Let Your Voice Be Heard: The Life and Times of Pete Seeger

by Anita Silvey

Overview

Pete Seeger, the iconic folk musician and multiple Grammy winner, discovered early in life that what he wanted to do was make music. His amazing career as singer, songwriter, and banjo player spanned seven decades, and included both low points (being charged with contempt of Congress) and highlights (receiving the Kennedy Center Honor from President Clinton). An activist and protester, Seeger crusaded for the rights of labor, the rights of people of color, and the First Amendment right to let his voice be heard, and launched the successful campaign to clean up the Hudson River. Archival photographs and prints, source notes, bibliography, index.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547330129
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	08/02/2016
Pages:	112
Sales rank:	708,107
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.70(d)
Lexile:	1050L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 12 Years

About the Author

Anita Silvey has spent more than thirty years in the children's book field, including eleven years as editor-in-chief at the Horn Book Magazine. She is the editor of Children’s Books and Their Creators and the author of 100 Best Books for Children and The Book-a-Day Almanac.

Editorial Reviews

05/30/2016
In her admiring portrait of Pete Seeger (1919–2014), Silvey (Untamed: The Wild Life of Jane Goodall) presents clearly the folk singer and activist’s passionate commitment to music and social justice. After a privileged upbringing and two years at Harvard, Seeger “acquired an encyclopedic repertoire of folk songs” while working at the Archive of American Folk Song. He began playing banjo with Woody Guthrie in 1940 and devoted his life to singing for causes he considered just: organized labor, civil rights, and environmental and antiwar campaigns. After establishing Seeger’s success as a singer, Silvey devotes a chapter to his commitment to the environment (specifically, cleaning up the Hudson River), then jumps from the early 1970s to the 2009 inauguration of President Obama. Silvey provides well-supported, well-rounded context for Seeger’s moral stances, personal life (including his wife’s supportive role as his manager), and enduring claim to folk-song fame with such influential contributions as “Abiyoyo,” “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” “Guantanamera,” “Michael, Row Your Boat Ashore,” and “We Shall Overcome.” Archival photographs, source notes, and a bibliography are included. Ages 10–12. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Huffington Post Best Picture Books of 2016 "...the brevity of this title, along with its notes and resources, make it an excellent choice for reading aloud and discussing in American history classes. Just add the music." –Bulletin "With the engaging, well-illustrated biography Let Your Voice Be Heard: The Life and Times of Pete Seeger, author Anita Silvey explains how this unlikely folk-music hero turned singalongs into social change." –The Washington Post * "A lively, unique contribution to the biography shelves." –Booklist, STARRED review "Silvey provides well-supported, well-rounded context for Seeger’s moral stances, personal life (including his wife’s supportive role as his manager), and enduring claim to folk-song fame..." –Publishers Weekly "A fine introduction to a musical icon." –Kirkus "Through personal interviews, as well as primary source materials, Silvey creates a flowing biography for the middle school audience." –School Library Journal —

From the Publisher

07/01/2016
Gr 5–7—Silvey traces the influences and happenings that would take Pete Seeger, born to classical musician parents, from a place of wealth down to the union halls, small towns, and never-ending crusade against injustice. Seeger is shown learning from the likes of Alan Lomax and Woody Guthrie and coming to understand economic inequality, workers' rights, and civil rights. To bring the message of folk music and peace to a greater audience became Seeger's—and by extension this book's—quest. Through personal interviews, as well as primary source materials, Silvey creates a flowing biography for the middle school audience. She succeeds in portraying the strength of the singer's convictions, even in the face of adversity, which included a 10-year persecution by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Each chapter begins with a verse from Seeger's repertoire of music—some original and others renditions of traditional songs. VERDICT The subject is presented in such a way that readers will feel close to Seeger and be inspired to pursue more information on him and the causes he fought for.—Sharon M. Lawler, formerly at Randolph Elementary, Randolph AFB, TX

School Library Journal

2016-05-14
Silvey examines the life of Pete Seeger, whose folk music and social activism brought both worldwide acclaim and a decade of government persecution.Born into a privileged family in 1919, Pete attended boarding schools from third grade, isolated from his divorced parents and family. He read voraciously and incubated his interests in the outdoors, journalism, art, and music; a high school teacher introduced him to the banjo. After dropping out of Harvard, Seeger pursued a winding path that included performing children's concerts and cataloging folk music at the Library of Congress. The straightforward narrative chronicles Pete's musical arc—from hardscrabble touring with Woody Guthrie and the Almanac Singers to the phenomenal success of the Weavers, who introduced Americans to folk and world music. Silvey links Seeger's music with his commitment to social causes, from workers' rights and civil rights to the antiwar and environmental movements. She skillfully illuminates Seeger's 10-year ordeal during the tenure of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Surveilled, blacklisted, subpoenaed, arrested, tried, and convicted, the former Communist Party member was vindicated on appeal in 1962. Silvey's afterword frankly acknowledges Seeger as a personal hero, avowing that her biographer's neutrality was trumped by her research into Seeger's unjust treatment by the FBI and HUAC. A fine introduction to a musical icon. (photographs, quotation source notes, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-12)

Kirkus Reviews