Review Detail

The She Persisted series of biographies featuring women has a new addition to the series to learn about Deb Haaland. Deb Halaand is an American citizen and a citizen of Pueblo of Laguna Natives. This biography does a nice job of defining concepts and terms that work well for second and third-grade readers. The struggles with racism and government practices that are detrimental to the native nations in America are discussed. The theme of persistence is evident throughout as Deb realizes that she could be the first in her family to attend college. She did not let setbacks hold her back from a life of service in helping Native nations gain protection in our current government. She has broken barriers and is a positive representative for other girls and people of native citizenship to see they too have a voice in our government. At times she struggled with financial security which made her able to understand where many Americans and natives are coming from and is not an out-of-touch rich politician. Overall, I like the positive goal of the She Persisted series and the representation of a Native American to help us all remember that they deserve to be heard and protected as well.