Lisa Rose

In 1937, the African American singer Marian Anderson sang at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey. By that year, she had international renown, but in America, she was still forced to ride in segregated train cars and stay in segregated housing. This book for kids is about that performance, the restrictions against her, and the friendship that came out of it.

When she was done at the theater, Marian asked the theater owner if he could arrange a room for her to stay at the nearby hotel. He loudly proclaimed it was a whites-only hotel. (And in fact, as Smithsonian Magazine reports, no hotel in all of Princeton would admit her.) One of the audience members then stepped forward to invite Marian to stay at his house in his spare room; it was Albert Einstein. He explained that he too, being Jewish, had been rejected by his own country, and had to flee from the Nazis in Germany. He could empathize, he was to say in an interview, with how Black people felt as victims of discrimination.

Once they arrived at Einstein’s house, they ate, talked, and made music together. Einstein told her how much his mother loved music and that he had almost become a musician instead of a scientist. Then Einstein played the violin, and Marian sang along. The author writes:

“It was the beginning of a friendship that would last long after that evening.”

Rose also reports: “Years later, when the world had changed, Marian returned to the McCarter Theatre.” This time, the owner asked her if he could make a reservation for her at the same hotel she had tried to stay in previously. And this time, Marian said:

“‘No, thank you.’ She would be staying at the home of her friend Albert.”

Back matter includes an author’s note giving brief additional background about both Albert Einstein and Marian Anderson.

While not mentioned in the back matter, the Smithsonian article referenced above records:

"For his anti-racist activism, he [Einstein] was placed under FBI surveillance by J. Edgar Hoover. While Hoover's FBI refused to investigate the Ku Klux Klan and other white terrorist organizations, there wasn't a civil rights group or leader they didn't target. By the time of his death, the FBI had amassed 1,427 pages of documents on Einstein, without ever demonstrating criminal wrongdoing on his part.”

Illustrations by Isabel Muñoz are colorful with more of an animation feel than of realism. But the pictures do convey the warm friendship between these two talented people.

Evaluation: The background information on Marian Anderson and Albert Einstein is far too inadequate to flesh out this story for young readers. But the anecdote upon which the book is based is a memorable one, and one hopes kids in the suggested audience of ages 5-10 will be inspired to find out more on their own about each of these notable people. The book also does not include a list of suggested sources for further reading, but one good place to start with Marian Anderson is the above-referenced Smithsonian article, online here. You can read more about how Einstein used his fame to attack racism here… (mer)

The Singer and the Scientist by Lisa Rose is a beautifully illustrated true story.

I was not aware of this incredible, historical friendship but I was more than happy to learn about it! If you want to learn about an unexpected friendship that was helpful and respectful, this book is great. It also shows some famous, public figures that you may (or may not have!) heard of.

I highly recommend this picture book. It's a great story and it's non-fiction but it doesn't feel that way. The humility, the wonderful story and the incredible illustrations make this one top favourite book.

Four out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lerner Publishing Group and Kar-Ben Publishing for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.… (mer)