Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg; Young Readers' Edition

Gr 5–8—A tribute to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg that does more than catalog her achievements; it conveys her spirit, one that will leave readers in awe. Widely viewed as a champion for women's rights, Ginsburg is quick to correct that she battles for "women's and men's liberation," as best illustrated in the case of Stephen Wiesenfeld, who was prevented from collecting his dead wife's social security due to his gender. Ginsburg accepted the case to argue that equality under the law benefits both sexes, and shrewdly, to set a precedent. Not only are her professional triumphs lauded, and our justice system explained, the authors do an excellent job of rounding out her rich life: wife in an egalitarian marriage, mother, and close friends with her polar opposite on the bench, Justice Scalia. The one misstep is the clumsy handling of the justice's cancer, introduced as "her struggle." Young readers may need more clarification. However, the book's strengths far overshadow this stumble. This version shares the same knockout formatting as the adult edition: a plethora of photographs and images leaving nary a page unadorned, and slim informational inserts, such as "How to be like RBG" and "RBG's workout," that lend this serious subject a lighthearted tone.