Sewing the Rainbow
- Finalist, Children’s Choice Book Awards
Follow the journey of a boy from a small Kansas town who made his gray life sparkle, unfurling a rainbow of color to galvanize the gay rights movement.
Gilbert Baker always knew he wanted a life full of color and sparkle. In his small, gray, flat Kansas hometown, he helped his grandma sew and created his own art whenever he could. It wasn’t easy; life tried over and over again to make Gilbert conform. But his sparkle always shone through. He dreamed of someday going somewhere as vibrant and colorful as he was.
Set against the backdrop of San Francisco during the gay rights movement of the 1970s, Gilbert’s story unfolds just like the flag he created: in a riot of color, joy, and pride. Today the flag is everywhere, even in the small town where Gilbert grew up!
Includes a Reader Note that provides more in-depth discussion of the beginnings of the gay rights movement and a more detailed look into Gilbert Baker's place in our shared history.
Gayle E. Pitman, PhD, is a professor of psychology and women's studies at Sacramento City College. Her teaching and writing focuses on gender and sexual orientation, and she has worked extensively with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community.
She is the author of This Day In June, which won the 2015 Stonewall Book Award — Mike Morgan and Larry Romans Children's and Young Adult Literature Award. She is also the author of When You Look Out the Window, a picture book biography of lesbian couple Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, and Feminism From A to Z, a book for teens of all genders.
Holly Clifton-Brown is an illustrator and artist based in Somerset, England. She graduated from the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) in 2008, and has since published several picture books and illustrations for an array of international publishing companies and clients.
Her work combines traditional painting, mixed media, and collage with contemporary techniques to create a unique and imaginative visual language. When Holly is not drawing, you'll find her in the bath tub, out walking in the countryside with her family, fermenting vegetables, and having micro adventures with her son Ossian and dog Olive.
- 2019 Children's and Teen Choice Book Awards 5th–6th Grade Honor Book
- 5th–6th grade finalist in 2019 Children's & Teen Choice Book Awards
- NCSS-CBC 2019 Notable Social Students Trade Book for Young People
- 2019 ALA GLBT Round Table Rainbow Book List
- National Parenting Product Award Winner
An enduring symbol of the LGBTQIAP+ community.
—Booklist
The story of the rainbow flag is just as much Gilbert Baker's story as it is the LGBTQ+ movement's story. Dr. Gayle Pitman tells the story of a sensitive boy who loved art and grew up to unite the world. Holly Clifton-Brown's colorful illustrations give us an apple-cheeked, sweet-faced boy who just wants to create; her artwork goes wonderfully hand-in-hand with Dr. Pitman's prose to engender empathy in reader...This story pairs nicely with Rob Sanders and Steven Salerno's book, Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag, which has a nice little cameo by a grown-up Gilbert. Sewing the Rainbow is a must-add to your biography collections.
—Mom Read It
A colorful tribute to Gilbert Baker...creating the rainbow flag after a conversation with Harvey Milk. The art is beautiful and bright, transitioning powerfully from a subdued Kansan landscape to a flamboyant Bay Area...It's clear this book has a lot of love for the flag's promise.
—Kirkus Reviews
