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ASJA Book Award Honoree | A Booklist's Editors' Choice title | A School Library Journal Best Kids' Book of the Year | An ALA Notable Children's Book | A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
One hundred years ago, a small-town science teacher ignited a nationwide debate over what students should learn in school--and who should decide.
* “Compelling.” -School Library Journal, starred review
* “Timely.” -Booklist, starred review
* “Insightful.” -Horn Book, starred review
* “Comprehensive and conversational.” -Shelf Awareness, starred review
In 1925, when Tennessee lawmakers banned the teaching of evolution in public schools, teacher John Scopes challenged the law--and set off a gripping circus of a legal battle. Two masterminds faced off in a blistering courtroom debate over creationism and natural selection, each armed with the books they believed belonged in classrooms. Celebrity politician William Jennings Bryan relied on the Bible to make his case, while legal luminary Clarence Darrow defended Charles Darwin's groundbreaking books On the Origin of Species and The Descent of Man. Their clash would go down in history as the Scopes Monkey Trial.
A century later, here is the riveting truth of what happened and why it matters. For a nation still arguing about the books and ideas that young people should encounter, award-winning author Debbie Levy delivers an important, insightful and expertly-researched account of our history that illuminates the challenges we face today.
Debbie Levy
Debbie Levy is the award-winning, New York Times-bestselling author of many books for young people, including the I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark; This Promise of Change: One Girl's Story in the Fight for School Equality (with Jo Ann Allen Boyce); The Year of Goodbyes: A True Story of Friendship, Family, and Farewells; A Dangerous Idea: The Scopes Trial, The Original Fight Over Science in Schools; The Friendship Train: A True Story of Helping and Healing after World War II; and Becoming RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Journey to Justice. Her books have received many honors and awards, including the Sydney Taylor Book Award, National Jewish Book Award, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Honor, and the Orbis Pictus Honor. Before writing books for young people, Debbie was a newspaper editor, and before that, she was a lawyer.
More by Debbie Levy
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