Category Archives: Windows/Mirrors

Windows and Mirrors Book Review – Ruth Bader Ginsberg: The Case of R. B. G. vs. Inequality

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury: During this trial, you will learn about a little girl who had no clue just how important she would become.”

Ruth Bader Ginsberg: The Case of R. B. G. vs. Inequality, by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Stacy Innerst, Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2017

Jonah Winters presents Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s life story as a case before the court of the next generation, including such memorable details as how she studied in the bathroom at Cornell and wasn’t allowed into the periodical room, as well as chronicling such major accomplishments as her scintillating dissents.

Add this book to your collection because the author does not shy away from igniting readers’ indignation over the “outrageous nonsense” of racial prejudice and sexism in our society, while showing examples of how one can respond positively and proactively to the “disrespect” that happens “right here in America.”

Writers will appreciate this book because the author’s masterful use of thematic court language throughout the book elevates the genre of the picture book biography to a whole new level, e.g. “Here are the facts of her case;” and “We now offer into evidence…Exhibit A…” Superb back matter includes a glossary of legal and rights-related terminology, as well as an author’s note. But this book wins its case by establishing an intimate, authoritative and persuasive tone right from the beginning, exactly as Justice Ginsburg must have done in her landmark cases for women’s rights.

Illustrators will admire Innerst’s evocative use of watercolors to depict characters’ emotions, such as Ruth’s mother’s luminous intellect and determination, her husband Martin’s devotion, and her own implacable righteousness.

Other books by Jonah Winter include:

Hillary, illus. by Raul Colon
Lillian’s Right to Vote, illus. by Shane W. Evans
Jazz Age Josephine, illus. by Marjorie Priceman
Barack, illus. by AG Ford
Frida, illus. by Ana Juan

Other books by Stacy Innerst include:

The Music in George’s Head: George Gershwin Creates Rhapsody in Blue, by Suzanne Slade
Levi Strauss Gets a Bright Idea, by Tony Johnston
M is for Music, by Kathleen Krull

“There can be just one verdict: Because she did not give up, because she refused to let other people define her limitations as a person, Ruth Bader Ginsburg has herself become a symbol of justice in America.”

Windows/Mirrors Book Review: Each Kindness

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This bi-weekly #Windows/Mirrors series of book reviews, inspired by the #WeNeedDiverseBooks movement, offers children’s books created by or about people of diversity.

“And every day after that…I looked away and didn’t smile back.”

Each Kindness, by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E. B. Lewis, Nancy Paulsen Books (An Imprint of Penguin Group), 2012, winner of a Coretta Scott King Honor and the Jane Addams Peace Award

This atypical story about unkindness at school centers on the bully and not the bullied.

Read this book because the narrator’s journey from complicit cruelty to regret at missed opportunities will open the eyes and hearts of children, allowing them to examine their own treatment of peers critically, and yet with compassion.

Writers will enjoy the way every word counts, builds and repeats, creating a vortex around the lonely eye of the storm, where the new girl waits to be loved.

Artists will savor E. B. White’s watercolor palette of light and the way he uses expression and perspective to reveal the tensions and center of the story. From the new girl’s downcast eyes or hopeful smile, to a classmate’s sneer or the main character’s scowl, children’s faces draw a painful story to our attention and into our hearts.

Add this book to your collection because we live in a time where each kindness matters.

More books by Jacqueline Woodson:

Coming on Home Soon, illustrated by E. B. Lewis
This is the Rope, illustrated by James Ransome
Visiting Day, illustrated by James Ransome
Another Brooklyn
Brown Girl Dreaming
Hush

More books illustrated by E. B. Lewis:

Coming on Home Soon, by Jacqueline Woodson
D is for Drinking Gourd, by Nancy I. Sanders
Circle Unbroken, by Margot Theis Raven
I Love My Hair, by Natasha Tarpley

“Every little thing we do goes out, like a ripple, into the world.”

Windows/Mirrors Book Review: Harvesting Hope – The Story of César Chávez

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This weekly #Windows/Mirrors series of book reviews, inspired by the #WeNeedDiverseBooks movement, offers children’s books created by or about people of diversity.

I am so proud of the American people at this time in history. It seems that nothing can silence the dialogue we want to have about equity, oppression, privilege and inclusion. Although at times we may find it difficult or impossible to find common ground in our conversations with each other, we are talking and we are listening.

Join the conversation! Read a diverse book to a child in your life, and tell us what you talked about. Head over to #TimeToListenTuesday to read a perspective you might not normally seek. Leave a comment and tell me what you think. Thanks for reading!

“Nearly every crop caused torment.”

Harvesting Hope: The Story of César Chávez, by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Yuyi Morales, Scholastic, 2003, Pura Belpré Honor Book

Highlighting the fierce spirit and warm purpose of César Chávez, this book tells the story of his life from childhood to death, highlighting the birth of La Causa, the 1965 march to Sacramento, and the signing of the first contract for farmworkers in American history.

Read this book because it will evoke a deep empathy for the struggles of migrant workers to put food on America’s tables, and live with dignity and prosperity. From the mockery and punishment that César Chávez endured for speaking Spanish in school to the hunger strikes that changed the fortunes of huge produce companies, the story of César’s vision and determination will inspire all of us to fully inhabit our own power for change.

Writers will enjoy the language that quietly reveals the evolution of César from a beloved child to a fierce fighter for the rights of his fellow farmworkers. As a child, “César thought the whole world belonged to his family” when they still owned their ranch in Arizona. Later it becomes clear that this personal point of reference helped César develop his sense of injustice, first realizing that “farm chores on someone else’s farm instead of his own felt like a form of slavery,” then developing his conviction that “farmwork did not have to be so miserable.”

Artists will enjoy the warm palette and hopeful brushstrokes of Yuji Morales’ luminous artwork, as well as the thoughtful details of every spread. On a page where César’s mother cautions him against physical violence, her dress flows like the land beneath her child, embracing and connecting. When the family loses their ranch to drought, a stubborn horse and looming bulldozer in the background allude to the much larger conflict between family farms and industrial farming. The rounded body shapes in a spread describing the backbreaking conditions of farmworkers evoke Diego Rivera, and on a page where César begins recruiting people to join his fight “one by one,” a single farmworker makes eye contact with him from across the field as she hefts a flat of strawberries.

Add this book to your collection because like its title, this book grows hope that as individuals and as a people, we can make changes in our world for equity and humanity.

More books by Kathleen Krull:

More books by Yuyi Morales: