[Nonfiction Wednesday] From Reader to Leader to Presidential Candidate

Nonfiction+Picture+Book+Challenge+2020

Myra here.

We are delighted to join the Nonfiction Picture Book meme 2020 hosted by Alyson Beecher @ Kid Lit Frenzy. We would also be linking our nonfiction choices with our reading themes throughout the year, when we can.

While this picturebook biography does not really zero in on reading, Hillary Rodham Clinton’s thirst for learning and reading books was peripherally featured, making it tangentially related to our current reading theme. 🙂

Hillary Rodham Clinton: Dreams Taking Flight (Amazon | Book Depository)

Written by Kathleen Krull Illustrated by June Bates
Published by Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers (2015 – updated for 2016, first published 2008)
ISBN: 1481451138 (ISBN13: 9781481451130)
Borrowed from NLB Singapore Overdrive. Book photos taken by me.

I am an unabashed fan of Hillary Rodham Clinton – and Kathleen Krull is one of my favourite picturebook biographers. Hence, I have been looking for this title for quite awhile now, and was very thrilled to find it on Overdrive.

The story begins with Hillary portrayed as a young girl, dreaming of becoming an astronaut. Unfortunately, these dreams were off-limits to women at the time. Still, she persisted. She read a lot, talked and argued, and nurtured her mind. I especially liked the quotes interspersed here and there throughout the pages, depicting Hillary’s voice like a whisper.

Her career trajectory had never been easy. As a woman, there were many things that she struggled to work around with. She encountered misogyny, faced sexism head-on, and never really apologized for her intelligence and the fact that she is better than most men in the room.

Her pivotal meeting with Martin Luther King and how it was instrumental in shaping what she would decide to do with her life was depicted here as well. The image above with her nose buried in books is a testament to this limitless thirst to learn and understand the world.

While I would not say that I am a fan of the artwork, I liked the image above – as it humanized the former First Lady and Presidential Candidate (who by right, should have won the election, but that is a story for another day), indefatigable as she is, still succumbing to much-needed rest.

I especially appreciated the lengthy Afterword, labeled Flying Facts that served as a footnote for each page of the book, the source of the material and the quote, and further historical notes to deepen the narrative further. This would be a great title to pair with the book below: