What Is the AIDS Crisis?

What was...?

by Nico Medina, Who HQ, Tim Foley (Illustrator)

In this addition to the New York Times bestselling series, l earn how incredible activists made the public aware of AIDS and spurred medical breakthroughs.

In the early 1980s, the first cases of a devastating and fatal new disease appeared, a disease that at first struck only gay men and was later identified as HIV/AIDS. It was the beginning of what became a worldwide health crisis that the US government ignored for years and that unfairly heightened prejudice against the LGBTQ+ community. To this day, the AIDS Crisis continues to disproportionately affect both the LGBTQ+ community and people of color. Nico Medina has written an accurate and affecting history of a terrible time, spotlighting the heroic efforts of AIDS activists who fought for medical research and new medicines, for proper health care for patients, and for compassionate recognition of people with AIDS.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, LGBT, Medical, Childrens

112 pages, Paperback

Published May 10, 2022

Reviews

[Natalie]

For the most part I have enjoyed every one of the books in this series. This one was too much information for a young mind to digest regarding personal sexuality. While everything is relevant to AIDS; it is more than a third grade comprehension level. And, as I don’t think that this material should be taught in public school, this should not be offered in school libraries. Parents should still be informed about what their children are reading and experiencing.
It used to be that a student/child had to get parental permission to watch movies about sexual education in 6th or 7th grade. This book being made available to a 3rd grader without parent knowledge is disheartening.
The final chapter politicizes the entire crisis. Funny how some of the biographies were not nearly as politicized as they could have been. This goes to the other extreme. Even the book on Richard M Nixon presented facts without strong opinions.
This could have been so much better if the author and publisher didn’t promote their agenda.

[Danielle Russell]

Another great book by Who HQ! I wouldn't be surprised if this book is on a banned list somewhere. I saw a few reviews complaining about the book being politicized. But let's face it - there is one political party that is not supportive of LGBTQ+ people, and that affected the severity of the AIDS crisis. The book rightfully calls out Reagan and Bush Sr for their lack of action and support, but it also recognized the good that Bush Jr did by l sending money to countries still in crisis from AIDS.

The Who HQ book series are all geared towards elementary school aged readers, and while there are some complex concepts, I don't think the book is inappropriate for the target audience.

Unlike other books I've read from Who HQ, this one has copies of real pictures at the end. It was interesting to see these pieces of history.

[Kara LaVictoire]

While I enjoyed the book and learned a lot more about the early days of the AIDS crisis, this book should come with a caveat for younger readers. There is a lot of talk about the gay population. This makes sense since this is where AIDS started. But, it may require some discussion with your child.

[Kathleen]

Queer content: focuses on the impact on gay men, barely mentions other parts of the community (lesbians were nurses who helped the game men with AIDS, some small tiny mentions of trans people, nothing specific about trans women)

[Cassie Schultz]

A very valuable book, I learned a lot.

[Alexa]

Informative and age appropriate. Another book banned because some folks don’t want to admit government inaction in a crisis or that the LGBT community forced real change.

[Nicole Feli]

Solid 4 had everything it needed except the process Diana story!!!

[Hayley Pickett]

Volunteer training has never been more kid friendly!

[Oliver D]

It was a sad story.

[ashes ➷]

I was extremely curious about this one for the reason I imagine anybody would be curious about it, but it's very well done! The worst I can say for it is that I wasn't always totally on board with how various terms were used, which is to say, it was a great little book. It doesn't shy away from the fact that AIDS is spread through "sexual activity" (no detailed specifics, but condom usage is repeated as a way to prevent it, so it's not like it's highly censored), openly acknowledges trans people, and makes note of the role of police and government in the crisis, so overall basically everything I would have been concerned about did not come to be.

Personally, I knew a bit about the AIDS crisis (being, you know, gay), and had heard snippets of almost everything here, but having it all in one place in chronological order and accessible language was very helpful! It's clear, well-researched, and empathetic, which is almost shocking in a children's book about the subject. This is, of course, incredibly recent, and I'd guess only for children who already know what sex is-- though I couldn't think of another reason anything would be inappropriate, and I'm definitely not somebody who has a problem with children knowing about sex or the AIDS crisis (sex ed! do more of it!) so I was happy. We've certainly come a long way.

In short: exactly what it says on the tin, hence, would recommend to anyone who's interested in what's on the tin. Honestly, might recommend solely because it's good to have a simple primer to the AIDS crisis if you're going to be involved in any kind of gay activism at all.