#30- When Marian Sang

#30- When Marian Sang

When Marian Sang

Written by: Pam Munoz Ryan

Illustrated by: Brian Selznick

Scholastic Press, 2002

32 pages

Multicultural (African American)

“However, her voice was distinct-strong and velvety and able to climb more than twenty-four notes.”

            This book is about the life of Marian Anderson. From a very young age, Marian loved to sing, and people loved to hear her sing. She began singing in churches, and was chosen for the People’s Chorus. However, growing up in pre-Civil Rights America proved to be a huge obstacle standing in her way of singing professionally. Nobody wanted to train a colored girl. Finally, she caught famous Giuseppe Boghetti’s attention and he trained her. She traveled to Europe and became an international singing sensation. When she came back to the United States, prejudice again stood in her way of singing publically. Eventually, she was invited to sing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday. Sixteen years after this performance, she was able to fulfill her life-long dream of singing in an opera.

            Selznick created these breathtaking drawings by using liquitex acrylics. The pictures are done in an almost sepia color. Every picture takes up a double page spread. Some of the text placement is formal, and some of it is informal.

            This book could be appreciated by anyone, but I believe that it would appeal more to second to fifth grade students. You could have your students fill out a Venn diagram comparing their lives to Marian’s life. This would allow the students to see the difference in the time periods. This book received the Robert F. Sibert Honor.