Upcoming Children’s Book to Chronicle Harvey Milk, Gilbert Baker and the Pride Flag

“Young Readers Will Trace the Life of the Gay Pride Flag”

An upcoming picture book will introduce young readers to celebrated LGBT activists Harvey Milk and Gilbert Baker, detailing their creation of the Pride flag.

“Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag” is written by Rob Sanders and illustrated by Steven Salerno. The book’s description can be read below:

In this deeply moving and empowering true story, young readers will trace the life of the Gay Pride Flag, from its beginnings in 1978 with social activist Harvey Milk and designer Gilbert Baker to its spanning of the globe and its role in today’’s world. Award-winning author Rob Sanders’’s stirring text, and acclaimed illustrator Steven Salerno’s evocative images, combine to tell this remarkable – and undertold – story. A story of love, hope, equality, and pride. 

The book will be 40 pages, and author Rob Sanders told HuffPo that the idea came about on the day the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage. “It seemed like the country – even the world – was washed in the colors of the rainbow,” he said of that night.

The book’s cover can be seen below:

Stuart Milk, Founder and President of the Milk Foundation, praised the upcoming book as “beautifully [telling] the history of both Uncle Harvey’s dream and his collaboration with Gilbert Baker to create a global symbol of equality and inclusion. The book tells a history that all children will cherish, and will inspire the next generation of hope givers, our world’s youth.”

Amit Paley, CEO and Executive Director of the Trevor Project, offered praise as well. “Harvey Milk and Gilbert Baker showed LGBTQ people that they should be proud of who they are and who they love,” she wrote.

“That is exactly what we do at the Trevor Project for LGBTQ youth in crisis,” Paley continued. “We’re thrilled that more young people will learn the story behind the original rainbow flag.”

“Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag” will be released on April 10, 2018, and is available for pre-order here.

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