About the Holiday

The establishment of National Coming Out Day was inspired by the October 11, 1987 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, which drew 500,000 people and generated momentum for the movement for four months after the march had ended. During this time, more than one hundred LGBTQ+ identifying individuals gathered outside of Washington, DC. Rob Eichberg, who founded a personal growth workshop and Jean O’Leary, the head of National Gay Rights Advocates, proposed a national day to celebrate coming out and it was decided to create a National Coming Out Day that would officially begin on the 1st anniversary of their historic march. The holiday is now celebrated around the world. The day offers support and encouragement to those who are struggling with telling someone about their sexuality while urging family members, friends, educators, and others to listen with an open, loving, and welcoming heart.

Thanks to Joan Holub for sending me a copy of This Little Rainbow for review consideration. All opinions on the book are my own. I’m thrilled to be teaming with Joan in an exciting giveaway of this book and more. See details below.

This Little Rainbow: A Love-is-Love Primer

Written by Joan Holub | Illustrated by Daniel Roode

Joan Holub’s latest book in her THIS LITTLE series introduces preschoolers to eleven influential artists, scientists, sports figures, soldiers, activists, and politicians who are or were members of the LGBTQIA+ community. From the 1400s to today, these role models have been admired for their talents, opinions, and groundbreaking success in their chosen fields. Their courage has also contributed to a more open and appreciative society for all.

Image copyright Daniel Roode, 2021, text copyright Joan Holub, 2021. Courtesy of Little Simon, Simon & Schuster.

Each featured profile is presented on a two-page spread. On the left side a rhyming couplet describes what the person is most known for, while on the right children learn a couple of facts about them in two or three short sentences. The book leads off with one of the most prominent painters, inventors, and scientists to have ever lived—Leonardo da Vinci. Readers learn: “This little rainbow / was a genius long ago. / He was a great artist / and an engineering pro.” They then discover that “Leonardo da Vinci painted the famous Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, and could paint with his left or right hand. He was also a scientist, inventor, and architect, who designed a flying machine!”

Moving on to the Jazz Age, little ones learn about Josephine Baker, “who sang and danced onstage,” refused to perform where African Americans weren’t allowed in, and spied on Nazis during World War II. Kids also meet computer scientist and code breaker Alan Turing; Harvey Milk, the first out politician “elected to public office in California. He helped pass an early rule for fairness in housing and jobs for LGBTQIA+ people.”

Image copyright Daniel Roode, 2021, text copyright Joan Holub, 2021. Courtesy of Little Simon, Simon & Schuster.

Children will also be introduced to Sally Ride: “This little rainbow / launched a satellite / as the first female astronaut / on a US space flight.” Kids then learn that “Sally Ride helped design a big robotic art and then used it to launch communications satellites from the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983.” Marsha P. Johnson, a transgender woman who, with Sylvia Rivera, “created a group called STAR to help homeless trans people,”

Singer Freddie Mercury, Gilbert Baker and Daniel Quasar, who designed today’s rainbow flags; tennis pro Martina Navratilova; and Shane Ortega, who “was the first person to openly transition during active duty” and “now speaks out for fair rules for all people,” are also represented in these pages.

Following these profiles, a two-page spread provides portraits and information on fifteen other LGBTQIA+ leaders from around the world as well as a glossary of twelve “rainbow terms.”

Image copyright Daniel Roode, 2021, text copyright Joan Holub, 2021. Courtesy of Little Simon, Simon & Schuster.

Joan Holub’s inclusive introduction to people in the LGBTQIA+ community gives parents, educators, and other caregivers a meaningful way to share the work and lives of people who reflect perhaps their own family or a member of their family, their neighbors, friends, teachers, celebrities, and others. In positive, uplifting language, Holub provides a short history on the struggles, recognition, progress, and contributions of those who identified or identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community while instilling pride and hope in the future for today’s children.

Daniel Roode’s well-recognized illustrations for the THIS LITTLE series offer vibrant imagery of each person backed by a bold, easily identified setting that informs young readers about their work and personality. Each of the eleven featured portraits as well as the fifteen that follow give adults and children a great place to start learning more about these inspiring people.

This Little Rainbow, a Love-Is-Love Primer is a terrific addition to the THIS LITTLE series for all home, classroom, school, and public library collections.

Ages 3 – 5

Little Simon, 2021 | ISBN 978-1534475601

Discover more about Joan Holub and her books on her website.

You can connect with Daniel Roode on Instagram.

One Question with Joan Holub

Joan Holub has authored and/or illustrated over 140 children’s books, including the Goddess Girls series, the Heroes in Training series, the New York Times bestselling picture book Mighty Dads (illustrated by James Dean), and Little Red Writing (illustrated by Melissa Sweet). She lives in North Carolina.

You can connect with Joan Holub on her Website and Twitter. 

Hi Joan! It’s wonderful to have this little chat with you! Your list of published books is truly incredible and inspirational for its length and breadth of topics. I can only imagine that you’ve always been an avid reader. Did you have a favorite place to read as a child? Do you still seek out a favorite comfortable place to read now?

When I was a girl, there was a willow tree in our backyard, and I loved how cozy and hidden I felt sitting beneath it, with its green canopy draped around me. It was my favorite hideout and place to read. My family had read a book called A Good Place to Hide, which featured a child hiding under a willow tree, and that fostered in me the idea of me doing the same. My favorite reading spot now is our back deck, which looks out onto trees, with a glass of iced tea beside me.

You can find This Little Rainbow: A Love-is-Love Primer at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million

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Bookshop | IndieBound

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