Marian loved to sing and she did it very well. I highly recommend the whole reading/listening experience! Selznick's actually brought tears to my eyes!!!Īfter I finished this, I went on YouTube to find some of Marian's performance so I could actually hear HER sing. Selznick's artwork is so captivating and moving-I absolutely loved it! You can almost HEAR Marian sing just by looking at her soulful eyes and expressions.īe sure you read the notes at the back of the book. I thought this was a wonderful and balanced portrayal of an amazingly talented woman who also happened to become an idol of the civil rights cause (as the historical notes state, she was not always comfortable with this designation!) This is not a 'poor me' story, despite the obsticles she faced. So, I ended up switching it off half way through and just reading the book.Īs for the BOOK itself: Marvelous! I love how Ryan conveys such humanity and spirit amidst good historical detail.

What I did NOT like: this was NOT actually Marian Anderson's actual performances (I wanted to hear HER voice!) and it took a really, really long time to 'read' with all those songs-some of them were very very slow. What I liked about this: we got to hear the songs from the book-isn't it neat to KNOW what the songs are supposed to sound like, rather than guessing? Especially for something historic. My book came with a companion cassette recording which I thought was just going to be of Marian's famous Lincoln Memorial performance but was actually a narration of the story. I was so excited to find this book after falling in love with Ryan and Selznick's other book Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride Based on a True Story 'When Marian Sang' did not disappoint!

When Marian Sang by Pam Muñoz Ryan