Marian Anderson: A Great Singer (Great African Americans Series)

Gr 3-5-This revision is a superb introduction to the life of this remarkable woman. Miss Anderson, as she was known, was born into humble surroundings in 1897 in Philadelphia. At the age of six, she began singing in her church choir. She took music lessons from Giuseppe Boghetti, a renowned teacher. Despite a disastrous New York City debut and incidents of racism, Miss Anderson sang at many places in the United States, including the White House, Lincoln Memorial, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Although a few changes have been made to the 1991 text, including the addition of the singer's death in 1993, the majority of the changes are graphical. The original included several illustrations that have been mostly replaced with clear, crisp, black-and-white photographs. The layout has been reworked for a more clean and contemporary look. A time line has been added, as well as a page of further resources, which includes Internet addresses. Even libraries that own the earlier version will want this fresh and appealing new edition.

Kristen Oravec, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Strongsville, OH

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Reviewed with Patricia and Fredrick McKissack's Booker T. Washington.

Gr. 2-4. These titles are revised editions of volumes from the ongoing Great African Americans series published 10 years ago. In both volumes, the visuals and formats have been much improved. Numerous black-and-white photos now replace the marginal ink drawings in the older volumes, and the layouts are much more inviting. New back matter includes time lines, revised reading lists, and recommended Web sites. The unexceptional text remains largely unchanged from the originals, but these titles offer solid, straightforward biographies of legends whose stories are not often told for such a young audience. Gillian Engberg
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