When Marian Sang: The True Recital of Marian Anderson by Brian Selznick, Hardcover, 9780439269674 | Buy online at The Nile
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When Marian Sang: The True Recital of Marian Anderson

True Recital of Marian Anderson, the

Author: Brian Selznick and Pam Muñoz Ryan  

Hardcover

Young readers are introduced to one of opera's most important singers, known for her historic 1939 concert at the Lincoln Memorial which drew an integrated crowd of over 75,000 in pre-Civil Rights America. Full color.

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Summary

Young readers are introduced to one of opera's most important singers, known for her historic 1939 concert at the Lincoln Memorial which drew an integrated crowd of over 75,000 in pre-Civil Rights America. Full color.

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Description

Children's Literature Legacy Award Winner

A harmonious introduction to one of our country's most important singers and role models--as envisioned by Newbery Honoree Pam Muñoz Ryan and Caldecott Medalist Brian Selznick.

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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Awards

Winner of Bookseller's Choice (Special Subjects) 2003 Winner of Parents Choice Award (Fall) (1998-2007) (Gold) 2002 Winner of Orbis Pictus Award 2003 Winner of Children's Book Committee Award (Nonfiction) 2003 Commended for Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award (Children's Book) 2003 Commended for James Madison Book 2003 Commended for Jefferson Cup (Young Adults) 2003 Short-listed for Bluebonnet Awards 2004 Short-listed for North Carolina Children's Book Award (Junior Book) 2005 Short-listed for Red Clover Award 2004

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Critic Reviews

“In extensive endnotes, Ryan and Selznick mention the many Eleanor Roosevelt stories they heard after publishing Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride (Scholastic, 1999). One fortuitous tale, concerning the First Lady and Marian Anderson, led to this companion book. Instead of the silver tones of the earlier title, this one employs acrylics in gold, copper, and a range of browns. As the book opens, the theater curtains part to reveal a girl singing in a window, framed in light. The title page is a concert program. The foreshadowing, tightly controlled recapitulation of themes, and stylized scenes (frequently incorporating stages) combine to suggest a performance. Linguistically and aesthetically, the book is a marvel of unified design. A trip to the Metropolitan Opera inspires young Anderson to strive for the dream she obtains by the end of the book. Early on, her master teacher enthuses that she "will be able to go anywhere and sing for anybody." The irony is played out as she tours Europe, but is stopped short in DC''s Constitution Hall. Enter the Roosevelts, and what follows is history. When Marian sings, her eyes are always closed, her face a study of faith deeply felt. Hymns and spirituals punctuate the narrative, carefully chosen to tie into plot. Share this feast for the eyes and the soul with a wide audience.--School Library Journal, November 1st, 2002, starred review Although this picture-book biography of the acclaimed American contralto doesn''t play as fast and loose with the facts as did Ryan and Selznick''s similarly formatted (and similarly lavish) Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride, it does indulge in a similar mythification. Marian Ander-son''s first European tour was not the unqualified success this book would have it; her audition with maestro Giuseppe Boghetti was not the dramatic scena depicted here; her career was built as much on Bach and Brahms as it was on spirituals, whose verses are sometimes employed awkwardly here to convey Anderson''s state of mind at various pivotal moments. And oddly, the keynote of the Anderson myth-being kept out of Constitution Hall by the D.A.R.-is here muted, the Daughters unnamed until the author''s supplemental note. But while Anderson herself was a modest woman, her career was big and glamorous, and significant in both musical and social terms, and Ryan and Selznick get all this right. The large double-page spreads are impressive in sweep and scale but keep their humanity by using a limited palette re-creating the tones of old sepia photographs; judicious sky-blue accents keep the sun shining. Some of the portraits of Anderson recall famous photos of the singer, and throughout both the pictures and text there''s an intimacy of tone that gives life to the legend.--Horn Book, November 1st, 2002 The creative team behind Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride returns with a picture book biography as understated and graceful as its subject, singer Marian Anderson (1897-1993). Tracing the African-American diva from her beginnings as an eight-year-old church choir wonder ("the pride of South Philadelphia") through years of struggle to rise above the racism that would delay her debut with the Metropolitan Opera until she was 57, this book masterfully distills the events in the life of an extraordinary musician. Ryan''s narrative smoothly integrates biographical details with lyrics from the gospel songs Anderson made famous: a passage about the budding singer''s longing to perform onstage ("Opera was simply the sun and the moon--a dream that seemed too far away to reach") segues to "He''s got the sun and the moon right in His hands"; "Sometimes I feel like a motherless child..." follows a 213 spread of the singer on the bow of a ship bound for Europe, the sun creating a halo effect. Working with a sepia-toned palette, Selznick''s paintings shimmer with emotion, his range of shading as versatile as Anderson''s three-octave voice. Whether depicting her as barely visible be”

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

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About the Author

Pam Muñoz Ryan is the recipient of the NEA's Human and Civil Rights Award, the PEN Center USA Award, and the 2024 Children's Literature Legacy Award for her body of work. She was the 2018 US nominee for the international Hans Christian Andersen Award. She received a Newbery Honor Medal and the Kirkus Prize for her New York Times bestselling novel, Echo. Her other celebrated novels, Esperanza Rising, The Dreamer, Riding Freedom, Becoming Naomi León, Paint the Wind, and Mañanaland, have received countless accolades, among them the Pura Belpré Award, the Jane Addams Children's Book Award, and the Américas Award. Her acclaimed picture books include Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride and the Sibert Honor book When Marian Sang, both illustrated by Brian Selznick, Mice and Beans illustrated by Joe Cepeda, 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.

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Product Details

Publisher
Scholastic US
Published
1st October 2002
Pages
40
ISBN
9780439269674

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