I am not sure if the board book format is the best format for the Who Is/Who Was series (biographies of people, places and events that changed the world), but among other titles, there is Who Was Shirley Chisholm?: A Who Was? Board Book by Lisbeth Kaiser. The clever, fun, colorful and well detailed images are created by Geraldine Sy. And the book is due late December 2023/early January 2024.
Having read a reader copy online, I am not sure how well it would translate into a board book. There is a lot of information for this traditional age range. I would need to see the final result for the size of the actual board book (I am thinking that oversized might be best, but for certain a larger than usual size would be needed). As much as I like the idea of introducing biographies to the younger crowd, it is the way it is presented that makes me feel that it would be a better fit for a first or second grade read.
This is not to say the subject should not be given to this younger age (board books tend to be older baby to toddler), and Shirley Chisholm is a great person to highlight. Not only are you getting women’s history, but black history, and even political history. Everything is an introduction, and straight forward. Granted there is a bit of finger pointing (none of the white men wanted Chisholm to run/win/be there and/or wanted to change the old, unfair laws), but it is not wrong. Just, perhaps it could have been a bit more, shall we say, diplomatic in trying to get the point across? Know your listener and/or reader before giving it to someone
