Bookverdict.com

Gr 5-9 In the initial chapter, Freedman movingly and dramatically sets the stage for the performer's historic 1939 Easter concert at the Lincoln Memorial. In less than two pages, he captures the huge crowd's eager anticipation, briefly describes the controversy sparked by the Daughters of the American Revolution's refusal to allow Anderson to appear at Constitution Hall, and mentions the significance of the concert. He leaves readers at the moment when "A profound hush settled over the crowd.- she closed her eyes, lifted her head, clasped her ...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Freedman begins his biography of the great contralto with a moment of silence—the one that fell just before Marian Anderson began to sing the first note of her Easter Sunday concert at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939. From there, Freedman goes back to Anderson's childhood, moving quickly but gracefully to focus on her teenage years as a music student and the subsequent unfolding of her career—both setbacks and triumphs. Where other juvenile accounts of Anderson's life have portrayed her as a noble spirituals-singing civil rights heroine, Freedman corrects the balance, show...Log In or Sign Up to Read More