The Mother of a Movement: Jeanne Manford--Ally, Activist, and Founder of Pflag
by Rob Sanders (Author) Sam Kalda (Illustrator)
The Mother of a Movement is a true story of parental support and unconditional love.
The Mother of a Movement tells the story of Jeanne Manford, the founder of PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). When her son Morty was beaten by New York City officials for handing out pro-gay leaflets, Manford wrote a powerful letter to the New York Post to complain about how Morty was treated. In the letter she came out as the mother of a gay son. The letter was published. Morty invited his mother to march with him in the June 1972 Christopher Street Parade. While marching, she had the idea to form a group to help parents and families of LGBTQ+ people. That was the beginning of PFLAG.
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Publishers Weekly
In the tradition of picture books centered on a parent-child bond, rhythmic repetition reinforces messages of love and acceptance in this biography of PFLAG cofounder Jeanne Manford (1920-2013). Structured as a question-and-answer narrative, Sanders begins with a wide-lensed query: "What does a mom do?/ Some listen and love./ Learn and lead." A page-turn later, the phrasing tightens to reveal Manford's specific actions: "What did this mom do?/ She raised three children./ Caring. Nurturing. Teaching." Variations on the question subsequently repeat, referencing the figure's roles as "teacher-mom," "mom of grown children," and "mom of a gay son," as, following an attack that hospitalizes her child, Manford moves into LGBTQ allyship and establishes PFLAG, modeling how a loving parent's advocacy can impact families everywhere. Kalda's crisp, '60s-influenced digital illustrations provide an equally strong through line, representing connectivity between individuals of varying abilities and skin tones. Expansive support materials conclude. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)
Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
He lives in Brandon, Florida. Visit robsanderswrites.com and @RobSandersWrite on Twitter. Sam Kalda is an illustrator and artist based in Saint Paul. His commissioned works include editorial, book, advertising and pattern illustration. In 2017, he received a gold medal in book illustration from the Society of Illustrators in New York. His first book, Of Cats and Men: History's Great Cat-loving Artists, Writers, Thinkers and Statesmen, was published in 2017 with Ten Speed Press. He is the illustrator of When We Walked on the Moon, and the follow-up, When Darwin Sailed the Sea. Visit samkalda.com.
Family relationships
Gay teenagers
Manford, Jeanne
Parents of sexual minority youth
Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians an
