An accessible and visually enticing work that blends science, technology, and social history.
The biography of a woman who shaped early photography while facing Victorian gender norms.
Anna Atkins (1799-1871) was an English botanist, illustrator, and photographer, who was raised by her scientist father, John George Children, and her paternal grandfather following her mother’s death. Atkins had an education unusual for girls of the time that included Latin and the sciences. She later married John Pelly Atkins, who came from a wealthy family of landowners who profited from being enslavers in Jamaica. Her studies provided a foundation for her experiments with cyanotypes, “an early photographic process that produced a blue-and-white print.” Nineteenth-century gender restrictions encouraged women to enjoy “polite” activities such as botany; seaweed-collecting was a “full-blown mania” among women of the era. Keller demonstrates how these influences contributed to Atkins’ groundbreaking 1843 publication, Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions, the first book illustrated with photographs. The narrative’s meticulous research pulls from the subject’s personal and professional writing, and the short sections keep the book light and accessible. Eye-catching and informative photographs, illustrations, and cyanotypes—including many examples of Atkins’ own work—add to the overall appeal. The judicious inclusion of background information ensures that readers will have a thorough understanding of the historical and cultural milieu of the time. Keller also highlights the contributions of other notable women of the time, some well-known, others less celebrated, across a range of fields.
An accessible and visually enticing work that blends science, technology, and social history. (glossary, notes, bibliography, illustration credits, index) (Biography. 13-18)Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2025
ISBN: 9781947440111
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Getty Publications
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
Though not the most balanced, an enlightening look back for the queer future.
An adaptation for teens of the adult title A Queer History of the United States (2011).
Divided into thematic sections, the text filters LGBTQIA+ history through key figures in each era from the 1500s to the present. Alongside watershed moments like the 1969 Stonewall uprising and the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, the text brings to light less well-known people, places, and events: the 1625 free love colony of Merrymount, transgender Civil War hero Albert D.J. Cashier, and the 1951 founding of the Mattachine Society, to name a few. Throughout, the author and adapter take care to use accurate pronouns and avoid imposing contemporary terminology onto historical figures. In some cases, they quote primary sources to speculate about same-sex relationships while also reminding readers of past cultural differences in expressing strong affection between friends. Black-and-white illustrations or photos augment each chapter. Though it lacks the teen appeal and personable, conversational style of Sarah Prager’s Queer, There, and Everywhere (2017), this textbook-level survey contains a surprising amount of depth. However, the mention of transgender movements and activism—in particular, contemporary issues—runs on the slim side. Whereas chapters are devoted to over 30 ethnically diverse gay, lesbian, bisexual, or queer figures, some trans pioneers such as Christine Jorgensen and Holly Woodlawn are reduced to short sidebars.
Though not the most balanced, an enlightening look back for the queer future. (glossary, photo credits, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 11, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8070-5612-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Beacon Press
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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