When Marian Sang: The True Recital of Marian Anderson

by Pam Munoz Ryan (Author) Brian Selznick (Illustrator)

When Marian Sang: The True Recital of Marian Anderson
Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

Marian Anderson is best known for her historic concert at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, which drew an integrated crowd of 75,000 people in pre-Civil Rights America.

While this momentous event showcased the uniqueness of her voice, the strength of her character, and the struggles of the times in which she lived, it is only part of her story. Like the operatic arias Marian would come to sing, Ryan's text is as moving as a libretto, and Selznick's pictures as exquisitely detailed and elaborately designed as a stage set. What emerges most profoundly from their shared vision is a role model of courage.

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Publishers Weekly

Starred Review
Warner (Sort of Forever) relays another moving story of loss and healing. An eerily quiet scene opens the story: a shocked 11-year-old discovers herself alone in the middle of the desert at night. Soon the girl, Janey, realizes that she and her five-year-old sister, YoYo, were thrown from the family car after a crash caused by a drunk driver; the girls' parents were killed. YoYo has escaped unscathed, physically, but Janey is injured and will need extensive plastic surgery to reverse the serious damage to her face. The girls are placed with their only relatives, their grandfather and his not terribly sympathetic younger sister, Aunt Baby, who share a house in California, far away from the girls' Arizona home. While there are other insightful, equally well-written novels with a similar premise, Warner's offers a twist Aunt Baby (who Janey overhears angrily telling a social worker, "If I'd wanted kids, I would have had them") aggressively pursues a civil lawsuit against the driver, with the aim of getting "compensation." While Aunt Baby claims, "This isn't about the money," the issue further complicates the grieving Janey's already conflicted feelings. Embarrassed and guilty that her grandfather can no longer afford to retire, she also knows that the court case is, in fact, about money. Although the resolution is just slightly too neat, it is also heartbreaking. Readers will be gripped. Ages 9-12. (Sept.) Copyright 2002 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

School Library Journal

Interspersed with the spiritual songs she sang and including lengthy author's notes, this picture book traces Marian Anderson's history-making career. Add Ryan's Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride (Scholastic, 1999. ISBN 0-590-96075-X) to bring three exceptional women to the classroom. Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

Distinctions and Praise for When Marian Sang (partial listing)

Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
ALA Notable Children's Book
Orbis Pictus Award Winner for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children

* "Linguistically and aesthetically, the book is a marvel of unified design . . . Share this feast for the eyes and the soul with a wide audience." —School Library Journal, starred review

* "This book masterfully distills the events in the life of an extraordinary musician . . . Stellar." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

* "Perfectly paced and perfectly pitched, this never loses sight of the fact that Marian Anderson was both a world-class musician and a powerful symbol to her people. A bravura performance." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Pam Munoz Ryan
Pam Muñoz Ryan is the recipient of the Newbery Honor Medal and the Kirkus Prize for her New York Times bestselling novel, Echo, as well as the NEA's Human and Civil Rights Award and the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award for multicultural literature for her body of work. Her celebrated novels, Echo, Esperanza Rising, The Dreamer, Riding Freedom, Becoming Naomi Léon, and Paint the Wind, have received countless accolades, among them two Pura Belpré Awards, a NAPPA Gold Award, a Jane Addams Children's Book Award, and two Américas Awards. Her acclaimed picture books include Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride and When Marian Sang, both illustrated by Brian Selznick, and Tony Baloney, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham, as well as a beginning reader series featuring Tony Baloney. Ryan lives near San Diego, California, with her family.
Brian Selznick's books have sold millions of copies, garnered countless awards worldwide, and been translated into more than 35 languages. He broke open the novel form with his innovative and genre-defying thematic trilogy, beginning with the Caldecott Medal-winning #1 New York Times bestseller The Invention of Hugo Cabret, adapted into Martin Scorsese's Oscar-winning movie Hugo. He followed that with the #1 New York Times bestseller, Wonderstruck, adapted into the eponymous movie by celebrated filmmaker Todd Haynes, with a screenplay by Selznick, and the New York Times bestseller, The Marvels. Selznick's two most recent books for young people, Baby Monkey, Private Eye, an ALA Notable Book co-written with his husband David Serlin, and Kaleidoscope, a New York Times Notable Children's Book of 2021, were both New York Times bestsellers as well. He also illustrated the 20th anniversary edition covers of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Selznick and Serlin divide their time between Brooklyn, New York and La Jolla, California. Learn more at thebrianselznick.com and mediaroom.scholastic.com/brianselznick.
Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9780439269674
Lexile Measure
920
Guided Reading Level
R
Publisher
Scholastic Press
Publication date
October 20, 2002
Series
-
BISAC categories
JNF007050 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography | Cultural Heritage
JNF007040 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography | Music
JNF036020 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Music | History
Library of Congress categories
African Americans
United States
Women
Anderson, Marian
Singers
Contraltos
African American singers
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award
Honor Book 2003 - 2003
Parents Choice Award (Fall) (1998-2007)
Winner 2002 - 2002
Bluebonnet Awards
Nominee 2004 - 2004
Charlotte Award
Nominee 2004 - 2004
Red Clover Award
Nominee 2004 - 2004
Black-Eyed Susan Award
Nominee 2003 - 2004
Monarch Award
Nominee 2006 - 2006
North Carolina Children's Book Award
Nominee 2005 - 2005
Jefferson Cup
Notable 2003 - 2003
Land of Enchantment Book Award
Nominee 2006 - 2007
James Madison Book
Honor Book 2003 - 2003
Orbis Pictus Award
Winner 2003 - 2003
Children's Book Committee Award
Winner 2003 - 2003
Rhode Island Children's Book Awards
Nominee 2004 - 2004

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