Sewing the Rainbow

The Story of Gilbert Baker

and the Rainbow Flag

Magination Press

(pub.5.22.2018) 
32 pages 

A True Tale with
A Cherry On Top   

A uthor: Gayle E. Pitman

      and illustrator: Holly Clifton-Brown

       
C haracter: Gilbert Baker

O verview from the jacket flap: 

     "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 shown 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."

        

T antalizing taste:        

  

    "Up they went! The flags unfurled, flooding the sky with a spectrum of colors. The city radiated with color and sparkle and glitter. 
     And the crowd lit up, like gold at the end of the rainbow.
     Today, the rainbow flag is everywhere. Even in the small town in Kansas where Gilbert grew up.
     Wherever you see a rainbow flag, you'll know that it's okay to be your colorful, sparkly, glittery self."

and something more: I enjoyed speaking with the author, Gayle Pitman, at the SCBWI conference in Los Angeles last week. Gayle is a professor of psychology and women's studies at Sacramento City College.  Gayle's Readers Note at the back of SEWING THE RAINBOW explains why Gilbert Baker chose to create a flag: "Gilbert always knew the power of flags; he was once quoted as saying, 'A flag is torn from the soul of the people.' But it was probably the bicentennial celebration in 1976 that inspired Gilbert to create his own iconic flag. That year, American flags were everywhere, from Jasper Johns paintings to designer T-shirts - and for the first time, Gilbert really understood the power of the flag. If he could design a symbol to be used on a flag, that symbol would become instantly recognizable, and that would give the LGBTQ community more power and visibility than ever before."