Happy Birthday Ruth Bader Ginsburg

“It’s an unconscious bias. It’s the expectation. You have a lowered expectation when you hear a woman speaking; I think that still goes on. That instinctively when a man speaks, he will be listened to, where people will not expect the woman to say anything of value. But all of the women in my generation have had, time and again, that experience where you say something at a meeting, and nobody makes anything of it. And maybe half an hour later, a man makes the identical point, and people react to it and say, ‘Good idea.’ That, I think, is a problem that persists.” - Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

I was talking to a friend the other day and we were talking about this very thing, about the way in which women have to work so much harder to be  'heard and seen in this world.  I honestly believe that Ruth did a great deal to fight against this bias, and it is important that we all learn about her and the work that she did. 

I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark

Debbie Levy

Illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley 

Nonfiction

For ages 5 to 7

Simon and Schuster, 2016, 978-1481465595

It is 1940 and Ruth Bader lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York. Ruth’s neighbors are mostly immigrants, and though they speak different languages, celebrate different holidays, and eat different foods, there is one important thing that they all have in common: In these families the boys get to “go out into the world, and do big things,” and the girls stay a home and get married.

   Thankfully for Ruth, her mother Celia thinks that girls should be allowed to “make their mark on the world” too, and so she takes Ruth to the library. Through books Ruth finds out about many women who have done interesting and meaningful things with their lives. Ruth discovers that contrary to what society seems to believe, girls and women can do anything. They can even take charge if they want to.

   As she grew up, Ruth saw for herself how women, people of color, and Jews like her, were discriminated against. As a child there wasn’t much Ruth could do about these injustices, but she did not forget them.

   Nor surprisingly, clever, hardworking, and hard headed Ruth went to college. There she met Martin Ginsburg, a young man who made her laugh and with whom she fell in love. The couple decided that they would both go to law school because as lawyers they could “fight unfairness and prejudice in courts.” People approved of Martin’s choice of career, but they did not think that Ruth should try to be a lawyer.

   Ruth did not listen to those who disapproved of her career choice. She went to law school and did brilliantly. Surely now Ruth would get the opportunity to bring about the changes that she had dreamed of. Unfortunately, the fact that Ruth was a woman, that she was a mother, and that she was Jewish meant that no one wanted to hire her.

   This wonderful picture book biography tells the story of one of America’s greatest woman, a woman who has fought for justice and equal rights, and who showed the world that a woman can be a lawyer, a judge, and a justice on the Supreme Court.

   At the back of the book readers will find further information about Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s life and her work.

 

Women's History Month - The story of Libba Cotten

More than twenty years after the death of folk guitar legend Elizabeth Cotten, her music is still heard everywhere. Cotten, who began her public career at the age of 68, became a key figure in the folk revival of the 60's and a National Heritage Fellow. In 1985, at the age of 93, Cotten won a Grammy for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording for her album Elizabeth Cotten — Live! 

Libba: The Magnificent Musical Life of Elizabeth Cotten 

Laura Veirs

Illustrated by Tatyana Fazlalizadeh 

Nonfiction Picture Book

For ages 5 to 7

Chronicle Books, 2018, 978-1452148571

Libba Cotton has music running all the way through her. Everywhere she goes she hears music. Even the sound of the freight trains clattering down the tracks near her house is musical to her ears.

   Libba’s brother has a guitar, which she is not allowed to play. However, when he goes to work Libba sneaks into his room and plays the guitar, even though she has to play it “upside down” and “backwards” because she is left-handed. This is certainly a strange way to play a guitar, but Libba does not care. Somehow this unusual way of playing works for her and she is able to create music.

   After Libba’s brother leaves home, taking his guitar with him, Libba starts to save up to buy a guitar of her own. Earning seventy-five cents a month Libba saves and saves until she has enough to buy a Stella guitar. How Libba plays that guitar! It becomes an extension of her arm and she still plays it backwards and upside down because she is left-handed and the guitar was built for a right handed player. When she is only thirteen Libba writes her first song. It is called Freight Train.

   Then life gets busy and Libba stops playing the guitar because there are too many other things that need to be done. Libba never guesses that one day, when she is a grandmother, music will come back into her life and it will change her future in the most wonderful ways.

   In this beautifully written and very moving book, Laura Veirs, who is herself an accomplished guitar player, performer, and songwriter, tells the story of an extraordinary woman who was a self-taught and very gifted musician. Libba’s song Freight Train is known by musicians and music lovers all over the world, and it was a firm favorite in Laura’s childhood home.

   In addition to the main story, Laura provides her readers with further information about Libba at the back of the book in an author’s note. She also tells us how she became get interested in Libba’s remarkable story.

The Man behind the Nobel Peace Prize

Just last week my daughter and I were making breakfast when we heard, on the radio, that President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. My daughter wanted to know what the prize is. Luckily I had just reviewed a splendid book about Alfred Nobel and I pulled it off my shelf for her to read. If you too have a child who wants to know about these prizes then take a look at the review I wrote about the book.

Alfred Nobel: The Man behind the peace prize

Kathy-Jo Wargin

Illustrated by Zachary Pullen

Non-Fiction Picture Book

Ages 6 to 10

Sleeping Bear Press, 2009, 1585362816

Years ago, when people wanted to build bridges or roads, they had to blast a path for their work using gunpowder - which wasn’t a safe material to work with. One day Alfred Nobel realized that a substance called nitroglycerin might be safer to use than gunpowder.

With the help of his brother and father, Alfred experimented with nitroglycerin until he came up with a solution that he was sure would work. Though his new invention did work well, it still wasn’t as safe as Alfred had hoped it would be. His brother Emil was killed went something went wrong in the lab. Surely there was something else that Alfred could do to make his invention safer still.

Eventually Alfred created something that was safe. It came to be called dynamite and Alfred became a rich and famous man because of his invention. Alfred had hoped that his invention would foster peace, and he was very distressed when he saw that it was being used to harm people. It saddened him to know that many people “saw him as the man who earned his wealth by inventing ways to injure and kill.” Thankfully, Alfred found a way to leave a legacy that would celebrate peace and reward those who gave the world new innovations in science, and who created memorable written works.

This thought provoking and memorable book celebrates the life and achievements of a truly great man.

Please visit this page to find an interesting and very useful teacher's guide for the book.

Johnny Appleseed's birthday

On September 26th, 1774, a little boy was born in New England who would become the stuff of legend. He was called John Chapman, but he came be known as Johnny Appleseed, the man who planted thousands of trees around the country.

I have reviewed several books about this interesting man, and one of the best is a title that I reviewed recently. Written by one of America's great children's book writers, Jane Yolen, it is a book that is both entertaining and informative. Here is my review:

Johnny Appleseed

Jane Yolen

Illustrated by Jim Burke

Non Fiction Picture Book

Ages 6 to 8

HarperCollins, 2008, 0060591358

Many of us have heard about Johnny Appleseed, the folk hero who, it is said, traveled around the country planting apple trees. The real story of John Chapman is even more impressive than the legends that came to be associated with his name.

After his father returned home from serving in the revolutionary war armies, John (Johnny) Chapman went to live in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, with his family. Being the son of a poor man, Johnny was not able to stay in school as long as perhaps he would of liked. Instead, he was apprenticed to a local farmer. Johnny learned how to plant and care for apple trees on the farmer’s land, and he grew to love the trees that are so useful and so beautiful.

When he was in his twenties, Johnny decided that he wanted to follow the teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg, a philosopher who believed that people should “do good and spread the doctrine of God’s goodness and bounty.” And so Johnny traveled around the countryside living simply, preaching, and selling people small apple trees that he grew from seed.

In this delightful picture book, Jane Yolen gives her readers a picture of what the real Johnny Appleseed was like. Though verse and prose she tells the story of a man who was often considered “crazy,” but who loved to travel, to share stories, and to give people apple trees. At the end of the book, Yolen also talks about the legend of Johnny Appleseed. She helps young readers to appreciate that this legend is based on the real life story of a man who did indeed do remarkable things.