When an editor at HarperCollins asked Tonya Bolden (Facing Frederick, Pathfinders) to write introductions for a book of great American speeches, the veteran children’s nonfiction author asked what texts were going to be included. “When I saw the lineup, I was all in,” Bolden says. “The diversity—of length, of people—it was just a nice blend, a good balance.” Strong Voices: Fifteen American Speeches Worth Knowing (Harper/HarperCollins, Jan. 21) includes political speeches from Patrick Henry and Fannie Lou Hamer; Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech; Lou Gehrig’s farewell to the sport he loved and Hillary Clinton’s proclamation that women’s rights are human rights. They’re all accompanied by Eric Velasquez’s striking illustrations. Bolden spoke with Kirkus about the book by phone.

Strong Voices is a picture book, yet many of the speeches are pretty complex for children—some might seem to require an adult understanding. How do you see the book being used?

I think it’s perfect for family reading and also in the classroom. One of the things I believe in is that books for young readers need to challenge them. Books for young readers need to kindle curiosity. I want to send kids to the dictionary; I want to send kids to parents and librarians and teachers with questions. The other thing in terms of using it, it’s such a jumping-off point for deeper learning about so many subjects, from the Revolutionary War, civil rights movement, women’s rights movement, space exploration.

Were any of the speeches more difficult for you to provide the introductions for? Did you struggle with any of them?

I struggled with all of them. I always have a lot more to say, and my wise editor has to cut them down. I think probably Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address had me most worried.

Because it’s so iconic?

Yes! I thought, oh my goodness, how do I do this justice? But then I just settled in and did the research.

What do you hope that kids get from this book?

I think the late Cokie Roberts said it best [in the book’s foreword], “You can hear the sounds of our timeless struggle to fulfill the promise of America, to form a more perfect union.” I also think the book provides comfort at this time of so much chaos and uncertainty, so much hyperpartisanship, so much confusion, so much cynicism. I hope that it will give our young people hope, as it calls them to action to deal with things that still trouble and plague our nation.

It sounds like you really enjoyed working on this project. Did it bring up personal feelings as you read and wrote about these speeches?

You know, it did. Because it’s this sweep of history. Some of the speeches are challenging, but they’re also so moving. I love them all, each for a different reason. But another standout for me is Teddy Roosevelt’s speech about the man in the arena. I mean, here’s this privileged man celebrating everyday people. And talking about, you know, the ones who roll up their sleeves and try to right wrongs or the people who simply do their jobs to the best of their ability—for him to elevate everyday people is just so fantastic. I think in different ways each of the 15 speeches in Strong Voices sort of grounds us and reminds our young people about what’s important.

You’ve been writing for children for a long time. What do you think about the kids of today? Are they the same as children in earlier generations?

I came of age during the ’60s, so there was civil rights, Black Power, Vietnam, women’s liberation. We get through. And I want young people to know we will get through this time. People thought we wouldn’t make it through the Civil War or through Watergate. But we human beings have this amazing ability to carry on.

I think they are very hungry for answers; they are hungry for us adults to do better, in terms of the world. We are besotted with entertainment. It’s a challenge for them to focus. It’s almost like being distracted has become the norm. I think a book like Strong Voices calls you to focus. Sit with the book, visit with it, dig deep, think deep, and ask questions.

Kate Tuttle, a former president of the National Book Critics Circle, writes about books and authors for the Boston Globe. Strong Voices received a starred review in the Oct. 15, 2019, issue.