RAINBOW ALLIES:
The True Story of Kids Who Stood Against Hate

Written by Nancy Churnin

Illustrated by Izzy Evans

(Beaming Books; $18.99, Ages 4-7)

 

 

 

GUEST REVIEW BY AUTHOR DEKE MOULTON:

 

Rainbow Allies: The True Story of Kids Who Stood Against Hate written by Nancy Churnin and illustrated by Izzy Evans, is a picture book showing one example of how a community can come together to say no to fear and hateful tactics of othering those who are different.

 

 

The story follows Brendan, Landon and Sommer—three kids in the neighborhood who help their lesbian neighbors hang up a rainbow flag over their porch. When they visit their neighbors the next day, they notice the flag has been ripped down and the house of Cari and Louri egged. ‘How could this happen in our neighborhood?’ everyone seems to want to know.

 

 

 

 

Angry about the hate crime, the kids imagine possible solutions—some that I think we all will have at times of helplessness and frustration—including finding the culprits and egging their house as revenge (I truly appreciated these moments, as it’s not just something kids could relate to, but also adult readers who can lead by their immediate angry emotions into doing something violent).

The solution the kids come up with is beautiful and demonstrates how love can triumph over evil if good people stand together in their love for one another rather than giving in to hate and revenge. I love that this is a true story—and I admire that the protagonists of the picture book themselves aren’t queer. The message that you don’t have to belong to a group to care for that group and stand with them in times of danger and trouble was particularly poignant.

 

 

 

 

The art in this book is spectacular. Colorful palate, expressive, animated drawings (incredible as all the characters have ‘dot’ eyes, the illustrated still manages to pull off quick nuanced emotions), and showcasing diversity in every page – not only the inclusion of every pride flag, but also in the people (Jewish kid with kippah playing basketball was a welcomed surprise for this Jewish reviewer, but I was also awed by the multiple hijabis, disability inclusion, racial/country origin diversity!)

Back matter explains not only the real story behind the picture book, but also connects it to an antisemitic incident in Montana, demonstrating that hate looks familiar no matter who the target is, but love for one another can bring communities together.

Thank you to Beaming Books for sending me a copy of the book. I will be including it in my classroom library.

 

BIO:

DEKE MOULTON (she/her) (rhymes with ‘geek’) is a writer currently living in the US Pacific Northwest. She is a former US Army drill sergeant and trained as an Arabic linguist during her time in service. Don’t Want to Be Your Monster, her debut book, won the Sydney Taylor Book Award Honor Awards and was named one of Kirkus Reviews’ Best Middle Grades of 2023. Her follow up, Benji Zeb is a Ravenous Werewolf, is a Sydney Taylor Notable Book and a Jewish Book Council middle grade finalist. She is represented by Rena Rossner with the Deborah Harris Literary Agency. Find out more about Deke on her website: Middle Grad Kidlit Author | Deke Moulton and on Instagram at @dekewritesstuff.