Victoria Garrett Jones

This is my first experience with the Sterling Biographies series and I have to say, I’m quite happy with the information presented and the format of the books. There is a lot of detail, but it is wonderfully broken up with photos and illustrations from Anderson’s life and from the era covered in this biography. Naturally, Garrett Jones covers Anderson’s life from birth to death; it is the way that the information is presented that really makes for interesting reading. Kudos to the show more author for emphasizing Marian’s initial struggle with education (which she eventually over came) and paying a lot of attention to her life long dedication to studying and improving her voice technique (including studying abroad in England, France and Germany to learn foreign languages). The text deals deftly with the topic of racial segregation and the many difficulties Anderson (and countless others) experienced in the US (most notably in the Southern United States) and Garrett Jones contrasts it nicely with her experiences internationally. I found it of interest that she was welcomed the world over but in many location in the U.S. she had to lodge in private residences because social conventions at the time made in impossible tor a black person to rent hotel rooms in many places. I love the extensive sue of sidebars to highlight points of interest through the text, they provide context to the larger social climate as well as providing background information on various people in Anderson’s life. The text includes timeline (of Anderson’s life), glossary, a short bibliography and even an index. It is an excellent biography (series) for young readers ages 8-12 and would be satisfactory for some older readers as a jumping off point for a larger report or project. I give it 5 stars; it (and indeed the entire series) would make a fine addition to any classroom (or school) library. Marian Anderson: A Voice Uplifted gives you a solid foundation on the person that was Marian Anderson as well as a well grounded portrait of the era in which she lived. Just Lovely! show less

The more I read about this remarkable woman, I am increasingly in awe of not only her spirit, but her life and all that she overcame.

A child verbally abused by a beautiful society born mother. Known to call Eleanor "Granny," increasingly Eleanor was told how very ugly she was. Born with teeth that were too large for her mouth, it is amazing that the family of huge wealth, did nothing to remedy this issue.

Her father Elliott Roosevelt, brother of President Theodore Roosevelt, had a severe show more drinking problem which led to embarrassment for the family.

While in Europe, self-centered Anna Hall Roosevelt, left her husband, taking her children back to the United States. He was placed in an institution in the hope he would be cured.

This action deeply wounded little Eleanor. He was the center of her life, and the only person who exhibited love to her.

While her childhood impacted greatly, Franklin Roosevelt was drawn to her intelligence. She married Franklin D. Roosevelt, who became President. She had five children, 13 grandchildren, and toured the United States during the time of depression, bringing back the importance of supporting the poor.

She changed the world for her husband as his polio increasingly became an impediment.

There is much that could be written, I am most impressed with her dedication to social rights. She took bold stands at a time when black people were denied even simple rights.

When the Daughter of the American Revolution denied the right of highly talented opera singer Marian Anderson to perform at their constitution hall because she was an "African American," Eleanor wrote an exceedingly strong letter to the organization.

She quit her membership and stated that she knew her resignation would not make a difference, still, she wanted them to know how very saddened to know their stance on refusing Marian Anderson, "in effect by denying this talented woman the right she deserved, they denied an opportunity to lead in an enlightened way, and it seems to me that your organization has failed."

These indeed were strong words. The Roosevelt administration arranged a concert for Marian Anderson to highlight her talent where she appeared at the Lincoln Memorial to a group of 75,000
people.

She lead the way for the formation of the United Nations, and in 1947, she was selected as the Chairperson of the UN's Commission on Human Rights!

There is more, so much more that she accomplished. show less

I liked this book for several reasons. The main idea of this book is to teach readers about the life of Pocahontas. First, I enjoyed that the book featured a timeline in the beginning of the book. This mapped out the key events in Pocahontas’ life, such as her kidnapping by Captain Samuel Argall in 1613 and marriage to John Rolfe in 1614. This gives the reader an easy to understand reference sheet that they can look back on as they read the chapters. I also enjoyed that several times the show more book devotes entire pages to unfamiliar Native American practices/ objects that the reader may not have heard of before. For example, the book devotes a page to explaining ‘wampum’ – a Native American tapestry that often tells the story or history of a family. This allows the reader to better understand the Native American culture, which in turn enhances the biography of Pocahontas! The illustrations included paintings that help the reader visualize the time period. I also really enjoyed that each chapter begins with a quote or snippet of a journal entry by John Smith. For example, Chapter 4 (Jamestown) begins with “Heaven and earth never agreed better to frame a place for man’s habitation – John Smith”. This gives the reader an added perspective and ties in some historical writings which I think adds meaning to the biography. Each chapter was also broken up into subheadings, which breaks the chapter up nicely and allows the reader to process the sequence of events easier. One of my favorite parts was the family tree at the end of the book. The caption explains that thousands of Americans today believe their roots go back to Pocahontas, and the family tree provides a look at 12 generations that are said to have succeeded Pocahontas. This shows the lasting effect Pocahontas had and how many generations were directly impacted by her and her life! I think this book would serve young readers very well in understanding Pocahontas’ importance to the history of Virginia as well as Native American history. show less

I liked this book because of its language and use of real images to support the text. The language in this book was somewhat challenging for younger readers, asking them to use contextual clues to decode some of the language. The glossary in the back of the book makes the language accessible to all readers and offers solidification of vocabulary. There is also an index of abbreviations as well as an index to help readers easily find facts. The images that coincide with the text are scans of show more real paintings and maps of the times. This allows the reader to gain a sense of what the time period that Pocahontas lived in would really look like. The main idea of this story was to teach readers about Pocahontas. show less