The Supreme Court (A True Book: American History)

by Christine Taylor-Butler

Overview

Explore the details of The Supreme Court.

A True Book: American History series allows readers to experience the earliest moments in American history and to discover how these moments helped shape the country that it is today. This series includes an age appropriate (grades 3-5) introduction to curriculum-relevant subjects and a robust resource section that encourages independent study.This book discusses how a case reaches the Supreme Court, its origins and history, particularly the time of John Marshall, which established the court's right to declare a law unconstitutional, and other noted cases, and describes how it works today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780531147863
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	03/01/2008
Series:	A True Book (Relaunch)
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	7.25(w) x 8.38(h) x (d)
Lexile:	820L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 10 Years

About the Author

Taylor-Butler studied both engineering and art & design at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Table of Contents

The Highest Court in the Land: How do cases get all the way to the Supreme Court?     7
Early Days: What was the Supreme Court like at the very beginning?     15
The Marshall Court: Who is John Marshall? Why should I care?     23
Famous Supreme Court Cases: What has the Supreme Court done for me?     29
The Case of the Close Call: Why did the Court need to help an election?     34
The Supreme Court Today: What happens inside the courtroom?     36
True Statistics     43
Resources     44
Important Words     46
Index     47
About the Author     48

Editorial Reviews

Gr 2-4- In these updates of the old "New True" series, the graphics take center stage. These books have more color, more eye appeal, more "pop" than older approaches to these often-studied topics. Unfortunately, they have more style than substance. Of the two, Supreme Court is more focused and therefore more effective in providing information. It answers the questions students will have, and includes some entertaining trivia. Presidency takes a more scattered approach. An explanation of the system of checks and balances is greatly simplified. A few examples are listed but no attempt is made to show the full effect that each branch of government has on the others. In discussing the executive branch, the author says, "The departments and agencies of this branch do many things." She then cites the CIA, Peace Corps, and Department of Labor, perhaps to illustrate the great variety of responsibilities within that branch, but does not offer a chart or diagram showing all of the cabinet posts and their purposes. As a result, children may be left confused as to how the presidency is related to the other areas. The back covers promise "surprising, TRUE facts that will shock and amaze you!" While these titles provide visually appealing, basic introductions to the topics, few readers will be shocked or amazed. Muriel L. Dubois's The U.S. Presidency (Capstone, 2003) takes a more straightforward approach to supplying facts.-Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA

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