Nonfiction Notable: A SONG FOR THE UNSUNG

I continue to read picture books extensively while enjoying the many beginning readers  and early chapter books I've been exploring for CYBILS AWARD consideration.  Some picture books are guaranteed to snag my attention due to the subject matter, the reliably high quality of the author and/or illustrator, and my own connections to prior readings and/or postings. This nonfiction biographic account of BAYARD RUSTIN is such a book on all strands of that appeal. 

Henry Holt & Company, 2023

A SONG FOR THE UNSUNG: BAYARD RUSTIN, the Man behind the 1963 March on Washington did not disappoint. This is written by multi-award-winning Carole Boston Weatherford and LGBTQIA advocate Rob Sanders, with impressively informative illustrations by Byron McCray. In an earlier post featuring another picture book focused on the 1963 March on Washington, here, I also featured a book aimed at older readers, one that profiled the largely unrecognized CIVIL RIGHTS leaded, Bayard Rustin. (That book is one of the sources cited in the bibliography for A SONG FOR THE UNSUNG.)

The title alone is brilliant, because it signals that Rustin was a talented and devoted singer for whom music played a central role throughout his life. The same can be said about the role of music in the Civil Rights Movement. Threaded throughout each double spread are scrolled lyrics from many different hymns/songs that reflect specific moments throughout his life and his role in the shaping of that movement. This includes the fact that Rustin's roots run deep in Quaker peace activism, including refusing to bear arms during WWII and his consequent imprisonment. 

The authors open on the eventful August day in 1963 with Rustin's perspective of the Washington mall, empty other than himself and a few reporters. His confident assertion that this unprecedented event would happen, would succeed, contrasts with the absence of evidence at that early morning moment. And yet Rustin, the organizer/coordinator behind the scenes, stood tall and sure. he had orchestrated every detail, from placement of portable potties to bus parking  to box lunches and the program itself. 

Each page turn that offers incredible details about his development of the strength and skill and talent that underpinned such confidence. As a relative "elder" in comparison to young Martin Luther King, Jr., his experiences with adherence to non-violent strategies for social change were rooted in studies with Gandhi and led to his later instruction and guidance for MLK,Jr. and the entire movement. 

An essential (and never denied or hidden) aspect of his identity is that he was a gay man. Thankfully, and despite immeasurable forces still attempting to discriminate against non-straight individuals and organizations, we have arrived at a time of greater openness and awareness that people are people and their sexual lives are not a matter of public concern. This was far from the case at the time of Rustin's life, making his willingness to be "out of the closet" another bold and honest example of his personal integrity. This fact, though, accounts for why so few folks know his name in comparison to others from those Civil Rights Movement years in the sixties. It was deemed necessary and advantageous to access Rustin's organization skills and network contacts to make a gathering of a quarter million people possible, yet leaders within the movement insisted that his public role should be minimal, fearing that his gay identity could undermine and detract from the greater goals. 

Very likely they were correct. Even so, it meant that Rustin's long history, credentials, and support of equal rights and social justice remained "appreciated" by insiders but "unsung" in the public accounts of this history-changing day and the entire movement surrounding it. There is no justice in that, at any level. Now, more than sixty years later, young people can access Rustin's life story through works for older readers but also through this gorgeous, dynamic, and lyrical account of a man who merits everyone's attention and admiration. 

I had some limited awareness of this remarkable figure in American history as a young person who viewed the march and speeches live on television, awed by the safe, civil, overwhelmingly effective gathering at our nation's capital at a time when few were willing to speak aloud the need for legal civil rights for all in a public venue. (My reflection on why CIVIL RIGHTS and the movement mean so much to me can be read an early post on that topic, HERE. Equality for all SHOULD connect with everyone, even a straight, white, privileged woman such as myself. And yet my connection to the subject matter runs deep, and I wish more folks would examine their own lives to see that success on behalf of the least protected among us elevates the quality of life for us all.)

I fear, though, that this very title will be among the extensive and absurd lists of books for kids that face censorship due to both aspects of his Rustin's life story: being Black and being gay. Please learn more about that misguided group that is comparatively small in numbers but powerful in political clout. Make it a point to read any books on the list for yourselves and then speak up for open access and rights to read! (For more on that topic, THIS LINK is from the American Library Association.)

Back With More NONFICTION Offerings!

 In case you missed several recent posts that celebrated a few of the nonfiction titles among our CYBILS AWARDS nominees, you can catchup with terrific suggestions HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Here's my take on three more wonderful titles.

If the title MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS does not ring a bell, PLEASE check it out. If it does, you'll be an automatic fan of this remarkable book. Mr. McCloskey's Marvelous Mallards: The Making of Make Way for Ducklings is written by Emma Bland Smith and illustrated by Becca Stadtlander.

Calkins Creek, 2022

"Make Way" for amazement at this account of the steps taken by writer/illustrator Robert McCloskey, creator of some classic, timeless, and deeply beloved picture books from mid-twentieth century. What does an urban-dwelling, budding author/illustrator know about REAL ducklings? His encounter with a mallard family waddling into Boston's Public Garden, seeking a safe spot for their newly hatched ducklings. That became a fixed memory for McCloskey and came to mind four years later when he had successfully published his first b book and was looking for another story idea.
This delightful picture book profile is focused on the period in McCloskey's early career when he was attempting to illustrate the story we all now know and love. 
To overcome his ignorance and break through to authentic characters and behaviors, he did what any urban, art studio dweller would do-- he brought a family of ducklings into his space to live, grow, and "model" for him. 
For several months those little ducklings grew among his sketches and observations, but his ongoing attempts were not quite right- for his editor, for McCloskey, or for the ducklings! What else could he do but bring home more ducks! and observe ducks in the wild. And fill the tub for the ducks. By the time they were resettled in a country pond setting, he reviewed his work, realizing he had finally captured the life of ducklings on the page., the rest is history. 
Back matter does a fantastic job of revealing archival details and images from sketchbooks and early efforts, making this thoroughly entertaining profile all the more informative. Highly recommended.

Next up is another "mister", MISTER ROGERS' LOVE OF MUSIC, written by Donna Cangelosi and illustrated by Amanda Calatzis.

Page Street Kids, 2022

The opening of this profile is perfection: Mr. Rogers singing to the world while little ones around the world sit in their homes and sing along. Community. Love. Sharing. This will come as no surprise to any reader.
But Fred reached that bench and that comfy sweater and that camera a long time after struggling through a very difficult childhood, which begins to unfold on the next page turns. Spending endless hours wrapped in sickness, longing, and loneliness, it was his grandfather's violin music that lifted his spirits and gave him hope. Despite ongoing years of illness and peer teasing, his fingers found joy on keyboards, his ear carried happiness, brightness, and hope to his heart and brain. His piano became a friend he could always turn to. 
Kids will connect with this portion of the book regardless of their status of acceptance or rejection, and then be fascinated by the transition of a gentle, wise man who never forgot those powerful feelings and the comfort he found in music into an ambassador to young children. The rest is history.
Back matter includes an author note and also an extensive bibliography.

Wrapping up here, take a quick look at another interesting profile, a genuine profile in courage from the recent past. The Mother of a Movement: Jeanne Manford -- Ally, Activist, and Co-Founder of PFLAG is written by Rob Sanders and illustrated by Sam Kalda.

Imagination Press, 2022

This is an important and worthy book to share. Evaluating the text and art reveals it as informative and persuasive, clarifying what "founding an organization" involves, but mainly viewing Manford's life through the lens of her ability to listen, learn, and love. 
I am a fan of repetitive phrasing, but in this case it might occasionally distract some readers from the impact of the author's and featured subject's very important message about openness and leadership.

That's all for today, folks, but stay tuned for more to come. 

Expect  a very special post that's FICTION coming soon. Not a focus on fact, but holding enormous truth!

The Fighting Infantryman: The Story of Albert D. J. Cashier, Transgender Civil War Soldier

Before I resume my links to some of the amazing titles on the 2021 NOTABLE TRADE BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS, I want to insert a few reviews of the books I had NOT yet read, books that this list led me to discover. I try very hard to stay aware of current releases throughout the year, but this annual list ALWAYS leads me to previously undiscovered treasures. My massive hold list has paid off and many of these are now stacked beside me as I type. I've read them all and will share many, but this title rises to  the top and comes first.

little bee books, 2021

THE FIGHTING INFANTRYMAN: The Story of Albert D. J. Cashier, Transgender Civil War Soldier is written by Rob Sanders and illustrated by Nabi Ali. Additional credits acknowledge consultants and sources for this remarkably well-researched and brilliantly developed portrait of an important American. 

 This Civil War era true story is a 2021 NOTABLE TRADE BOOK for YOUNG PEOPLE, and it certainly deserves that designation. Albert D. J. Cashier is the name chosen by a person who was born a girl, Jenny. During her early years  in Ireland, Jenny wore boys' clothes often: to tend the sheep in the field, to stay safer as a stowaway on a ship to America, and to work in a shoe-making factory at a job that was only open to boys. When old enough to head  out into life alone, Jenny continued dressing as a man (a small but hardy and hard-working man) and took their step-father's last name.

There are other stories of women who participated in Civil War service by dressing as men or boys, a few fighting, but many serving as buglers, drummers, or in medical service. Most resumed lives as women after the war ended, and only a few received veteran pensions.

In the case of Cashier, he enrolled to fight, passing the inspection when only his small hands and feet were examined and judged to be fit enough to fight. Throughout four years of full battle engagements, Cashier developed the trust and friendship of the other men in his group before returning safely to Illinois. 

After decades of life as a working man man on a farm, living on limited incomes and his small veterans' pension, health issues revealed that Cashier was a biological woman. When reporters got wind of it, the pension was denied, he was transferred to a women's hospital, and was even forced to wear women's clothes. It was visits from his former veteran friends, and their relentless insistence on the identity of Cashier as the veteran at whose side they lived and fought, that won back Cashier's well-earned pension.

I'm not marking this as a spoiler, because this is not a fictional mystery or suspense story. This, in fact, is a real life story, one that has been little known, and should be. Despite the general culture of the time, his friends acknowledged his value as a human, as a whole person of value, insisting on a military burial with honors and a tombstone marked with his chosen name and designation as a veteran.

More should know his story, and that of the many others whose chosen identity should be respected. Despite my extensive summary, the actual reading will enthrall you with its storytelling quality, intriguing details, and balance of information and sensitivity.

The author provides backmatter that fully honors the identity and intents (and unknowns) of Cashier's life. Since he was illiterate (signing his name with an X when voting, which he did faithfully) and having dementia in later life, we only know pieces of his story. Did Jenny find that assuming the role of a man provided her with greater comfort, safety, and wider choices, sustaining that throughout her life? Or Was Jenny a truly transgender man, born with a clear inner identity that did not match his body, living in times in which that reality demanded secrecy and isolation. 

We'll never know with certainty, but the author used consultants and sources that widen readers' awareness of transgender life experience long before it finally broke through a social curtain of shame and attack. That also line is not to suggest that pushback has disappeared, but at least more are willing to act with the integrity of Cashier's friends and allies.

This is handled in direct and respectful way with empathy and grace, and is suitable for even young  readers. In fact, it may be exactly the book needed by some young readers who struggle with gender dysphoria, and for all those who do not, but lack an understanding of how important it is to advocate for friends.

It's been a while since I've tagged a post with a COVID 19 comment. This has been the first full week of a global CORONA-versary, so I will acknowledge that. These anchors in time reveal to me that the abnormal has become normal. It also reminds me that I'm not comfortable with that language, or even calling this way of life a "new normal". I've become hyper-sensitive to the use of the word and the idea of "normal" . ( I've felt that sensitivity throughout my life, it is just more confirmed now that ever.)

This story is a reminder that "normal" assumes too much, that narrow perspectives lead to injustices and misjudgments about others and, often, about ourselves. Perhaps a full year of masking ourselves for the sake of our wider community/society should serve as a metaphor for new ways of walking through life. Wouldn't we all be safer, stronger, and likely wiser, if we observed a literal and figurative "mask" on our commentaries and attempted controls on the lives of others? Wouldn't we feel that much safer and saner and stronger if we knew that others were allowing us and (everyone else) the space to live our lives without judgment from those who have not had the same experiences, in the wide world or within inner lives?  I

I'm practicing that now, and gradually improving. I hope that anyone who reads this book might reflect on that. This is especially true for adults. Kids are already very open to the ways of others, until adults insert/transfer their own boundaries and labels and limitations. Books like this serve all of us well. 

I had posted this only a few hours before coming across this SHORT testimony by the father of a transgender daughter. It doesn't take long to view/listen. It is also another example of the fact that discussions of this topic (and others) effect INDIVIDUALS and their families, as in Cashier's story above. When anyone attempts to regulate society, they are causing injury to individual lives. Here's the short link, if interested: 

A dad's testimony in defense of his daughter.