Parents' Guide to

I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark

Book Debbie Levy Picture Book 2016
I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

Jan Carr By Jan Carr , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 6+

Inspiring bio of Supreme Court justice empowers girls.

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Why Age 6+?

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age 7+

Based on 1 parent review

June S.
June S. Parent
April 8, 2017
age 7+

Callie wrote a letter

My Great granddaughter read the book. She is almost 7 years old. She read it to her class in the library. Then she wrote a letter to Judge Ginsburg in which she said that "I dissent a lot, too!" She is a constant reader in the 1st grade doing 4th grade level work. She loves to read!
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What's the Story?

I DISSENT: RUTH BADER GINSBURG MAKES HER MARK tells the story of how Ruth Bader Ginsburg rose to become a Supreme Court justice. Born into a Jewish family in 1930s Brooklyn, she grew up when girls were expected to raise families but not participate in the workforce, and encountered prejudice against Jews and other minorities. But Ruth's mother supported her ambitions and education, and Ruth went on to attend law school, where she met her husband and started a family, sharing household and child-rearing duties, an unconventional arrangement at the time. When law firms wouldn't hire her, she worked as a law professor and argued cases about equality for women. President Jimmy Carter appointed her as a judge in Washington, D.C., and Bill Clinton appointed her to the Supreme Court, the first Jewish woman on the nation's highest court, where she continued to fight for equality. A few meaty pages of afterword include more detail about Ginsburg's life and the important court cases she influenced.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (1 ):

This bio of Justice Ginsburg is supremely inspiring, breaking down complicated ideas about the constitution, legal system, and issues of equality for young readers while celebrating Ginsburg's life. Levy cleverly pulls out words that show Ginsburg disagreeing with the status quo and organizes the narrative around them. The young Ruth in I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark not only dissented, she also "protested," "objected," "disapproved," "resisted and persisted," and "did not concur" -- which arms young girls with a vocabulary to use when they run up against opposition.

Illustrator Elizabeth Baddeley's illustration works perfectly with the text, vividly portraying the settings and experiences of the young Ruth, who's pictured with a determined glint in her eye, rendering her relatable to smart, plucky girls everywhere.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the injustices portrayed in I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark. How has the world changed since RBG was young? Do you see injustice? What can you do about it?

  • Ruth liked to read about heroines in her favorite books. What female characters do you like?

  • The author introduces lots of words to characterize Ruth's response to things she disagrees with: dissent, protest, object, does not concur. Can you think of ways you can apply them to your life?

Book Details

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