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Brilliant Books to Celebrate Women’s History Month By Jenna Vandenberg
March is Women’s History Month, a perfect time to pick up recently published books about women and girls accomplishing amazing and unexpected things. This list features females from around the globe who train eagles and horses, dream up infamous monsters, kayak the Amazon, fight for reproductive rights, protect water and learn to not be perfect. Some of the books are about fictional females, such as Akissi, a fast-talking mischief-maker from the Ivory Coast. Others feature historical figures, such as Mary Edwards Walker, a Civil War physician who wore what she wanted. Still other titles walk the line between fact and fiction, such as a darkly illustrated book in verse about Mary Shelley or the reimaging of a Muslim woman from a Lord Byron poem. Nearly all tell the story of how women and girls have crashed through gender barriers to live the life they were meant to.
PICTURE BOOKS
“Around America to Win the Vote: Two Suffragists, a Kitten, and 10,000 Miles” by Mara Rockliff, illustrated by Hadley Hooper With their yellow car, their tiny cat and their trunk of very useful things, two smiling women set out from New York City to tour the country and spread the message that women deserve the right to vote. Alice and Nell attended parties, got stuck in icy streams, went to all-yellow lunches and got lost in Arizona. They returned home with a full-grown cat to a warm welcome.
Featuring delightful illustrations, this book is a joyful adventure tale. It’s a fun book to read out loud to little ones, who will enjoy finding the cat on each page. Several pages of back matter will help answer questions about the funny-looking car, the strange idea that women shouldn’t vote and queries about how the book was researched. “Mamie on the Mound: A Woman in Baseball’s Negro Leagues” by Leah Henderson, illustrated by George Doutsiopoulos Mamie Johnson always loved playing baseball, and when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, she hoped to play, too. However, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League wasn’t ready to give African American players like her an opportunity. But Mamie chased her dream anyway. At age 19, the 5-foot-4-inch pitcher earned a spot playing in the mostly male Negro Leagues. With the Indianapolis Clowns, she struck out batters at Comiskey Park and Yankee Stadium. After three seasons on the field, Mamie, the first female pitcher in professional baseball history, returned home. She raised a son, had a successful nursing career, and continued playing and coaching baseball for the rest of her life. “Mary Wears What She Wants” by Keith Negley The imaginative pink-and-blue art is the real star of this short and sweet book about Mary Edwards Walker. Although there is a blurb about the Civil War surgeon at the end of the book, the story is set in Mary’s childhood, when she decides to wear pants to school.
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