Gay & Lesbian History for Kids: The Century-Long Struggle for LGBT Rights, with 21 Activities

by Jerome Pohlen

Series: For Kids

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Conversations
72	4	368,440	(3.88)	None
Part of the popular For Kids series, this book puts the historic struggle for LGBT equality into perspective Given today's news, it would be easy to get the impression that the campaign for LGBT equality is a recent development, but it is only the final act in a struggle that started more than a century ago. This timely resource helps put recent events into context for kids ages nine and up. After a brief history up to 1900, each chapter discusses an era in the struggle for LGBT civil rights from the 1920s to today. The history is told through personal stories and firsthand accounts of the movement's key events like the 1950s "Lavender Scare," the Stonewall Inn uprising, and the AIDS crisis. Readers will learn about civil rights mavericks, like Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, founder of the first gay rights organization; Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, who turned the Daughters of Bilitis from a lesbian social club into a powerhouse for LGBT freedom; and Harvey Milk, the first out candidate to win a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Also chronicled are the historic contributions of famous LGBT individuals, and 21 activities enliven the history. Kids can write a free verse poem like Walt Whitman, learn the Madison line dance, design an AIDS quilt panel, and write a song parody to learn about the spirited ways in which the LGBT community has pushed for positive social change.… (more)

all members

▾Members

Recently added by

woodlandstar, btervet, ostaff1, sn272709, RLNunezKPL, kerribrary, 406PrideBillings, TCCNorwalk

▾Tags

***Nonfiction (1) 323.3 (1) 2016 (2) activism (5) activities (2) age-young-adult (1) Altar Bookshelf (1) American history (2) Back to School Drive 17 (1) bisexual (2) C HIST (1) children (3) children's (2) children's nf social science-psychology (1) format-library-book (2) gay (3) genre-nonfiction (2) history (8) lesbian (4) LGBTQ (6) needs artists (1) non-fiction (6) queer (2) tag-lgbtqa (1) to-read (4) to-read-juvenile (1) transgender (2) UE (2) young adult (2) z-age-middle-grades-ya (2)

▾LibraryThing Recommendations

▾Lists

SYES Library Wishlist (521)

▾Will you like it?

▾Conversations (About links)

No current Talk conversations about this book.

▾Member reviews

date ▼ | votes

Showing 4 of 4

I was looking for an overview, so I could keep better track of things I learned and mentally fit them into a timeline, and this was on hoopla, so I checked it out. I thought it was a really good overview, and, for something aimed at kids, did a good job of not hiding the painful details but also not traumatizing kids who are reading this.

Monj | Jan 7, 2022 |

A much-needed history of the struggle for LGBT civil rights is introduced in a timeline sequence. Powerful stories of both historical and everyday individuals demonstrating perseverance, resilience, and contributions are paired with thoughtful activities that prompt critical thinking. Contents, Timeline, Introduction, Afterword, Resources, Notes, Index.

NCSS | Jul 23, 2021 |

A much needed resource, and I learned a lot!

The format was a bit too "choppy" for my tastes. Having said that, if an adult and a kid were reading through this together, then the adult could encourage the kid to seek out supplemental information to the very brief coverage of each time period in this book. That would add more depth to the individual histories. Teachers and parents would certainly be able to use this as a jumping off point for their own lessons and discussions.

Not sure what the target age was for this one, though. I'd say 10 and up, mainly because its "just the facts" writing style might not capture the interest of younger kids.

4 stars (

)

flying_monkeys | Mar 9, 2016 |

Gay and Lesbian History for Kids is an informative, engaging and visually stunning book. I really appreciate that it is thorough and inclusive and that the stories of lesbians and transgender folks are not just a side bar or afterthought. It will be a great resource for any child or teenager who wants to understand the challenges that gays and lesbians have endured and the many victories along the way. My only complaint is that many of the the activities seemed irrelevant to the topic and almost seemed made up to fulfill the requirement for 21 activities. It was especially startling to see a light, fun-filled activity in the same section where HIV and AIDS was discussed. Otherwise, a great addition to the For Kids Series.

Thank you to Edelweiss for allowing me to review this book for an honest opinion. (

)

Karen59 | Nov 18, 2015 |

date ▼ | votes

Showing 4 of 4

▾Published reviews

no reviews | add a review

▾Other authors

» Add other authors

▾Series and work relationships

Belongs to Series

For Kids

▾Awards and Honors

Awards

ALA Rainbow Book List (Selection – Juvenile Nonfiction – 2016)

Lambda Literary Award (Finalist – LGBT Children's/Young Adult – 2016)

Notable Lists

NCSS/CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People (Third to Fifth Grade – 2016)

view history

▾Common Knowledge

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.

For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.

Canonical title

Gay & Lesbian History for Kids: The Century-Long Struggle for LGBT Rights, with 21 Activities

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

People/Characters

Important places

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

For my mother, Barbara Jean Standiford Pohlen, who taught me about empathy and compassion

First words

Quotations

Last words

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Newman, Leslea

Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

▾Book descriptions

Part of the popular For Kids series, this book puts the historic struggle for LGBT equality into perspective Given today's news, it would be easy to get the impression that the campaign for LGBT equality is a recent development, but it is only the final act in a struggle that started more than a century ago. This timely resource helps put recent events into context for kids ages nine and up. After a brief history up to 1900, each chapter discusses an era in the struggle for LGBT civil rights from the 1920s to today. The history is told through personal stories and firsthand accounts of the movement's key events like the 1950s "Lavender Scare," the Stonewall Inn uprising, and the AIDS crisis. Readers will learn about civil rights mavericks, like Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, founder of the first gay rights organization; Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, who turned the Daughters of Bilitis from a lesbian social club into a powerhouse for LGBT freedom; and Harvey Milk, the first out candidate to win a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Also chronicled are the historic contributions of famous LGBT individuals, and 21 activities enliven the history. Kids can write a free verse poem like Walt Whitman, learn the Madison line dance, design an AIDS quilt panel, and write a song parody to learn about the spirited ways in which the LGBT community has pushed for positive social change.

▾Library descriptions

No library descriptions found.

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

Haiku summary