The Voice that Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the struggle for equal rights

  by Russell Freedman

Marian Anderson was one of the great singers of the mid-20^th century.  She performed all over the country and across Europe, and was heralded for her beautiful voice and singing style.  She was also African American.  Marian didn’t want her race to become a factor in her singing, but when she was barred from performing in the biggest concert hall in DC because of it, it became one.  This book tells about her struggle to share the gift of her voice with any who wanted to hear it.  It tells how she broke many boundaries and was the result many segregation rules changed in DC, and other places in the country. 

Marian Anderson was above all else a performer.  She wasn’t political in nature, but later in life became so.  This book tells her story and about how above all else she wanted to sing.  It is not a book strictly on the civil rights movement, but discusses how one woman who was fairly removed from it due to her growing up in the Northern states and living in non-segregated areas became a fairly prominent example of someone who had risen above a racial stereotype.  It’s a well written book which will interest tweens who are interested in civil rights of personal achievement. 

Good Brother, Bad Brother: the story of Edwin Wilkes Booth and John Wilkes Booth

by James Cross Giblin

What if you were born into a family of actors?  What if you were able to travel around the country performing with your famous father?  What if you, along with your brothers, were famous all over the country for your stage performances? What if one of those brothers was John Wilkes Booth?  What happens when your brother becomes the most hated man in America for assassinating President Lincoln? This is the story not of John Wilkes Booth, but of his older brother, Edwin Booth.  This is the story of how one family lived before John committed that terrible act, and how Edwin fought to keep his family together and safe after. 

This presents an interesting look at the life of the family of one of America’s greatest villains.  I think that it is especially interesting as a lot of times one tends to assume that just because one person has committed a terrible act, those around him are guilty too.  This book focuses mainly on Edwin’s life, both before and after the assassination, as well as at the events going on in America and how they affected the family and John.  Overall a really excellent book which gives a different look at such a notorious figure.

Fight On! Mary Churchill Terrell's battle for immigration

by Dennis Brindell Fradin & Judith Bloom Fradin

Mary Church Terrell had a privileged upbringing.  Not only did she graduate high school, but she was one of very few women who went to and graduated college.  And she wasn’t just at college to find a husband, she was there to learn!  What makes Mary’s accomplishment in this even more extraordinary, was the fact that she was African American. Mary didn’t stop her accomplishments with graduating college, she led the fight to stop segregation in Washington DC restaurants through picketing and lawsuits.  She believed that just because her skin as a different color she should not be banned from eating in certain restaurants.  She knew that it was only ignorance that led people follow segregation laws, and she was determined to show people they were wrong.

This book is an interesting read about a woman who broke a lot of barriers in her day.  The fact that she had such a privileged upbringing and was so dedicated to making life better for others is very moving.  She was well educated, which gave her arguments against segregation a lot more sway than they might have had otherwise.  She is a very strong woman, which makes a book about her a great motivational tool for tweens of both genders.  In addition, the book looks at segregation policies very frankly. It’s a great book about someone who isn’t as well known for her work during the civil rights movement, but should be. 

Andy Warhol Prince of Pop

by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan


Sure, you may have seen his famous Campbell’s soup can painting.  Or perhaps the one he did of Marilyn Monroe.  But how much do you really know about the famous pop culture artist Andy Warhol?  Andy was born into life an artist, though he struggled to find his niche in the field.  He struggled with personal problems and his own sexuality throughout his life.  He revolutionized the pop art scene with his paintings of everyday objects.  Andy Warhol was more than just a man who took a soup can and made a career from it, he was an artistic genius who wanted to make his mark on the world.


Andy Warhol is an artist who revolutionized the art scene.  While his paintings receive mixed reviews as to their ingenuity to this day, he remains one of the great American artists of the 20^th century.  In this biography, written to older tweens and teens, his life is revealed.  From early childhood to his older years, Andy is revealed to be a conflicted man who struggles with successes and failures.  This book details some of the problems he had in his life, but discusses them in a more PG fashion than biographies on the artist written for an older set.  Overall a great read about the artist, and one that even non-artists will appreciate as overall it’s the story of one man’s life and struggle for fame and success.