Ruth Bader Ginsburg The case of R.B.G. vs. inequality

Jonah Winter, 1962-

Book - 2017

"To become the first female Jewish Supreme Court Justice, the unsinkable Ruth Bader Ginsburg had to overcome countless injustices. Growing up in Brooklyn in the 1930s and '40s, Ginsburg was discouraged from working by her father, who thought a woman's place was in the home. Regardless, she went to Cornell University, where men outnumbered women four to one. There, she met her husband, Martin Ginsburg, and found her calling as a lawyer. Despite discrimination against Jews, females, and working mothers, Ginsburg went on to become Columbia Law School's first tenured female professor, a judge for the US Court of Appeals, and finally, a Supreme Court Justice. Structured as a court case in which the reader is presented with ev...idence of the injustice that Ginsburg faced, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the true story of how one of America's most 'notorious' women bravely persevered to become the remarkable symbol of justice she is today." -- Amazon.com.

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Subjects
Published
New York : Abrams Books for Young Readers 2017.
Language
English
Main Author
Jonah Winter, 1962- (author)
Other Authors
Stacy Innerst (illustrator)
Physical Description
1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 29 cm
ISBN
9781419725593
Contents unavailable.
Review by New York Times Review

The great children's author Virginia Lee Burton was "quite magical," writes Rinker ("Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site"). An accomplished dancer, artist and textile designer, Burton was also an attentive mother who realized the role "big trucks" played in her two sons' imaginations. Magical, indeed: We watch her nimble pencil drawings grow, with the boys' help, into classics like "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel." The polished art by Rocco ("Blackout") has an infectious energy, nailing the mid-20th-century aesthetic. SONIA DELAUNAY A Life of Color. By Cara Manes. Illustrated by Fatinha Ramos. 40 pp. Museum of Modern Art. $19.95. (Picture book; ages 5 - 9) "Art is all around us, always," the early 20th-century artist Sonia Delaunay says to her son in this ingenious book, part biography, part lesson in color and design theory. Manes, a curator at the Museum of Modern Art, has Delaunay, a pioneer of abstraction, take off in a colorful flying car to show her son the colors, patterns and textures that shape her work. Even sounds and feelings, she shows, can be incorporated into design. Ramos's lovely, playful art pulls off the tricky task of evoking Delaunay's while standing strongly on its own. RUTH BADER GINSBURG The Case of R.B.G. vs. Inequality. By Jonah Winter. Illustrated by Stacy Innerst. 40 pp. Abrams. $18.95. (Picture book; ages 6 -10) Structured like a legal argument to prove the injustices Ginsburg faced, this beautifully illustrated biography of the Supreme Court justice starts with her birth at a time when Jews faced "violence and vandalism" and daughters were "discouraged from going to college." You can almost hear the chorus of "That's not fair!" as Winter ("Lillian's Right to Vote") documents each fresh outrage Ginsburg stared down. "This happened right here in America," he reminds us. Innerst makes the pages look gently monumental, like R.B.G. herself. SERGEANT RECKLESS The True Story of the Little Horse Who Became a Hero. By Patricia McCormick. Illustrated by lacopo Bruno. 40 pp. Balzer and Bray. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 6 -10) Once there was a brave little sorrel mare who lived m a war zone, and some resourceful Marines trained her to carry heavy ammunition under fire. McCormick ("Never Fall Down") excels at bringing thrilling nonfiction stories to young readers, and this picture book about the horse awarded two Purple Hearts enthralls. With cinematic art by Bruno ("Mesmerized") bringing the big cast to life, it's an approachable introduction to the Korean War and a heartwarming example of "the mysterious bond between humans and animals." SCHOMBURG The Man Who Built a Library. By Carole Boston Weatherford. Illustrated by Eric Velasquez. 48 pp. Candlewick. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 9 - 12) The remarkable life and achievements of the Afro-Puerto Rican scholar, collector and curator Arturo Schomburg have ideal chroniclers in Weatherford ( "Freedom in Congo Square") and Velasquez ("Grandma's Gift"). Arturo's lifelong passion for collecting books, they show, was about "correcting history for generations to come" to include the contributions of people of African descent. In Velasquez's proud, realistic art, Schomburg and the greats he championed - overlooked inventors, artists and revolutionaries - tower. ONLINE An expanded visual presentation of this week's column is at nytimes.com/books.

Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [August 27, 2017]
Review by Booklist Review

*Starred Review* Though the inimitable Ruth Bader Ginsburg may, at first glance, seem an odd subject for a picture book, this biography, cleverly framed as a court case, is focused primarily on empowering young readers from an early age. In his opening statement, Winter (The Secret Project, 2017) delivers an indictment of the world in which a young Ruth was raised: You will see the unfair world she was born into where boys were valued more than girls, where women were not encouraged to achieve and aspire. After a brief overview of Ruth's early life she was born to a mother who loved learning and wanted her daughter to have an education, and to a father who believed a woman's place was in the home the book delves into the skills Ruth possessed that would make her a good lawyer, her successes in school, and the persecution she faced as a woman, a Jew, and a mother. Examples of the outrageous nonsense Ruth endured are presented as evidence, but through toughness, determination, and intelligence, Ruth persevered, paving the way for a new generation of women. Innerst's digital gouache-and-ink illustrations are as matter-of-fact as the text, clearly offering up facts that showcase what Ruth faced throughout her life. A smart, sometimes biting biography that proves it's never too early to start teaching kids about justice.--Reagan, Maggie Copyright 2017 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Winter (The Secret Project) and Innerst (The Music in George's Head) use the frame of a court case to trace the life of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The evidence of the sexism and discrimination Ginsberg faced is abundant, often described in "exhibits" for readers ("Exhibit F: Even among law firms supposedly open to hiring women, not one firm would hire her. She was a woman, she was Jewish, and she was a mother"). Innerst's muted palette adds to the retrospective feel of a story that unfolds over several decades; in one striking scene, Ginsburg reads a dissent from the bench while her fellow justices yawn and look away. A valuable and moving account of a woman who, as Winter writes in closing, "has herself become a symbol of justice in America." Ages 6-9. Illustrator's agent: Susan Cohen, Writers House. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 3 Up-"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. You will see the unfair world she was born into-where boys were valued more than girls, where women were not encouraged to achieve and aspire. Here are the facts of her case." Thus begins this clever, engaging picture book biography, which chronicles Ginsburg's early years in Brooklyn, at Cornell, and beyond, highlighting the obstacles she encountered at every turn. Readers are asked to act as the jury, examining the injustices the young lawyer faced: "Exhibit F: Even among the law firms supposedly open to hiring women, not one firm would hire her. She was a woman, she was Jewish, AND she was a mother." The illustrations, rendered in gouache, ink, and Photoshop, illuminate the text with humor and sophistication. One page features the young college student perched under the sink in the bathroom, secretly studying-everyone knew a smart, studious girl would never get asked on a date. Another shows caricatures of the large, black-robed male justices yawning, angry, or perplexed as a tiny Ginsburg reads one of her famous "dissents." The endpapers feature shelves and shelves of books in the same muted tones of the book-cream, pale pink, black, gray, and brown. Pair with Debbie Levy and Elizabeth Baddeley's I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark, another fabulous picture book biography on the subject. VERDICT An excellent addition to "Mighty Girl" collections!-Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public Schools © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

How did a book-loving girl grow up to be a Supreme Court justice? "Ladies and gentleman of the jury," the story opens, as a young white girl faces an audience to present evidence on how Ruth Bader Ginsburg experienced an "unfair world" of prejudice against Jews and females. Winter traces Ginsburg's life from birth in Brooklyn in 1933 to college at Cornell and law school at Harvard and Columbia and, ultimately, to the United States Supreme Court, the second woman ever to be appointed. Each step of the way, she faced sexism and exclusion, effectively addressed as courtroom evidence. In exhibit A, she's demoted and forced to take a pay cut in her first job out of college (before law school) due to pregnancy. Exhibit B presents the fact that Harvard Law School had no housing for women since there were only nine of them, and in exhibit C, women couldn't enter the periodicals roomcritical for completing coursework. The text, informative without overwhelming, is extended by an author's note describing some of Ginsburg's actual court cases (including her opposition to the Citizen's United decision). Innerst's stunning gouache, ink, and Photoshop illustrations employ an R. Gregory Christie-style of abstraction, from the dust-jacket portrait and the case cover's clever depiction of Ginsburg and the scales of justice to the endpapers full of books, books, books. From cover to cover, a lovingly made volume that succeeds on every level. A beautiful example of what a picture book can be. (glossary) (Picture book/biography. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.