Two Friends: Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass by Dean Robbins (author), Sean Qualls (illustrator), and Selina Alko (illustrator) (2016, Orchard Books; 32 pages) This is one of the most exquisite pictures books I’ve read this year, beautifully illustrated by Sean Qualls & Selina Alko, two artists who also collaborated on the fantastic book The Case for Loving. The award-winning author Dean Robbins has created a wonderful children’s book based on the friendship between two of the greatest Americans of all time, Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglas. The author explains in a note that this book imagines what it was like when Frederick Douglas met Susan B. Anthony at her house to talk about ideas. The two became friends in Rochester, New York, in the mid 1800s. At that time, slavery was legal in the United States, and so was discrimination against women. Anthony worked hard for women’s rights, as did Douglass for African American rights, and they became two of the greatest American champions of freedom. Today, in Rochester, where they used to live, a statue shows the two friends having tea. Dean Robbins imagines that conversation with a cup of tea in their hands while the snow falls outside, and he does so in an impeccable way. He also describes important details of the era, like both friends' wardrobes, for example ("Frederick wore a gentleman’s jacket, vest, and tie. Susan wore a kind of pants called “bloomers.” She liked them better than the heavy dresses women were supposed to wear.") The rhythm and tempo of the book is perfect. Once the setting is described, and the characters put in the temporal context, each friend their life story, and doing so, they pass along to the reader a well of fantastic information in a very clear and concise way, enriched by a fabulous vocabulary. After they share they stories “Frederick and Susan ate their cake and talked about their plans.” The change of font type and size stresses the importance of that moment in history and in the lives of both friends, and the illustration that accompanies the text, with the snow falling outside the window, the candlelight and the beautiful contrast between a white woman and a black man sharing a piece of cake and a cup of tea while talking and looking at each other’s eyes is just mind blowing. This book is a must for readers of all ages. A wonderful story and a powerful tool to open the door to one thousand conversations between parents and young readers. Find this title in our catalog: Two Friends Recommended by: Maite
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