Kind Like Marsha

February 15, 2022
A colorful, uncomplicated introduction to queer and trans trailblazers. In this straightforward picture book, Prager and Thuesday outline 14 LGBTQ+ innovators from around the world, though Americans are predominantly featured. Young readers are invited to emulate various character attributes of the profiled luminaries: creativity, boldness, kindness, and so on. Each succinct profile summarizes the contributions of the leader in one or two brief sentences followed by a notable quote. Well-known individuals such as Frida Kahlo and Leonardo da Vinci appear alongside folks who might be new to children, like LGBTQ+ activist Frank Mugisha of Uganda and gun control advocate X Gonz�lez of the United States. Avoiding any discussion of violence against LGBTQ+ communities and the resulting trauma, this collective biography is a helpful starting point for children who would benefit from a gentler entry point into sensitive histories. Rich with symbols, Thuesday's cartoony images hint at the context of each biographee's life and work. For example, Sappho of ancient Greece writes pensively on a scroll flanked by two Ionic marble columns; the writer, teacher, and organizer Audre Lorde's portrait is bursting with books, a typewriter overflowing with paper, and a blackboard. Older readers may find this survey too simple to be engaging, but caregivers, educators, and librarians can use it to prime younger children for eventual deeper dives into the lives and struggles of LGBTQ+ icons. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A celebratory book that's useful for teaching young children about diverse historical figures. (author's note, further reading) (Collective picture-book biography. 5-9)

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May 15, 2022
Grades K-3 Prager offers readers a gallery of significant LGBTQ+ figures both present (activist X Gonz�lez) and past (poet Sappho). Each entry highlights a key descriptive word that captures the subject's essence: "You can be EXPRESSIVE like Sappho," "You can be OUTSPOKEN like X." And don't forget the titular Marsha P. Johnson: "You can be KIND like Marsha." Each entry also offers a quotation from its subject; for example, from activist Sylvia Rivera, "We have to be visible," and, from inventor Lynn Conway, "It's the learning that's fun." There are a number of easily recognizable faces here (politician Harvey Milk, author Audre Lorde, artist Frida Kahlo) but also some not so familiar--ancient Chinese emperor Ai of Han, Nigerian activist Frank Mugisha, and Brazilian French aerialist Alberto Santos-Dumont. Each facing page features a portrait of its subject in context, giving the book a nicely rendered album-like look. A fine introduction for young readers to the LGBTQ+ world and to some of its significant leaders.

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June 20, 2022
Through single-line biographies that draw positive characteristics from real-life individuals’ actions, Prager introduces 14 LGBTQ figures—some well known and some less so—with “identities as diverse as the rainbow.” Each receiving a full spread, the American-leaning grouping includes figures such as Marsha P. Johnson, Frida Kahlo, Harvey Milk, Frank Mugisha, and Sylvia Rivera. Alongside Thuesday’s boldly hued, textural art, which provides contextualizing details, each figure is introduced with a succinct biographical line, a “you can be” trait, and a quotation. Readers are invited to be “THOUGHTFUL” like Audre Lorde, described as an author who “turned her thoughts about justice into writing that made others change their minds.” Though it’s unclear how the collection is organized—X González appears between Sappho and Leonardo da Vinci—the assemblage offers a largely visual introduction to queer people and progressive values. An author’s note concludes. Ages 4–8.

July 1, 2022
From Chinese ruler Ai of Han to gun-safety activist X Gonzalez, this browsable volume is intended to encourage curiosity about and further research on fourteen LBGTQ+ activists, poets, politicians, artists, and thinkers from around the world and throughout history. By eschewing specific gender and sexuality labels in her text, Prager focuses on each subject as a human rather than as representative of any particular group. The page design is lively and inviting; each colorful double-page entry features a stylized portrait on the left-hand page and very brief biographical information on the right. Included are birth and death (if applicable) location(s) and date(s), a descriptive and inspirational statement ("You can be RESILIENT like Josephine �Baker]"), a one- or two-sentence paragraph with general information, and a quotation. Website resources are appended.

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