As author Chambers states on the opening page: “Verbs are words that move the world forward.” In seven consecutive terms as a U. S. Congresswoman, Shirley Chisholm helped our nation move forward in countless ways: initiating the WIC program (assisting Women, Infants and Children in need of food), working on the Education and Labor Committee, helping create the national school lunch program and the Congressional Black Caucus, opposing the undue influence of big money in politics, and setting the bar high in her run for the office of United States President in 1972. Veronica Chambers’ picture book biography Shirley Chisholm Is a Verb! captures the beginnings of Chisholm’s purposeful life in her elementary classroom in Barbados where teachers encouraged her to speak up, and in her family home in Brooklyn where reading and study provided inspiration for her early career in education. Soon realizing she wanted to help even more people, Shirley won a seat on the New York State Assembly and then, in 1968, became the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress. Always, she advocated for the rights of all people to be heard, and for gender and racial equality. The energy and principles she brought to her work were expressed in her campaign slogan “Unbought and Unbossed” and in the confidence she demonstrated even when she faced forceful opposition to her participation. Chisholm’s broad smile, her determination, and her forward-looking persona leap from the page in Rachelle Baker’s dynamic illustrations. And, as author Chambers writes: “Shirley’s verbs, her words, and her actions PLANTED the seeds of possibility for others.” Readers will learn in a personal note from the author, at the end of the book, that her interest in Chisholm sprang from seeing, in her Brooklyn neighborhood, Chisholm’s Congressional campaign posters featuring the picture of a woman who looked much like her. There is no doubt that Shirley Chisholm has been an inspiration that will empower political participation for a long time to come. Ages 5-9. Dial Books for Young Readers, New York, 2020.
