Children’s Books About The Supreme Court

Hi Kid Lit Friends,

The Supreme Court is an essential arm of the United States government, but I realized that my two kids knew very little about how it worked. How do cases get to the Supreme Court? Why are there so many justices? How do you get on the Supreme Court? Who are our current justices, and how to they make their decisions?

For those of us looking for a good overview, check out The Supreme Court by Christine Taylor-Butler. Written for upper elementary readers, this book discusses how a case reaches the Supreme Court, its origins and history, particularly the time of John Marshall, which established the court’s right to declare a law unconstitutional, and other noted cases, and describes how it works today.

There are two excellent picture books about Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic and Latina judge to serve on the Supreme Court. Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in the Bronx by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Edel Rodriguez is a lovely introduction to this fantastic woman, written in both English and Spanish. Before Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor took her seat in our nation’s highest court, she was just a little girl in the South Bronx. With her mother’s love, a will to learn, and her own determination, Justice Sotomayor worked hard every day to accomplish her goals despite setbacks.

Turning Pages by Sonia Sotomayor, illustrated by Lulu Delacre is Justice Sotomayor’s own picture book autobiography. For young Sonia, books were her mirrors, her maps, her friends, and her teachers. They helped her to connect with her family in New York and in Puerto Rico, to deal with her diabetes diagnosis, to cope with her father’s death, to uncover the secrets of the world, and to dream of a future for herself in which anything was possible. In Turning Pages, Justice Sotomayor shares that love of books with a new generation of readers, and inspires them to read and puzzle and dream for themselves. (For older, middle grade readers, check out The Beloved World of Sonia Sotomayor.)

I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsberg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy, illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley, is a fantastic picture book about Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. From a young age, Justice Ginsberg spent a lifetime disagreeing: disagreeing with inequality, arguing against unfair treatment, and standing up for what’s right for people everywhere. This biographical picture book tells the justice’s story through the lens of her many famous dissents, or disagreements, encouraging young readers to speak up for what they believe in.

For middle grade readers, Loving vs. Virginia: A Documentary Novel of the Landmark Civil Rights Case by Patricia Hruby Powell, illustrated by Shadra Strickland is a fascinating book about how a case traveled all the way to the Supreme Court. In 1955, in Caroline County, Virginia, amidst segregation and prejudice, injustice and cruelty, two teenagers fell in love. Their life together broke the law, but their determination would change it. Richard and Mildred Loving were at the heart of a Supreme Court case that legalized marriage between races, and a story of the devoted couple who faced discrimination, fought it, and won.

 

What are you reading these days? Let me know! Find me on Twitter at @KarinaYanGlaser, on Instagram at @KarinaIsReadingAndWriting, or email me at KarinaBookRiot@gmail.com.

Until next time!
Karina

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