KIND LIKE MARSHA

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 González 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.