In her book, The Voice That Won the Vote: How One Woman's Words Made History, Boxer tells the story of Harry Burn, a young Republican legislator in Tennessee.
She describes how Harry was affected by a handwritten letter from his mother, Febb, that gently urged him to pass a vote for equality (and "to be a good boy"). He kept the note in his pocket as he voiced the deciding "aye" ratifying the Nineteenth Amendment and making history. (Tennessee was the thirty-sixth state to pass the amendment, which made it the law of the land.)
Boxer, an Emmy-winning journalist who lives in Maine, said the story appealed to her immediately after her literary agent her told her about it. "I've always been interested in the little-known figures that have managed to make their mark," she said.
When she began researching the story, she found that no one had written a book—for either adults or children—about the mother and son. Instead, Febb's contribution to the women's suffrage movement was "more of a footnote."
"But she's such a key player in helping American women get the vote. I knew this was a story I wanted to tell," Boxer continued. "It had a natural narrative arc, with suspense and a twist at the end."
As a journalist, she is also drawn to real-life stories, and says that writing nonfiction for children is a wonderful way to teach them history.
These days, Boxer has heard of teachers reading her book online to students, with tools like Google Hangouts. And more parents than she expected are buying the book as they seek homeschooling materials to share with their children.
"What I've been hearing from kids is that they didn’t know about this woman, Febb Burns, and that they were happy to see a mother telling her son what to do!" Boxer said.
At the moment, Boxer is working on several more children's nonfiction books, a couple of them about "unsung heroes."
"Most of my writing is about people whose voices have traditionally been silenced," she said. "Hopefully that inspires in kids that their voices matter."
