What Louis Brandeis Knows

“What the first Jewish U.S. Supreme Court justice knew could fill a book… A solid introduction to an honorable man, known for his fair-minded rulings.“—Kirkus Reviews

“Notable episodes in the personal and professional development of Louis Brandeis, a groundbreaking lawyer, show how his upbringing and lived experiences fueled his ascent to the Supreme Court, as its first Jewish justice… Clear and compelling present-tense text shapes loosely interpreted primary documents, including Brandeis’s recollections and writings, into dialogue detailing noteworthy vignettes… A commendable addition to biography collections, especially those emphasizing social justice.“—Booklist

“Emphasizing what Louis Brandeis (1856–1941) ‘knows,’ Michelson draws readers into this stirring biography of the U.S. Supreme Court’s first Jewish Justice. Brandeis’s knowledge begins at age five: ‘he knows his parents came to America in 1848’ because Prague was not safe for Jews. As the child matures, his father’s refrain—’Any fool knows…;—shapes his thinking. Brandeis’s first battles revolve around accessing education; later, as a young lawyer facing antisemitism, he finds notoriety via a right-to-privacy case. Taking on his father’s catchphrase, he helps others seek equity and fairness, work that eventually results in his swearing-in as a Supreme Court Justice.“—Publishers Weekly

“This picture-book biography follows Louis Brandeis (1856–1941) from his secular Jewish childhood in Kentucky with immigrant parents from Prague through his career as an attorney and up until the moment he became a Supreme Court Justice, fighting for equality for all… the book’s present-tense voice gives the events a sense of immediacy, while the mixed-media illustrations have a stylized quality that aptly change in tone and style from page to page.“—The Horn Book

“Richard Michelson and Stacy Innerst have prepared an artful and informative book about America’s leading Jewish jurist. I know that Louis Brandeis’s grandson, my late husband, Frank Brandeis Gilbert, would be delighted by this important project. It will enlighten the lives of young readers and, perhaps, older readers as well.” —Ann Gilbert

Richard Michelson is the author of The Language of Angels- The Reinvention of Hebrew, winner of the Sydney Taylor Book Award and the National Jewish Book Award, and Fascinating- The Life of Leonard Nimoy, which received the Massachusetts Book Award Honor, a Sydney Taylor Award Silver Medal, and an NCSS Notable Book. His most recent picture book is One of a Kind- The Life of Sydney Taylor. He owns R. Michelson Galleries, is the host of Northampton Poetry Radio, and is the current poet laureate of Northampton, MA.

Painter and educator Stacy Innerst is the illustrator of The Book Rescuer- How a Mensch from Massachusetts Saved Yiddish Literature for Generations to Come, winner of the Sydney Taylor Award; Ruth Bader Ginsburg- The Case of RBG vs. Inequality, which received the New York Times/NYPL Best Illustrated Children’s Books Award; The Music in George’s Head, which received the SCBWI Golden Kite for Picture Book Illustration. His most recent books include The Painter and the President, and Joan Mitchell Paints a Symphony.

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