2003-2004 Texas Bluebonnet Books
Author Pam Munoz Ryan and artist Brian Selznick combine their impressive talents in this picture book biography to paint a portrait of a young black girl in the early 20th century who rises to stardom via her distinctive twenty-four note contralto voice in spite of the racism and segregation of the time. "It was her range of notes that caused all the commotion. With one breath she sounded like rain, sprinkling high notes in the morning sun. And with the next she was thunder, resounding deep in a dark sky".
The winner of the 2003 Orbis Pictus Award opens with an elegant stage that transforms on the next page to reveal a two page spread showing young Marion singing from the window of her Philadelphia home beyond the backdrop of the stage. Selznick's sepia toned illustrations augment the text beautifully, providing easy transitions for Munoz-Ryan's crisp text which is interspersed with compelling lyrics from the gospels sung by Marion Anderson.
Despite her talent, Anderson at eighteen was refused admission to a music school, "We don't take colored." When a trip to the Metropolitan Opera instilled in her a dream to perform there; she again renewed her commitment to further her study of music. Given an opportunity to audition for the famous Guiseppe Boghetti, she was again denied, until she closed her eyes and began to sing. Boghetti responded with "You will be able to go anywhere and sing for anybody." She traveled to Europe where she met acclaim everywhere, but upon her return to America, she was again denied the right to sing in Washington D.C.'s Constitution Hall because of its "white performers only" policy. With the support of President Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor and the support of many Americans, she was finally invited to sing before a crowd of 75,000 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
Selznick's illustrations again supply rich detail, showing a close-up of Marion's face, singing with her eyes closed on one two page spread and then transitioning to a view from the perspective of the racially mixed crowd on the next two pages as she belts out her encore performance of "Nobody Knows the Trouble." At the age of 57, she finally got the opportunity to sing at the Metropolitan Opera. The book concludes, "At long last, she had reached the sun and the moon. The curtains parted�..and Marion sang."
Notes from both the author and illustrator at the end of the book describe the inspiration for the book and give further details of the life of Marion Anderson. There is also a timeline and a discography.
Ryan, Pam Munoz. 2002. When Marion sang: The true recital of Marian Anderson, the voice of a century. Illus. by Brian Selznick. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN: 0439269679.
