Individual Liberties

Chapter and Young Adult Books: Nonfiction

Bill of Rights, by Sheila Rivera (Edina, MN: ABDO Publishing, 2004). An overview of the history of the Bill of Rights.

Bill of Rights (Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, various dates). This series includes titles on many of the rights protected by the first ten amendments to the Constitution, including freedom of the press, right to a jury trial, the right to bear arms, freedom from self-incrimination, and more.

Dancing to America, by Ann Morris, photographs by Paul Kolnik (New York: Dutton, 1994). This photo essay tells the story of a young dancer whose family emigrated from the Soviet Union to gain both religious freedom and greater freedom of expression.

A Fence Away from Freedom: Japanese Americans and World War II, by Ellen Levine (New York: Putnam’s, 1995). The internment of Japanese Americans is an important historical example of when the perceived need for security outweighed rights. Levine has gathered oral histories of young people interned in the camps; these personal statements are both moving and informative.

Landmark Supreme Court Cases (Springfield, NJ: Enslow, various dates). This series provides background on key cases, arguments on both sides, the Court’s decision, and a description of the impact of the decision. “Questions to Think About” are included in each book. Cases covered include Brown v. Board of Education, Ferrell v. Dallas I.S.D., Dred Scott, Cruzan v. Missouri, Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, and Engel v. Vitale.

Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX, by Karen Blumenthal (New York: Atheneum Books, 2005). This book looks at the impact of a specific law—Title IX, which required that girls be given equal opportunities to play school sports as boys.

Linda Brown, You Are Not Alone, edited by Joyce Carol Thomas (New York: Hyperion Books, 2003). Thomas has collected poems and prose written by ten well-known children’s authors, who reflect on the person impact of the Brown v. Board of Education decision.

Martin Luther King Jr.: Dreaming of Equality, by Ann S. Manheimer (New York: Lerner Publishing, 2004). A biography of the civil rights leader.
Remember: The Journey of School Integration, by Toni Morrison (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2004). A beautiful photo essay about the struggle to integrate schools.

Tinker vs. Des Moines: Student Rights on Trial, by Doreen Rappaport (New York: HarperCollinls, 1993). This book includes narrative text about the famous free speech case, as well as newspaper clippings, excerpts from the trial transcripts and the judge’s decisions, and interviews with major “players’ in the case 27 years later. The book is one in a series entitled “Be the Judge, Be the Jury.”