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7th out of 45 books
—
15 voters
When Marian Sang: The True Recital of Marian Anderson
A harmonious introduction to one of our country's most important singers--as envisioned by two of our industry's most important voices. Wide trade & institutional appeal.
Marian Anderson is best known for her historic concert at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, which drew an integrated crowd of 75,000 people in pre-Civil Rights America. While this momentous event showcased...more
Marian Anderson is best known for her historic concert at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, which drew an integrated crowd of 75,000 people in pre-Civil Rights America. While this momentous event showcased...more
Hardcover, 40 pages
Published
October 1st 2002
by Scholastic Press
(first published January 1st 2002)
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I was so excited to find this book after falling in love with Ryan and Selznick's other book Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride Based on a True Story "When Marian Sang" did not disappoint!
My book came with a companion cassette recording which I thought was just going to be of Marian's famous Lincoln Memorial performance but was actually a narration of the story. What I liked about this: we got to hear the songs from the book--isn't it neat to KNOW what the songs are supposed to sound like, rather...more
My book came with a companion cassette recording which I thought was just going to be of Marian's famous Lincoln Memorial performance but was actually a narration of the story. What I liked about this: we got to hear the songs from the book--isn't it neat to KNOW what the songs are supposed to sound like, rather...more
Oct 11, 2008
Lara's
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Parents & children 2nd - 5th grade
Shelves:
childrens-non-fiction
Synopsis
: An introduction into the life, struggles and accomplishments of one of the world's greatest singers, Marian Anderson. Best known for her historic concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, which drew an unprecedented integrated crowd in a pre-Civil Rights America.
Review : Born in 1897, Philadelphia was a segregated community. Children will read about Marian's childhood dream to sing at the Metropolitan Opera. Of course, during this time, there were many obstacles that stood...more
Review : Born in 1897, Philadelphia was a segregated community. Children will read about Marian's childhood dream to sing at the Metropolitan Opera. Of course, during this time, there were many obstacles that stood...more
Her story is so inspiring! I only wish a CD had accompanied this book so that I could listen to her singing. Brian Selznick's illustrations are beautiful in their shades of brown, especially the gorgeous two-page spreads at the end of the book. Made me want to read more about her. Highly recommended!
The cover of this book caught my attention because it has a woman singing gently with starts in the background and the letters of the title are written in gold. Then the first page in the book does not have a title or copyright information; it is just a picture. It is a beautiful picture all in gold of a stage with fancy details around it and five balconies with tons of seats and a huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The next page shows the curtains open with a little girl singing on the s...more
Pam Muñoz Ryan’s When Marian
Sang offers a moving tribute to the life
of Marian Anderson, highly acclaimed
for her beautiful voice. She is best
known for her concert on the steps of
the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, which
drew an integrated crowd of 75,000
people. Anderson’s quiet strength of
character helped break down many social
and cultural barriers in pre–Civil
Rights America. Throughout the text,
Anderson’s feelings of sorrow, elation,
fear, courage, and loneliness are punctuated
by short quotes from the l...more
Sang offers a moving tribute to the life
of Marian Anderson, highly acclaimed
for her beautiful voice. She is best
known for her concert on the steps of
the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, which
drew an integrated crowd of 75,000
people. Anderson’s quiet strength of
character helped break down many social
and cultural barriers in pre–Civil
Rights America. Throughout the text,
Anderson’s feelings of sorrow, elation,
fear, courage, and loneliness are punctuated
by short quotes from the l...more
Grade/interest level: 3rd-5th
Reading level: 780 Lexile (3.9 reading Level)
Genre: Picture Book
Main Character(s): Marian Anderson
Setting: Nature
Author: Pam Munoz Ryan, illustrated by Brian Selznick
Theme: African American history, Civil Rights, Music and Women’s History
When Marian Sang, is a wonderful book written by Pam Ryan and illustrated by Brian Selznick. This book is an informational book that teaches students about the life and triumphs of Marian Anderson. Miriam was most well known for...more
Sep 20, 2012
Linda
added it
"When Marian Sang" by Pam Munoz Ryan, is an enlightening and moving story about a young girl with an amazing gift that cannot be silenced despite the racial climate at that time.
Marian Anderson was a little girl who was encouraged by both her parents to share her beautiful voice with her church choir and when people heard her sing they could not believe that such an amazing voice was being carried by such a little girl. Her gift gave her the courage to seek professional training but she was tur...more
Marian Anderson was a little girl who was encouraged by both her parents to share her beautiful voice with her church choir and when people heard her sing they could not believe that such an amazing voice was being carried by such a little girl. Her gift gave her the courage to seek professional training but she was tur...more
This is a fantastic picture book for older readers. Marian Anderson's life story is told through the illustration and the text. The book tells the story of Marian as a child and leads all the way up to historic concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, during re-Civil Rights America. The beautiful illustrations also express the emotional and hard journey Marian faced. As a little girl everyone wanted to hear her voice. The book does an excellent job of giving intimate details of her...more
I recently reread this informational picture book -- and although I was reading it to glean information about Brian Selznick's illustrative style, I was incredibly moved by the story of Marian Anderson. One of the most famous singers of her generation, friend of Eleanor Roosevelt, a cause celebre of the nascent Civil Rights movement, and yet it took a picture book (ostensibly for children) to teach me a bit about her extraordinary life and talent. Sometimes it makes me sad that I live in England...more
When Marian Sang is a biography written about Marian Anderson. It is an award winner of The Robert F. Sibert Honor and the Maryland Black Eyed Susan Award. This book is targeted towards primary but mostly intermediate children. It is a book about Marian Anderson's life. The book includes her concert on the Lincoln Memorial steps and her impact through the civil rights movement. Her life was very inspirational. She was extremely talented and lived through a hard time when things were not easy for...more
Summary: When Marian Sang is a biography of Marian Anderson from the time she was a young girl until she performed her grandest performance with the Metropolitan Opera. This book depicts her monumental performances as well as the set backs she faced growing up in a segregated and discriminatory county. For a young audience, it introduced a world renown singer in a few short yet vivid pages.
Age Range: This story is written as a picture story however I would suggest this for an older audience. Po...more
Age Range: This story is written as a picture story however I would suggest this for an older audience. Po...more
Independent Reading: 2-4th grade
Selznick captures the attention of possible readers with the dominant image of Marian Anderson singing her signature style with her eyes closed on the cover of Ryan’s book, “When Marian Sang”. He then continues his detailed illustrations that span over one entire page and flows into the next throughout the book. He uses an array of brown, black, and beige tones to give the feeling of the aged time period of Marian’s life. Ryan extended the informative text using c...more
Selznick captures the attention of possible readers with the dominant image of Marian Anderson singing her signature style with her eyes closed on the cover of Ryan’s book, “When Marian Sang”. He then continues his detailed illustrations that span over one entire page and flows into the next throughout the book. He uses an array of brown, black, and beige tones to give the feeling of the aged time period of Marian’s life. Ryan extended the informative text using c...more
Grades 2-4
This book would serve as a wonderful way to introduce young readers to the life and times of Mariion Anderson. Ryan does a great job of picking out the highlights of Marion's life in order to create this book. Including snippets of the songs that Marion sang invites the reader to experience some of Marion's deepest turmoils. The illustrator caught the era of this time period with the use of sepia tones in his artwork. It is interesting how Marion always seems to shine in the book. The...more
This book would serve as a wonderful way to introduce young readers to the life and times of Mariion Anderson. Ryan does a great job of picking out the highlights of Marion's life in order to create this book. Including snippets of the songs that Marion sang invites the reader to experience some of Marion's deepest turmoils. The illustrator caught the era of this time period with the use of sepia tones in his artwork. It is interesting how Marion always seems to shine in the book. The...more
Reading level: 1-5
Selznick uses an interesting assortment of colors in the illustrations. The use of browns, creams, and occasional color make the time period seem somber and almost dark. There is a dramatic effect that is added in the shading and the faces of the people. Also, the pictures are very large on the page, taking up about ¾ of each page. Then, the text is on the sides of the page, in white space so that it is separated from the rest of the text. Ryan uses a mixture of plain text and...more
Selznick uses an interesting assortment of colors in the illustrations. The use of browns, creams, and occasional color make the time period seem somber and almost dark. There is a dramatic effect that is added in the shading and the faces of the people. Also, the pictures are very large on the page, taking up about ¾ of each page. Then, the text is on the sides of the page, in white space so that it is separated from the rest of the text. Ryan uses a mixture of plain text and...more
I did enjoy WHEN MARIAN SANG. I did not know Marian Anderson before reading it and wish, now, I could meet her. The plot and theme were similar to a dozen African-American Athlete stories that have been written or made into television shows and movies. Yet this touched me more—perhaps it was the lyrics that peppered the pages, or the idea that “high art” such as opera, might transcend street violence or prejudice, or the fact that she was accepted internationally before she was accepted at home...more
Marian loved to sing and she did it very well. This story describes the talents and struggles of a gifted singer, in the times of racial barriers in the 20th century. We follow Marian from her childhood, singing in church, through her rejection to a music school that refused to take her because of her color, to her success despite the challenges of racism and prejudice.
We find that Marian Anderson is best known for her historic concert at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, which drew an integrated cr...more
We find that Marian Anderson is best known for her historic concert at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, which drew an integrated cr...more
Summary: This book is a biography about Marian Anderson. Marian is known for a concert she had on the Lincoln Memorial back in 1939. The biography begins with Marian as a child. She loved to sing and she always was humming while working. Her voice stood out and was so “strong and velvety” that all wanted to hear her sing. The choir director wanted to hear her sing and paired her to sing the low parts of the song. She was then being invited to other churches to sing as well. Marian sang with her...more
A beautiful book, especially in the CD version. Marian Anderson's moving story of overcoming hardship and bigotry is wonderfully told by Pam Munoz Ryan and Brian Selznick. The harshness of the discrimination she experienced is not minimized, but the persistent goodwill in the story overwhelms the negativity. While others were focused on racial divisions, Anderson remained focused on becoming the singer and artist she felt born to be. Ryan takes us from little Marian singing in her kitchen to her...more
Grades: 2nd - 4th
This story serves as a welcome introduction for young readers to Marian Anderson. The author does a fantastic job of picking out the highlights of this talented singer's historic career. The text is very easy to read, and weaved into the main story are snippets of Anderson's song lyrics, which stand out by way of italicized font. It is a nice way to bring her history and her music together. The artwork is intricately detailed and captures the time frame well. There is mainly ear...more
This story serves as a welcome introduction for young readers to Marian Anderson. The author does a fantastic job of picking out the highlights of this talented singer's historic career. The text is very easy to read, and weaved into the main story are snippets of Anderson's song lyrics, which stand out by way of italicized font. It is a nice way to bring her history and her music together. The artwork is intricately detailed and captures the time frame well. There is mainly ear...more
When Marian sang is big beautiful picture book biography about the legendary singer Marian Anderson. Marian was a young girl born in 1897 in South Philadelphia growing up in a town where African American people didn’t have the same and equal rights the white people while also dealing with segregation issues. Marian loved to sing and sang at her church and other black function.
Growing up Marian wanted to take her singing to a higher level and go to a singing school but was rejected because of he...more
Growing up Marian wanted to take her singing to a higher level and go to a singing school but was rejected because of he...more
Recommended for grades 1st -3rd
One of America's greatest singers, Anderson was hardly known in her own country because of her race--music schools ignored her applications, saying, "We don't take colored!") and even after she began singing professionally, many venues only featured white performers. Ryan's story becomes especially moving as she recounts Anderson's overwhelming success in Europe . The book reaches its climax with a wordless, deep brown two-page spread from Selznick, a crowd's-eye...more
One of America's greatest singers, Anderson was hardly known in her own country because of her race--music schools ignored her applications, saying, "We don't take colored!") and even after she began singing professionally, many venues only featured white performers. Ryan's story becomes especially moving as she recounts Anderson's overwhelming success in Europe . The book reaches its climax with a wordless, deep brown two-page spread from Selznick, a crowd's-eye...more
2nd-4th Independent Read
Ryan presents a picture book biography on Marian Anderson, her amazing voice and her struggle for equal rights. The opening pages are represented as a opera house full of people with Marian singing from a lit window of her home. The title page is done as a program. The illustrations take up three quarters of a 2 page spread with text on the other fourth. Selznick's illustrations are done in Liquitex acrylics in shades of brown, cream and gold. The text was done in 13-poin...more
Ryan presents a picture book biography on Marian Anderson, her amazing voice and her struggle for equal rights. The opening pages are represented as a opera house full of people with Marian singing from a lit window of her home. The title page is done as a program. The illustrations take up three quarters of a 2 page spread with text on the other fourth. Selznick's illustrations are done in Liquitex acrylics in shades of brown, cream and gold. The text was done in 13-poin...more
When Marian Sang is an honor book winner of the Robert F. Sibert award. This is a beautiful picture book which details the true story of Marian Anderson's journey to become a famous singer and the first black person to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in 1955. The illustrations are large and overtake the pages with the words in smaller print. This book has the ability to teach children about the struggles between races in American during that time. It is serious but also beautifully written and...more
4rd – 6th grades
Selznick used a lot of neutral colors which I feel made the pictures more meaningful. I feel that the lack of bright colors really made the pictures dramatic and brought them to life. You could see the emotions of everyone in the pictures and I felt like I could feel those emotions as well. The text was large and spaced well for students to read. The concept of the story was very inspiring as well. The story will help the students realize how hard it was back then for diverse peo...more
Selznick used a lot of neutral colors which I feel made the pictures more meaningful. I feel that the lack of bright colors really made the pictures dramatic and brought them to life. You could see the emotions of everyone in the pictures and I felt like I could feel those emotions as well. The text was large and spaced well for students to read. The concept of the story was very inspiring as well. The story will help the students realize how hard it was back then for diverse peo...more
3rd-6th grade
The illustrations are very important in this book because they take up a large part of the reading page. The illustrations all seemed to be in a sepia tone, which give the artwork a feeling of the time period. The story is a biography and could be read as an independent read, however the way the book is set up it would work best for a read aloud. This story would appeal to kids because of the spirit of perseverance that Marian exhibited throughout her life. She didn’t give up even w...more
The illustrations are very important in this book because they take up a large part of the reading page. The illustrations all seemed to be in a sepia tone, which give the artwork a feeling of the time period. The story is a biography and could be read as an independent read, however the way the book is set up it would work best for a read aloud. This story would appeal to kids because of the spirit of perseverance that Marian exhibited throughout her life. She didn’t give up even w...more
1st to 3rd Grade Read aloud
Selznick’s warm paintings create beautiful and dramatic images of Marian Anderson’s life and journey. He uses a rich palette of blacks, browns and whites to depict a historical view of this inspiring, talented singer’s story. Ryan brings the story to light with her text, which is targeted toward primary students as a picture book. Large images and abundant text fill each page leading the audience through the “recital” of Anderson’s rise to acclaim as a renowned African...more
Selznick’s warm paintings create beautiful and dramatic images of Marian Anderson’s life and journey. He uses a rich palette of blacks, browns and whites to depict a historical view of this inspiring, talented singer’s story. Ryan brings the story to light with her text, which is targeted toward primary students as a picture book. Large images and abundant text fill each page leading the audience through the “recital” of Anderson’s rise to acclaim as a renowned African...more
3rd-5th grade
Ryan wrote the story about how Marian Anderson was trying to be the best singer there was. The illustrations depicted how real pictures would have been in that time era with the sepia tones. a few small pages had slight color, and thats when Marian was performing. I believe this was done to show how important it was. The story began with an introduction of Marian and her songs before starting out the real story of how Marian overcame her struggles of not being allowed to sing. At th...more
Ryan wrote the story about how Marian Anderson was trying to be the best singer there was. The illustrations depicted how real pictures would have been in that time era with the sepia tones. a few small pages had slight color, and thats when Marian was performing. I believe this was done to show how important it was. The story began with an introduction of Marian and her songs before starting out the real story of how Marian overcame her struggles of not being allowed to sing. At th...more
Marian Anderson called her voice a gift from God. When Marian sang, the world stopped to listen. Even from the time she was a young child, people came for miles around to hear the remarkable voice that could sound like rain, fireflies, and thunder. Life was not easy for this lady with the celebrated voice. As a black singer in an America filled with prejudice in the early 1900s, she was denied access to hotels, concert halls, and restaurants because of her race. Unwilling to "fight" for civil ri...more
When Marian Sang gives children an insight into the life of Marian Anderson and the troubles that she had to overcome in order to be an African-American professional singer. This book tells the touching story that shows with hard work and dedication and a little bit of talent it is possible to overcome even the most severe of obstacles.
There were several things that I really liked about this book. The illustrations were beautifully done but simple enough that each picture had a meaning to it. Th...more
There were several things that I really liked about this book. The illustrations were beautifully done but simple enough that each picture had a meaning to it. Th...more
This book explores the life and career of Marian Anderson – hence being catalogued as a biography! Marian Anderson was an extraordinary singer and civil rights activist. She was the first African American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera to a crowd of more than 40,000 people of diverse backgrounds. The accompanying illustrations were fabulous, telling as much of the story as the words themselves. The author provides further information about the life and times of Marian Anderson in a biograp...more
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Apr 01, 2011 05:37am
Indeed!
Apr 01, 2011 09:56am