About The Harvey Milk Story

The Harvey Milk Story
Written by Kari Krakow
Illustrated by David Gardner
Two Lives Publishing, 2002
ISBN 0-9674468-3-X
Jacketed hardcover
Full-color illustrations
32 pages, Ages 8 and up
Singed copies by the author available from Amazon 

"On a rainy day in January, on the steps of San Francisco's City Hall, Harvey Milk was sworn into office, the first openly gay elected city official in the United States of America. Harvey Milk had made history."

In this picture-book biography of an important gay-rights figure, Krakow and Gardner depict the life of this important civil rights leader in the only children's book to tell his story.

Reviews
"Capturing just the right tone for its audience, this is a significant contribution to the genre and a fitting tribue to an ordinary guy turned extraordinary." - Kirkus Reviews, June 14, 2002

"When buying copies for all our friends' kids, throw an extra in the basket for a local library. Or two. Or send one to your favorite politico as a refresher on real civic politics." - San Francisco Examiner, May 2002

"[Krakow] strikes the perfect balance between Milk痴 personal life and his political activism by portraying him as a caring individual who worked to ensure the rights of all people who lived in the San Francisco community he represented as supervisor...David Gardner痴 cartoon-style illustrations are a good accompaniment. Early in the book, they are brightly colored, but the hues become darker as we approach the end of Milk痴 life." - K.T. Horning, Worth the Trip, September 2007

Read more reviews here.

About the Author
Kari Krakow grew up in East Aurora, New York and now lives in Ithaca, New York with her family. For twenty years she has been teaching elementary school and using biographies to help children learn that individuality can be a source of strength. She hopes this book will inspire children to be themselves and make a difference.

Author of 'The Harvey Milk Story' Will Be National Coming Out Day Speaker at Ithaca College

Guide to the Kari Krakow Papers, 1998-2000
Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library

About the Illustrator
David Gardner knew he wanted to be an illustrator from the age of seven. He was a touring puppeteer for Vagabond Marionettes and a filmmaker before studying at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. He has worked as a professional artist for more than twenty years. He especially enjoys illustrating historical subjects such as Harvey Milk. His clients have included Walt Disney Productions, Universal Pictures, General Mills, Calabash Animation, Alfred Publishing, Cricket, Cicada, and Harcourt.

Of The Harvey Milk Story, he says, "The more I painted the pictures for the book, the more I could feel Harvey's charisma, his strong personality, his love for people and for life. Working on this book was one way for me to give back to the world and to keep Harvey and his message alive. I'm excited that a major film about Harvey is about to be released starring Sean Penn -- with Oscar buzz -- and that the award-winning documentary has been fully restored and is being shown at film festivals around the country and on PBS, to continue that important work."

David recently added writing adult fiction to his repertoire and is currently shopping his manuscript, Mercyville, to both publishers and agents. His novel has the same theme as The Harvey Milk Story: How hard, and yet, how vital it is for us to stand up for who we are.

A longtime member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, he lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his life partner Mark and their cockapoo Arthur. (David is on the left, in blue.)

See some of the full-color illustrations from the book.

Read "Children's book illustrated by Santa Fe artist relates the life of Harvey Milk", an article and interview with illustrator David Gardner.

Click here to read an interview with illustrator David Gardner on Caroline Leavitt's blog,CarolineLeavittville.

Click here to read an article and see photos from David Gardner's book signing in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Click here to hear an interview that Connie Gotsch did with David Gardner on New Mexico's KSJE - Write On Four Corners.

Send David an email or visit his website.