Third Branch eNews

A new children’s picture book biography introduces young readers to former Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson’s path from a childhood experience with a library card to her historic service on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

“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 and illustrated by Alison McDole, is scheduled for release September 8 by Orange Hat Publishing.

The release coincides with the 50th anniversary of former Chief Justice Abrahamson’s 1976 investiture as Wisconsin’s first woman justice. September is also Library Card Sign-up Month, a national observance that encourages children and families to connect with their local libraries.

The book begins with a story from former Chief Justice Abrahamson’s childhood. As an 8-year-old in New Jersey, Shirley Abrahamson was denied a library card because her parents did not own property. The book uses that experience to introduce young readers to fairness, access, and the importance of asking whether rules serve the people affected by them.

Former Chief Justice Abrahamson was appointed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1976. She served until 2019, making her the longest-serving justice in Wisconsin history. She served as chief justice from 1996 to 2015 and was the first woman to hold that position in Wisconsin.

Throughout her career, former Chief Justice Abrahamson emphasized public understanding of the courts, civic education, judicial independence and access to justice. In 2009, the National Center for State Courts awarded her the Harry L. Carrico Award for Judicial Innovation, recognizing her work to safeguard judicial independence, improve interbranch relations and expand public outreach.

The book’s illustrations also include two familiar Wisconsin Supreme Court figures: former Chief Justice Ann Walsh Bradley and Justice Rebecca Frank Dallet. The appearances offer a reference to later generations of women on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and to former Chief Justice Abrahamson’s influence.

Former Chief Justice Bradley, who served with former Chief Justice Abrahamson on the Wisconsin Supreme Court for 24 years, provided an endorsement for the book.

“Shirley Abrahamson spent her life opening doors: to books, to courts, to justice, and to a fuller understanding of democracy,” former Chief Justice Bradley wrote. “This book remarkably captures the Shirley I knew.”

Ball, a Wisconsin attorney, author and Wisconsin Supreme Court law clerk, writes on her website that former Chief Justice Abrahamson swore her in as a lawyer after Ball graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School. Ball later appeared before the Wisconsin Supreme Court as an appellate lawyer and worked on committees and court-related projects connected to former Chief Justice Abrahamson’s public education efforts.

The book connects former Chief Justice Abrahamson’s early interest in fairness with themes that remained central to her career, including civic education, public understanding of the courts and access to justice. For young readers, it offers an introduction to one of Wisconsin’s most significant jurists and to the role courts play in state government.