Thurgood Marshall

The Making of America Thurgood Marshall

by Teri Kanefield

I'm dealing with a nasty cold and laryngitis and so digging into my stack of books to review for Multicultural Children's Book Day.  Thanks to Abrams Books for Young Readers New York for sending me this book to review. #ReadYourWorld

Embarrassed to say I knew very little about this amazing man.  Teri Kanefield's book tells the story of the man who won Brown vs Board of Education, reversed Plessy vs Ferguson and ended segregation in schools.  I enjoyed how she not only tells Thurgood's story in biography form starting from his childhood all the way to his death, but also the way she taught me about American history.

This book is a quick read.  Many other famous people who are connected through relationships or events with Thurgood Marshall are introduced throughout the book: Martin Luther King Jr., JFK, LBJ, Ruth Bader Ginsberg,  and Rosa Parks to name a few.  She also introduced information relevant to our American history: three branches of government, the supreme court, appellate courts, the Constitution and how different groups interpret what the amendments within the Constitution should mean for the American people .

I'd recommend this book for later elementary through junior high grades, but really as an adult I learned much through this reading experience.  I will be picking more of Teri's books up as she has many in "The Making of America" series: Alexander Hamilton, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Susan B Anthony, and FDR to again name a few.

Here is some further information on Multicultural Children's Book Day.
Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020 (1/31/20) is in its 7th year! This non-profit children’s literacy initiative was founded by Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen; two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural books and authors on the market while also working to get those book into the hands of young readers and educators.
Seven years in, MCBD’s mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves continues.