Review Detail

Katanji Brown Jackson: A Justice for All

Kids Nonfiction 396

History in the Making

April 30, 2023

Overall rating

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

4.0

Learning Value

4.0

In this lyrical picture book, author Tami Charles offers a poetic look at the life of the first Black female supreme court justice as well as the cultural historical background of the Supreme Court. The fact that the court had been in existence for 232 years, and that 115 justices had been appointed is mentioned several times, to underline the importance of finally seeing a Black woman (and only the seventh woman) on the bench. Brown Jackson's young life is outlined and also framed against the social structures of the time. From 1970s Miami, with her parents, to school counselors who didn't think she should go to Harvard, to her rise in the 2000s as a lawyer and judge at circuit court, her dedication to purpose and her resolution to make a difference is very clear.

Good Points

Skidmore's illustrations are vibrant and saturated with color. Their often impressionistic interpretation of events goes well with the song like feel of the text. The author's note at the end reinforces and explains the text of the book, and there is a nice bibliography of resources.

It's so important to have biographical picture books to inspire young readers. There is another biography of Brown Jackson by Carole Boston Weatherford (All Rise: The Story of Ketanji Brown Jackson, illustrated by Ashley Evans), and this is a great addition to an aspirational women's history collection that includes Bryant and Nakamura's Fall Down Seven Times, Stand Up Eight: Patsy Takemoto Mink and the Fight for Title IX, Winter and Rodriguez's Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in the Bronx, and Robbins and Green's You Are a Star, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Williams and Harrison's Shirley Chisholm Dared: The Story of the First Black Woman in Congress. Skidmore's illustrations are vibrant and saturated with color. Their often impressionistic interpretation of events goes well with the song like feel of the text. The author's note at the end reinforces and explains the text of the book, and there is a nice bibliography of resources.

It's so important to have biographical picture books to inspire young readers. There is another biography of Brown Jackson by Carole Boston Weatherford (All Rise: The Story of Ketanji Brown Jackson, illustrated by Ashley Evans), and this is a great addition to an aspirational women's history collection that includes Bryant and Nakamura's Fall Down Seven Times, Stand Up Eight: Patsy Takemoto Mink and the Fight for Title IX, Winter and Rodriguez's Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in the Bronx, and Robbins and Green's You Are a Star, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Williams and Harrison's Shirley Chisholm Dared: The Story of the First Black Woman in Congress.