Sylvia and Marsha Start a Revolution!

The Story of the Trans Women of Color Who Made LGBTQ+ History

by Joy Ellison

Children's Nonfiction | LGBTQIA

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Children's Nonfiction | LGBTQIA

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Description

"Someday girls like us will be able to wear whatever we want. People will call us by the names we choose. They'll respect that we are women. The cops will leave us alone and no one will go hungry."

Sylvia and Marsha are closer than sisters. They are kind and brave and not afraid to speak their truth, even when it makes other people angry.

This illustrated book introduces children to the story of Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson, the two transgender women of colour who helped kickstart the Stonewall Riots and dedicated their lives to fighting for LGBTQ+ equality. It introduces children to issues surrounding gender identity and diversity, accompanied by a reading guide and teaching materials to further the conversation.

Advance Praise

"This beautiful, resourceful, informative and important addition to trans history helps our younger generation to connect to a deeper understanding of our past. Remembering the foundations of current freedoms, and aiding solidarity for our future, cannot be underestimated. It helps us all to be brave." —Dr. Wenn B. Lawson (PhD) CPsychol AFBsS

"When we share books like this with young people introducing them to members of the trans community, we can begin to set them on a path of acceptance and understanding. I love this story not only as a possible first introduction to the trans community, but also as a provocation to use with students to discuss rebellion, revolution, protests and demonstrations." —Michael Rawls

"Sylvia and Marsha Start a Revolution is a beautiful story of friendship, bravery, and the courage to stand up to be yourself and do what is right! As an LGBTQ+ parent with two small kiddos, this book gave me the opportunity to start family conversations about LGBTQ+ history, the Stonewall Riots, and the importance of black, trans women in our movement in a friendly, and age-appropriate way. Not only was this book educational and informative, but it was a pleasure to read over and over again!"—Tatiana Quiroga, Director of Family Equity & Diversity, Family Equality

Available Editions

EDITION	Other Format
ISBN	9781787755307
PRICE	£12.99 (GBP)

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Featured Reviews

Alison T, Educator

My Recommendation

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.

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Kyle W, Reviewer

My Recommendation

This book is a short read, it's aimed at young children to introduce them to these well-known people in the transgender community, 

The illustrations are full of character and are charming. There isn't a lot of text which is great for young readers. But there is a couple of pages of text for older readers, explaining in a few more details the story behind this piece of history. There is also a glossary of the terms used that people may not be familiar with.

I really like that there are discussions questions for adults to discuss with the child. It will really help them to understand what the book is about. There are also further resources that you can look at with your child and also more books for you to read. 

At the end, there are two activities, one to make a protest sign with your child, and another to make a flower crown like Marsha. I think these are really great additions to the book.

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