Publication May 6, 2025
A diverse collection of entertainers who've achieved first in a field, ranging from current names we'd all know to older, past achievers in a wide variety of fields. The illustrations are simple yet realistic with colorful graphics and charts/boxes of info scattered throughout. Each artist basically gets a one page text into with a full color rendering of them on the next. See the cover for an example of those rendering, While I tended to flip through, stopping, going back and forth, and enjoying the illustrations as I browsed. It's well-written and gives a brief recap of who, what, and why they're included, so even artists you don't know are nicely introduced.
I considered it a real plus that so many different fields were included. All types of people in all kinds of fields, each achieving in their own ways. Everything from Taylor Swift and her amazing Eras Tour and Lin-Manuel Miranda of Hamilton fame on the cover, to lesser known but equally amazing personalities like Megan Piphus Peace, the first female puppeteer on Sesame Street and Carol Shaw, the first female game creator for Atari. The fields are nicely broken down for you at the back, btw, with artists listed in their category. I might also note that while Miranda obviously gets a mention, he's included as part of the whole of the cast of the musical Hamilton, a nice nod to the diversity of that cast. I'd also somehow missed that musical artist Billie English has Tourette's Syndrome, a disease that makes her rise to fame all the more amazing given that vocal renderings are often impacted by the disease. And, never fear, there are "oldies" included, too. I liked that both Desi Arnez and Lucille Ball were showcased, for instance, including her becoming the first female president of a studio at the time, one that produced the likes of "Star Trek", I might add.
These are just a few of the talented artists showcased here. It was a delight to be reminded how artists have broken barriers, including Geri Jewell, the first actress with an open disability to star in a television series and wheelchair actress Ali Stoker, who won a Tony for her role in the musical "Oklahoma". I can't leave out a mention of Peter Dinkage, either, who was born with achondroplasia, a rare form of dwarfism but hasn't let it slow him down. So many wonderful personalities to meet and, as noted, this is just a handful of those to get to know in this book. There's also a timeline as well as chart of categories mentioned, and a solid list of where you can find out more. Thanks #SourcebooksKids for allowing me an early peek at this fun book. I appreciated the author's reminder that more firsts are being created every day. I mean, it wasn't that long ago few of us had ever heard of poet Amanda Gorman, so let's keep our eyes and ears open for the next "firsts".
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