LGBTQ-rights pioneers Lyon and Martin helped transform San Francisco and its LGBTQ community. The picture book begins with them falling in love, buying a house, and observing the lack of rights for women and gay people in their neighborhood. “So we worked to change that,” they say.
The rest of the book shows the many welcoming buildings now in the neighborhood, often bedecked with rainbow flags, and the sense of community that permeates the streets. Christopher Lyles’ paint and collage illustrations are the perfect multi-textured complement to the text. A Reading Guide at the end gives further details about the places mentioned, and about Lyon and Martin’s work.
I wish the main text spoke a little more about what Lyon and Martin actually did to effect the changes we see in these pages. Parents will have to review the Reading Guide and explain to their kids that the duo created safe spaces for women who, like themselves, loved other women, and that they brought people together to fight for LGBTQ and women’s rights. Still, the book is a great conversation starter and a rare non-fiction book about LGBTQ equality for the younger age group.
