I love reading different books on Stonewall that are aimed at children, but I was very disappointed in Sylvia and Marsha Start a Revolution. I was especially excited that it featured Marsha Johnson so prominently in the title and on the cover and thought it might offer a bit more biographical info on her. Instead, the book read like fiction, like a picture book. The book also seemed to lack focus, making the two women's efforts to support homeless youths the primary cause that Sylvia and Marsha involved themselves in. That's not wrong, but Stonewall was this awkward interlude that lasted a couple pages and then the next day, everything was back to normal. In this book's telling, there really is no revolution.

This book is a must for all classrooms, especially with the introduction of the new RSE curriculum.It is so much more than a story-it is a resource regarding transgender rights and lives. The book starts with the basic story of Sylvia and Marsha-their friendship, their desire to help others, the prejudice they faced as they were wearing dresses. The story does not go into a vast amount of detail so is appropriate for younger years. However, following the story there is background to the Stonewall Rebellion and a glossary of terms to support older readers, parents and teachers.There is also a questions section to use in conversations about the topic, resources and signposts to other related books,In this sense, the book could be used by a number of year groups as certain elements are appropriate for certain years.
I enjoyed the fact that the story focused on the friendship, kindness, generosity and determination to challenge prejudice and overcome oppression as opposed to it all being about them being transgender. For me, it demonstrates clearly that transgender people are human beings. This is a key point as still today prejudice exists for transgender people and the more we can educate children (the next generation), the better things will be in the future.