Writing Toward Justice: The Life and Reporting of Alice A. Dunnigan (HC) (2026)

An inspiring nonfiction picture book for kids ages 7-10 from award-winning author and illustrator Peggy Thomas and Tonya Engel.

Alice Dunnigan knew all about injustice--she was the daughter of poor Black sharecroppers in Kentucky. But Alice also knew the key to fighting injustice was to speak out.

At 13 years old, she wrote to a Black newspaper asking for a job--and got it! It was only the beginning. After many years of hard work as a teacher, a cleaner, a typist, and a journalist, Alice became the first Black woman in the Capitol Press Corp. But one person was still beyond her grasp, a person who needed to be held accountable: President Truman. Would he keep his promise to support civil rights for Black Americans? By scrimping and saving for a ticket on the president's cross-country train tour, Alice was able to meet the president and win him over to her cause: justice.

Alice Dunnigan used her words as a moving force, writing America toward justice, a journey beautifully captured by author Peggy Thomas and illustrator Tonya Engel.