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Shirley for Justice:
How One Girl's Fight for a Library Card Led All the Way to the Supreme Court
Written by Colleen D. Ball
Illustrated by Alison McDole
Orange Hat Publishing
Forthcoming, September 8, 2026
Books are for everyone. So is justice.
In 1937, four-year-old Shirley Abrahamson, the daughter of Polish Jewish immigrants, announced that she wanted to be president of the United States. At age six, she changed her mind. She wanted to be a lawyer. But it was the day a New Jersey librarian refused her a library card—just because her parents didn’t own property—that the bookish eight-year-old Shirley learned what fairness really means, and what injustice feels like.
Shirley later became a lawyer and made history three times: as Wisconsin’s first woman justice, its first woman chief justice, and its longest-serving justice at forty-three years. She spent her career standing up for justice and implementing award-winning programs to demystify courts. Her programs engage children and adults alike, helping them understand what judges do and the importance of an independent judiciary. Today, in honor of her legacy, the doors of a library swing open beneath her name, welcoming everyone who loves books—no matter who they are or where they live.
Shirley for Justice releases on September 8, 2026, marking the 50th anniversary of Shirley Abrahamson’s investiture as Wisconsin’s first woman justice. September is also National Library Card Sign-Up Month—a fitting time for her story to reach young readers. Pre-order your copy now:
Coming soon to Bookshop.org, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. Subscribe and we'll send you those links when they go live.
Or, ask your local library to order a copy!
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-64538-865-4
Softcover ISBN: 978-1-64538-864-7
Explore the real-life versions of key moments in the book:
Hear Shirley recall being denied a library card:
Audio excerpted from Justice Ann Walsh Bradley’s August 2007 interview with Shirley Abrahamson for the ABA Women Trailblazers in the Law Project, https://purl.stanford.edu/pv635xx3530
Watch Shirley become Wisconsin's first woman justice:
Source: Video excerpt courtesy of WKOW 27 News, Madison, Wisconsin (September 1976).