Ketanji: Justice Jackson’s Journey to the U.S. Supreme Court

Concepts of aiming high and owning personal pride permeate this picture book biography of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson (b. 1970). Raised by civil rights activists and “born to shine,” Jackson was taught early on that “she could be and do anything she wanted, just by being herself.” Alongside Freeman’s realistic portraiture, Magoon’s affectionate prose recounts Jackson’s arc from a child hoping to be a lawyer like her father (piling “her coloring books alongside him”) to becoming a skilled member of her high school debate team and top of her Harvard class. Loftier goals carry her through a law degree, a prestigious clerkship, and a stint as a public defender, and concerns that her jobs weren’t “quite right” are eventually assuaged by the arrival of presidential court nominations, and, eventually, confirmation as a Supreme Court Justice. An aspirational closing notes that Jackson’s “star shines as brightly as ever, and now the whole world can see.” An author’s note and glossary conclude. Ages 4–8. (June)