the Imperial Court (an LGBTQ charitable organization known for its fancy balls) is.
Another potentially confusing part comes when Gilbert’s friend Harvey asks him for a new logo to replace a symbol that “continued to blemish” their city and “in Gilbert’s community, was a constant reminder of evil.” The text doesn’t say what the symbol was, however; some readers may think it was a logo of the city. (The Reader Note explains that it was the pink triangle.)
Additionally, nowhere in the story does Pitman use the word “gay,” “queer,” or “LGBTQ,” although she does in the Reader Note. There is still much value in the broad message of acceptance and inclusion—but part of me feels this is like writing about Martin Luther King, Jr. without specifying that he fought for Black people and racial equality.
Still, many young readers, especially LGBTQ children, will likely identify with Gilbert’s struggle to be himself. When Gilbert’s flags first fly over San Francisco, we can’t help cheering with the diverse crowd that celebrates them. And Pitman’s final message, that when one sees a rainbow flag, “you’ll know that it’s okay to be your colorful, sparkly, glittery self,” will inspire many, especially queer children with a more feminine gender expression. Illustrations by Holly Clifton-Brown are bright and whimsical, and the glittery rainbow cover adds to the book’s attraction.
