Becoming RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Journey to Justice

Form follows content in Levy and Gardner’s methodical but spirited graphic novel primer on the female Supreme Court justice. The narrative plants seeds early on that bloom later in Ginsburg’s career: her first brushes with anti-Semitism as a child in 1940s New York and her encounters with dismissive men as a law student (and new mother) at Harvard instill a passion for justice. Just as important to her eventual success, her own mother embodies poise and pragmatism, and her husband, Marty, encourages her career growth and cooks for the family. These dual themes of struggle and support are threaded throughout the creators’ depiction of Ginsburg’s love for the law and its vital documents. They humanize the icon by simply and expertly depicting how she earned her status: each new sexist discrimination building upon the last, drawn as stepping stones on a road to equality. Gardner’s tidy, bluescale illustrations feature pops of red for emphasis, paralleling the bursts of passion and humor in Ginsburg’s deliberate life. The result is an excellent introduction to a woman who has no doubt already inspired a generation of lawyers and scholars; Levy and Gardner’s well-crafted biography may recruit a few more. Ages 10–up. [em](Nov.) [/em]