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NOT DONE YET by Tameka Fryer Brown Kirkus Star

NOT DONE YET

Shirley Chisholm's Fight for Change

by Tameka Fryer Brown ; illustrated by Nina Crews

Pub Date: Nov. 1st, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72842-008-0
Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner

A woman in the White House? Shirley!

The life of teacher, activist, and congressperson Shirley Chisholm is examined in this poetic biography that packs an exciting and educational punch. Endpages include select quotations, like “Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth,” and images of quippy campaign buttons (“Ms. Chis. for Pres.”). As the book opens, readers meet baby Shirley and learn about her early life in Brooklyn before she and her sisters were sent to live with their grandmother in Barbados. Returning to New York at the age of 9, Shirley set out to become a teacher, but her desire for everyone to be treated equally led her to the world of politics. Advancing from an assemblyperson in New York to Congress wasn’t easy, but Shirley persisted, eventually running for president in the 1970s. The tone of the book is inspiring, but Brown doesn’t shy away from the mistreatment Chisholm encountered: “When Representative Chisholm / walked the hallowed halls of Congress, / the thing she felt most / was unwelcome. / No one would sit with her at lunch. / Her colleagues made nasty remarks. / One man even spat when she entered the room. / All to scare her / and keep her in her place.” Crews’ vividly textured illustrations positively sing, enhancing the text and making for a perfect introduction for young readers everywhere. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

As powerful as the woman it profiles.

(author and illustrator notes, timeline, bibliography, additional sources, note about quotations) (Picture-book biography. 8-10)