She Was the First!

The Trailblazing Life of Shirley Chisholm
By Katheryn Russell-Brown, Eric Velasquez
Hardcover: $20.95

A timely, inspiring picture book biography of the dynamic twentieth-century educator, activist, and politician Shirley Chisholm.

Description

Even as a young child growing up in the 1920s, Shirley Chisholm was a leader. At the age of three, older children were already following her lead in their Brooklyn neighborhood.

As a student at Brooklyn College, Shirley could outtalk anyone who opposed her on the debate team. After graduating, she used her voice and leadership to fight for educational change. In community groups, she stood up for the rights of women and minorities. Her small stature and fiery determination often took people by surprise. But they listened.

In 1964, Shirley took her voice and leadership to politics, becoming the first Black woman elected to the New York State Assembly, and in 1968, the first Black woman elected to Congress. Then in 1972, she became the first Black woman to seek the presidency of the United States. She pushed for laws that helped women, children, students, poor people, farm workers, Native people, and others who were often ignored. She fought for healthcare. She spoke up for military veterans. She spoke out against war.

Shirley Chisholm, a woman of many firsts, was an unforgettable political trailblazer, a candidate of the people and “catalyst of change” who opened the door for women in the political arena and for the first Black president of the United States.

About the Creators

Katheryn Russell-Brown

Katheryn Russell-Brown is a Professor of Law and the Director of the Center for Race and Race Relations at the University of Florida. She grew up in a family of music lovers, where jazz was an integral part of the sounds of daily life. A radio broadcast in 2008 about Liston inspired Russell-Brown to research the musician and eventually to write Little Melba and Her Big Trombone, her first picture book. Russell-Brown lives in Gainesville, Florida, with her family. Visit her online at krbrown.net.

Eric Velasquez

Eric Velasquez has illustrated numerous award-winning books for children, and has authored some picture books as well. Among the awards he has received for his work are the Pura Belpré Illustrator Award, the Carter G. Woodson Award, an NAACP Image Award, and the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent. When not illustrating book projects, Velasquez teaches book illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. He lives in Hartsdale, New York. You can visit him online at ericvelasquez.com.

Awards

  • Best Books

    Kirkus Reviews

  • Best Multicultural Books

    Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature

  • NAACP Image Awards Winner

    National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

  • RISE: A Feminist Book Project Booklist

    American Library Association (ALA)

  • Best of the Best Books

    Chicago Public Library

Reviews

  • * "Important history made beautiful and engaging."

    - Kirkus Reviews
  • "Russell-Brown, with the help of Velasquez's expressive watercolor art, vividly brings Chisholm's experiences to life with storytelling that will appeal to a wide variety of ages--those both aware and unaware of her legacy."

    - School Library Journal
  • This succinct biography emphasizes Chisholm's leadership qualities and her slogan and attitude ("Unbought and Unbossed").

    - Booklist
  • "Russell-Brown engagingly presents the life of Chisholm."

    - The Horn Book

Hardcover

  • ISBN 9781620143469
  • Publication Date Aug 04, 2020
  • Trim Size 10.5 × 8.5 in
  • Weight 1.0625 lbs
  • Page Count 40
  • Word Count 1568
  • Interests

  • Audience Children
  • BISAC Category 1 JNF / Biography & Autobiography / Political
  • BISAC Category 2 JNF / Biography & Autobiography / Social Activists
  • BISAC Category 3 JNF / History / United States / 20th Century
  • Themes African / African American / Black, Biography / Memoir, Civil Rights Movement, Courage, Discrimination, Dreams & Aspirations, Education, Empathy / Compassion, History & Civics, Informational / Expository Nonfiction, Nonfiction, Overcoming Obstacles, Persistence / Grit, Respect / Citizenship, Social & Emotional Learning, Social Justice & Activism, United States History, Women's History
  • Reading Levels

  • Age Range Ages 6 - 12
  • Grade Range Grades 1 - 6
  • Guided Reading T
  • ATOS Book Level 4.2
  • DRA 44
  • Interest Level Grades 1 - 6
  • Lexile Level 730
  • Reading Level 4
  • Bebop Reading Fluent
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