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It’s not really a problem with Strong, it’s just that it’s a vehicle that is designed to speak to the choir. The illustrations are big, loaded with color, and the sort of happy art that elementary-aged kids will enjoy. It’s written on a level that most third graders will be able to read without any effort. The text in Strong is by Rob Kearney and Eric Rosswood with illustrations by Nidhi Chanani. After embracing his true self whilst he’s competing, he almost falters but sees Joey in the crowd cheering him on and powers through to win it.

It wasn’t easy because Kearney’s style was the polar opposite of everyone else in the sport. Joey encouraged Kearney to be himself and to wear the colors and hairstyle that make him, him. While training one day he met a fellow weightlifter named Joey and the two fell in love. During his workouts, he’d wear the dark, drab colors that all of the other professionals wore, and then switch into his brighter and more expressive.

Kearney was great at the sport and able to lift objects that were hundreds of pounds, but it just didn’t feel right. When he was seventeen a teacher told him about Strongman and how there was a sport that was entirely dedicated to lifting heavy objects. From cheerleading to guarding the quarterback or even picking up lots of grocery bags he always loved testing his strength. Ages 4–8.In the illustrated book we see Kearney’s growth as he learns to love moving heavy objects or picking up bulky items. Back matter includes a letter from Kearney, further reading, and information about strongman competitions. Authors Kearney and Rosswood develop this picture book memoir about the world’s first openly gay strongman using emphatic text, while Chanani’s vivid hues emphasize Kearney’s bold aesthetic, and depict his 2017 North American Strongest Man Championship donning his iconic rainbow mohawk. He even skips wearing vibrantly hued clothes, adhering to the cliché around masculinity that “strongmen do not wear bright, bold colors.” But in chatting with now-husband Joey, Kearney learns that expressing himself authentically is what makes him strong.

Interested in becoming a weightlifting champion, Kearney trains until he can lift 400 pounds (“That’s more than 114 BIRTHDAY CAKES WITH CHOCOLATE FROSTING AND CONFETTI SPRINKLES!”). Growing up, Rob Kearney loved feeling strong: “He lifted HEAVY boxes, opened the TIGHTEST pickle jars, and always brought the groceries into the house in one trip.” As he matures, he plays football, cheerleads, and weightlifts until, at 17, he learns about strongman competitions.