School Library Journal
11/01/2022
Gr 2–4—Fictional children Paige and Turner exchange facts about the life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, focusing primarily on the tidbits not required for book reports. Readers learn that Ginsburg's first name was Joan, she was a terrible driver and cook, and 18 people attended her wedding. Other standard information is likewise provided such as her college and law school attendance, her struggles to succeed as a female lawyer, and her career on the Supreme Court. Cartoon illustrations display milestones in Ginsburg's life. Nothing new is offered in this title; most everything presented is already found in the numerous other volumes on Ginsburg's life. The dialogue between Paige and Turner consists of short sentences, and attempts at humor (at one point they argue about being disagreeable) are distracting. VERDICT While interesting information on Ginsburg's life is presented, there is nothing unique about this title; at best an optional purchase.—Margaret Nunes
Kirkus Reviews
2022-07-13
Fabulous facts and foibles from the life and career of the legendary Supreme Court justice.
As it happens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was not only a poor driver, but also such a terrible cook that her husband took over both driving and kitchen duties. Following the format of other entries in the Wait! What? series, this title sees bookish sibs Paige and Turner exchange in dialogue biographical bits and bobs that, taken together, make up a colorful profile of the late, great Ginsburg—with value-added side lists like other southpaws of renown, statistics that trace the rising number of women attending law school over her lifetime, and exclamations of amazement that the Supreme Court justices get their own parking garage, gym, basketball court, and spittoons (the last repurposed as trash cans). Though Gutman does plant one potential bomb by name-dropping Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita (the author was a professor of hers at Cornell), in general, he offers a judicious selection of facts to illuminate her character and career, including encounters with gender discrimination and antisemitism, nods to some of her most prominent cases as she climbed the judicial ladder, and her unlikely friendship with archconservative colleague Antonin Scalia. Steinfeld adds plenty of simply drawn vignettes and thumbnail portraits…mostly of White figures, though the two young narrators present as African American.
Likely to fill in some gaps even for devoted fans of the Notorious RBG. (further reading) (Biography. 8-10)
