AMERICANS WHO TELL THE TRUTH

In tribute to this country’s proud tradition of protest, fine artist Shetterly has chosen 50 Americans who have stood up for what he calls “the promise of America,” presenting them in a series of accurately painted head-and-shoulder portraits with their names and a pithy quote scratched in. His selections, equally divided between men and women, range from such usual suspects as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Elizabeth Cady Stanton to the less-familiar likes of child peace activist Samantha Smith, political columnist Molly Ivins, authors Frances Moore Lappé (Diet for a Small Planet) and Jonathan Kozol, plus controversial figures such as Emma Goldman and Dwight Eisenhower. The telling quotes are reprinted in the margins to make them more legible. Opening with an eloquent general statement of purpose, and closing with biographical comments on each entry, this gallery of writers, politicians, rabble-rousers, troublemakers, scientists, celebrities and activists will have a stirring cumulative effect, even on children unacquainted with many of their causes or accomplishments. (Nonfiction. 9-12)