Synopses & Reviews
"When Barbara Jordan talked, we listened."
Former President of the United States, Bill Clinton
Congresswoman Barbara Jordan had a big, bold, confident voice — and she knew how to use it Learn all about her amazing career in this illuminating and inspiring picture book biography of the lawyer, educator, politician, and civil rights leader.
Even as a child growing up in the Fifth Ward of Houston, Texas, Barbara Jordan stood out for her big, bold, booming, crisp, clear, confident voice. It was a voice that made people sit up, stand up, and take notice.
So what do you do with a voice like that?
Barbara took her voice to places few African American women had been in the 1960s: first law school, then the Texas state senate, then up to the United States congress. Throughout her career, she persevered through adversity to give voice to the voiceless and to fight for civil rights, equality, and justice.
New York Times bestselling author Chris Barton and Caldecott Honoree Ekua Holmes deliver a remarkable picture book biography about a woman whose struggles and mission continue to inspire today.
Review
"...artful....Striking mixed-media illustrations....A moving portrait of a true patriot who found ways to use her gift to work for change." Kirkus Reviews (Fall Preview)
Review
"...a timely yet subtle call-to-action....With her signature use of bold colors and rich textures, Holmes brings Jordan and her remarkable story to life...An essential purchase for nonfiction collections." School Library Journal
Review
"This large book, with its lush, vivid, mixed-media illustrations, makes an artistic statement as bold as groundbreaking African American congresswoman Barbara Jordan's own giant voice." Horn Book Magazine
About the Author
Chris Barton is the author of many picture books including the bestseller Shark vs. Train, Sibert Honor-winning The Day-Glo Brothers, and Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List books The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch (2016-17) and Whoosh!: Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions (2017-18). His other books include Book or Bell?, Dazzle Ships: World War I and the Art of Confusion, and What Do You Do with a Voice Like That. He visits schools by the score and also loves speaking to professional gatherings of librarians, educators, and his fellow writers. Chris and his wife, novelist Jennifer Ziegler, live in Austin, Texas, with their family. For more information about Chris, please visit ChrisBarton.info.
Ekua Holmes is a fine artist whose work explores themes of family, relationships, hope, and faith. The first children's book she illustrated is Carole Boston Weatherford's Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, which was a Caldecott Honor Book and a Robert F. Sibert Honor Book and for which she also won the John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award. Ekua Holmes lives in Boston.