Updated: Apr 12
The Legacy of John Lewis
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
A Paula Wiseman Books
(Simon & Schuster)
(pub.1.9.2024)
48 pages
Ages 4-8
Author: Lesa Cline-Ransome
Illustrator: James E. Ransome
Character: John Lewis
Overview:
" John Lewis left a cotton farm in Alabama to join the fight for civil rights when he was only a teenager. He soon became a leader of a movement that changed the nation. Walking at the side of his mentor, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Lewis was led by his belief in peaceful action and voting rights. Today and always his work and legacy live on."
Tantalizing taste:
"John knew that standing up to segregation would mean hard work, but he also knew what years of marching up and down rows of cotton fields had taught him - that hard work meant long days and longer nights. So, after washing dishes in the school cafeteria to pay his tuition, studying late into the night, and practicing his sermons, John started marching."
And something more: Lesa Cline-Ransome, in the Author's Note writes: "Relentless, inspiring, undaunted, John Lewis was my hero. One of my greatest honors was meeting him in 2017 while attending a Black American Library Association event in Atlanta, Georgia. He was in person just as I imagined he would be - a gracious gentleman with a quick laugh.
Gone, but not forgotten, he and his loving legacy remind us all to keep marching."
Updated: Apr 12
Rosalind Franklin & The Discovery
of the Double Helix Structure of DNA
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Christy Ottaviano Books
(Little, Brown and Company)
(pub.2.20.2024)
40 pages
Ages 5-9
Author: Tanya Lee Stone
Illustrator: Gretchen Ellen Powers
Character: Rosalind Franklin
Overview:
" Rosalind Franklin was a Jewish scientist with a remarkable talent as a chemist. Although there were few women working in this field in the 1950s, Franklin, using crystallography, captured an image that held the secret to unlocking the structure of DNA: the double helix. Her Photo 51 was used by her male colleagues without her knowledge, and they went on to win the Nobel Prize, while Franklin never found out how instrumental her work was to the discovery of the double helix.
This incredible story uncovers the life and work of an extraordinary scientist, rightfully celebrating her landmark contributions to history."
Tantalizing taste:
"Dear reader,
This true story doesn't really have a happy ending.
Why would I start by telling you that? Because sometimes a person can do something extraordinary and not get the win. They don't become famous, or earn a prize, or live happily ever after. Sometimes, they never even find out they made a difference
Often when we hear about something that's never been done before, it's about the people who got there first… But nobody achieves such great things alone. There are usually other people whose hard work made change possible. Stories about those people are just as important. And it's up to us to remember them.
This story is about remembering Rosalind."
And something more: Tanya Lee Stone, in the Author's Note explains:"One of my favorite types of stories to tell are about real women who have done extraordinary things to help shape our world. Too often, these true stories are not in our history books. Even worse, for hundreds of years, countless women's achievements haven't been just been overlooked – the credit for their work has been claimed by men. This is now called the Matilda affect, named after Matilda, Joslyn Gage, who spoke about this pattern of injustice in the late 1800s...
Tragically, Rosalind Franklin died at the young age of thirty-seven from ovarian cancer. But in her brief career, she helped change what we know about DNA... My hope is that young readers will learn her name and dig more deeply into her scientific work, further honoring and remembering Rosalind for her invaluable contributions to science."
poems about Cuban
women artists
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Reycraft Books
(pub.10.10.2023)
32 pages
Ages 9-14 years
Author: Margarita Engle
and Illustrator: Cecilia Puglesi
Characters: 8 Cuban women artists
Overview:
"From folk art to photography, architecture to painting, sculpture to music, female Cuban artists have long gone unnoticed on a global scale. This poetry collection highlights the lives and legacies of eight Cuban women who have redefined art in their communities. Also includes biographical information about the artists."
Tantalizing taste:
"MINIMALIST
Carmen Herrera
(1915-2022)
decades of patience
her quest for the stark beauty
of simplicity
straight lines - bold colors that reach
a bright sky of surprises "
And something more: The Historical Note on this page explains that "Carmen Herrera was born in Havana and has lived in the U.S. since the 1950s. As the youngest of seven children in a crowded home, she learned to value quiet simplicity. She worked in obscurity for much of her youth, rejected by galleries and museums because she was female and an immigrants. At the age of 89, she finally sold a painting. Her work is now highly valued and has been collected by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Modern in London, and the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C In 2019, when she was 104, New York City exhibited five of her sculptures outdoors."
In an introductory letter to readers, author Margarita Engle writes, "... Never let anyone convince you there is no room for more women artists from every country and every culture. When you create something beautiful, sign your name!"
