The Supreme Court and Us

by Christy Mihaly, Neely Daggett (Illustrator)

Overview

Two kids learn about the Supreme Court with the help of key figures from US history.

Ada and Bea are on a tour of Washington, DC, learning all about the US Supreme Court, from its founding in 1789 to today. Along the way, they hear from the Constitution, important justices, and key figures from landmark cases, such as Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education, gaining an understanding of how the court has shaped our lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807576656
Publisher:	Whitman, Albert & Company
Publication date:	03/01/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Lexile:	GN560L (what's this?)
File size:	50 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Christy Mihaly wrote Free for You and Me: What Our First Amendment Means, and has written more than 25 other children’s books. Her 2020 educational civics series won Junior Library Guild gold standard designations. A former lawyer, Christy lives and writes in Vermont.
Neely Daggett is an Iranian American artist who lives just outside Portland, Oregon. She has a BA in psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a degree in graphic design from the Art Institute of Colorado. Neely is currently illustrating several picture books and is a member of SCBWI.

Editorial Reviews

"Creative and informative, this child-friendly legal primer will be a great addition to home and school libraries."—Kirkus Reviews

"A unique, fun introduction to the 'nine noses and ninety toes' of the Supreme Court, which have 'the power to change your life.'"—Booklist

From the Publisher

2021-12-16
Two young girls go sightseeing in Washington, D.C., and learn about the history of the judicial body, its functioning, and its impact on society.

First, Ada and Bea (who have no adults accompanying them) visit the U.S. Capitol, where a friendly female African American judge educates them about her profession. Next stop is the Washington Monument, where a White male photographer teaches them about the three branches of government and the concept of the separation of powers, using his tripod as an object lesson. Inside the National Archives Building, an anthropomorphic master copy of the Constitution enlightens the girls about the Judiciary Act of 1789. After that, a White male lawyer lets the girls tour his office, where portraits of federal justices and regular citizens involved in landmark Supreme Court cases come to life and share their stories. The final stop is, of course, the Supreme Court Building itself, where yet more accommodating adults help the protagonists gain an understanding of court procedures. Colorful graphic-novel panels and speech bubbles throughout make this important topic approachable. The main characters have tan skin and Bea is possibly Asian American. The backmatter includes capsule biographies of several Supreme Court justices, a timeline of events that led up to the historic Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka ruling on school desegregation, a glossary, and a list of court cases referenced in the book.

Creative and informative, this child-friendly legal primer will be a great addition to home and school libraries. (Nonfiction picture book. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews