Triumphant and inspiring.
The first Black female U.S. Supreme Court justice’s journey to greatness.
Charles notes that Ketanji Brown Jackson’s groundbreaking achievements are rooted in the dreams of her ancestors, who “fought to change / the fabric of this country.” Born in 1970, Ketanji Onyika Brown was the daughter of a lawyer and a principal. Indeed, she often sat with them as they studied and graded papers. She was an honor student and skilled debater, but when she set her sights on Harvard University, a guidance counselor discouraged her. She nevertheless attended both Harvard University and Harvard Law School, worked as a public defender, and became a district court judge. History was made when President Joe Biden nominated her as a Supreme Court justice. Never in 232 years had a Black woman ever served on the court, but her confirmation by the Senate changed that. This lively picture-book biography tells Justice Jackson’s story in direct, age-appropriate verse, never losing sight of either her struggles or successes. References to Black women lawyers and judges such as Charlotte E. Ray, Jane Bolin, and Constance Baker Motley make clear that many paved the way for her. The text is supported by colorful and expressive gouache and wax pencil illustrations that contribute to the overall hopeful tone of the narrative. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Triumphant and inspiring. (author’s note, important dates, important people and history shown in the art, bibliography) (Picture-book biography. 5-8)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-66593-526-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A picture book more than worthy of sharing the shelf with Alan Schroeder and Jerry Pinkney’s Minty (1996) and Carole Boston...
A memorable, lyrical reverse-chronological walk through the life of an American icon.
In free verse, Cline-Ransome narrates the life of Harriet Tubman, starting and ending with a train ride Tubman takes as an old woman. “But before wrinkles formed / and her eyes failed,” Tubman could walk tirelessly under a starlit sky. Cline-Ransome then describes the array of roles Tubman played throughout her life, including suffragist, abolitionist, Union spy, and conductor on the Underground Railroad. By framing the story around a literal train ride, the Ransomes juxtapose the privilege of traveling by rail against Harriet’s earlier modes of travel, when she repeatedly ran for her life. Racism still abounds, however, for she rides in a segregated train. While the text introduces readers to the details of Tubman’s life, Ransome’s use of watercolor—such a striking departure from his oil illustrations in many of his other picture books—reveals Tubman’s humanity, determination, drive, and hope. Ransome’s lavishly detailed and expansive double-page spreads situate young readers in each time and place as the text takes them further into the past.
A picture book more than worthy of sharing the shelf with Alan Schroeder and Jerry Pinkney’s Minty (1996) and Carole Boston Weatherford and Kadir Nelson’s Moses (2006). (Picture book/biography. 5-8)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2047-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 6, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
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