The Highest Tribute: Thurgood Marshall’s Life, Leadership and Legacy seemed like at first it would be dull: He was born this date. He died here. He was a lawyer. He did this, that, and the other thing. And while all that is there, it is presented in a way that makes you want to turn the page and feel like you are reading a story and not a textbook.
And while I could make comparisons to many men and women of color because of his journey, and even a few other minorities (Ruth Bader Ginsburg came to mind a few times as she had some similar issues being Jewish and female), Marshal had his own journey. And while I thought I knew some of it, I did not know all of it.
Kekla Magoon wrote the text while Laura Freeman gave the illustrations their style. The two of them brought to life a man I knew little about (as mention) and showed him in a new light. Even seemingly small pieces of information are presented, but is not there as filler, but to make a point. My favorite piece of information (among many) is the spelling of his name. Born with a different spelling, Marshall took it upon himself at a very young age to change it. And from there on out, was always fighting to right what he felt was wrong. He made history by being part of history such as some of the legal cases you portably have heard of but did not realize he was part of.
In some places, this book was a bit romanticized. Yet, it was not gushy. It is a good introduction, covering his entire life, without going too overboard. If I do have one complaint, it is that the picture book format might turn off the reader who probably should be reading it (ages 8 to 10). I would not recommend reading allow to too much younger than five or six-years-old.
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