Lady Bird Johnson, "Deeds, Not Words," and Dutiful Citizenry

Libraries and librarians, specifically those which/who collect, disseminate, share and utilize targeted works of children’s literature, may serve as excellent conveyors of much-needed civic understandings – going beyond how a bill becomes law to an emphasis on fact-checking, reasoning, listening, and consensual decision-making.<br>Works for young people which highlight American history, when shared by school and public youth service librarians, may specifically serve as bridges between historical events and the “handling” or courageous resolution of real-world issues. These humanistic understandings will help children develop into citizens capable of calling on lessons learned from the past as a means of resolving collective American problems, i.e. improving policy or legislative processes, and/or arriving at well-considered answers to our modern problems.<br>Our recent publication, <i>Rollin’ on Down the Line: Lady Bird Johnson’s 1964 Whistle-Stop Tour for Civil Rights,</i> is an example of nonfiction which fosters civic discussion and participation.