Women’s History (Not Just for Girls)

A WOMAN FOR PRESIDENT?

	In Kelly DiPucchio’s Grace for President (Disney-Hyperion, 2012), when Grace discovers that there has never been a female president (“Where are the GIRLS?”), she decides to run in her school’s mock election. For ages 5-8.
	By Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen, Ballots for Belva (Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2008) is a picture-book biography of Belva Lockwood, who ran for president – in 1884, long before women won the right to vote. For ages 6-9.
	Kathleen Krull’s A Woman for President (Walker Children’s Books, 2006) is a picture-book biography of Victoria Woodhull whose astonishing life involved any number of firsts – she was the first woman to sit on the New York Stock Exchange, the first woman to own a newspaper, and the first woman to speak before Congress. She was also a passionate defender of women’s rights, and in 1872, became the first woman to run for president. A fascinating story for ages 7-11.
	Catherine Thimmesh’s Madam President: The Extraordinary, True (and Evolving) Story of Women in Politics (Houghton Mifflin, 2004) is a cleverly designed collective biography of women who fought for political rights, with a frame story about a young girl who is pooh-poohed (“You…? A…GIRL?”) for wanting to grow up to be president. Featured women include Abigail Adams, Eleanor Roosevelt, Susan B. Anthony, Sandra Day O’Connor, Jeanette Rankin, Margaret Chase Smith, Francis Perkins, and Margaret Thatcher. The book also has a timeline and resource list. For ages 9-14.
	Kathleen Krull’s A Kid’s Guide to America’s First Ladies (HarperCollins, 2017) covers 45, with biographical information and catchy facts. A “Women Break Through” timeline notes important historical events in the course of various administrations. For ages 9-12.

TRAILBLAZING AND TRIUMPHS

	Chelsea Clinton’s She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World (Philomel, 2013) is a charmingly illustrated introduction to brave and persistent women – starting with Harriet Tubman. The title refers to Senator Elizabeth Warren’s refusal to be silenced on the floor of the Senate. For ages 4-8.
	Lynne Cheney’s A is for Abigail (Simon & Schuster, 2003) is an “Almanac of Amazing American Women” with scads of adorable cartoonlike illustrations by Robin Preiss Glasser. Despite the suggestive title, this is not a one-woman-per-letter alphabet book, but instead, in clever capsule fashion, covers dozens of remarkable women. P, for example, is for performers (many); W for writers (ditto); F for First Ladies; and D – though ostensibly for Emily Dickinson – covers a long list of other talented female poets. Abigail, of course, is Abigail Adams, who so famously wrote “Remember the ladies.” For ages 6-9.
	Debbie Levy’s I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark (Simon & Schuster, 2016) is a picture-book biography of the famous Supreme Court justice for ages 6-10.
	For teens and adults, see Irin Varmon’s Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Dey Street Books, 2015) – also available in a Young Reader’s edition for ages 8-13.
	RBG (2018) is an excellent doucmentary about the life and accomplishments of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Rated PG.
	By Vashti Harrison, Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History (Little, Brown, 2017) covers over 40 notable African-American women from American history, from Phillis Wheatley and Sojourner Truth to Rosa Parks, Ella Fitzgerald, and Katherine Johnson. For ages 8-11.
	Cynthia Chin-Lee’s Amelia to Zora: Twenty-Six Women Who Changed the World (Charlesbridge Publishing, 2005), on the other hand, is a one-woman-per-letter alphabet book, running from A is for Amelia (Earhart) and B is for Babe (Didrikson) though Z is for Zora (Neale Hurston). For each featured woman, there’s a one- to two-paragraph biography, an illustration, and a quotation. (There’s a companion volume: Akira to Zoltan: Twenty-Six Men Who Changed the World (Charlesbridge, 2006).) For ages 8-12.
	Kathleen Krull’s Lives of Extraordinary Women: Rulers, Rebels (and What the Neighbors Thought) (Harcourt Children’s Books, 2000) is a witty and information-packed collection of short clever biographies. Arranged in chronological order, the book begins with Cleopatra and proceeds through 19 others, among them Eleanor of Aquitaine, Joan of Arc, Catherine the Great, Queen Victoria, Harriet Tubman, Tzu-Hsi, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Golda Meir. For ages 9-12.
	By Shweta Jha with colorful illustrations by Jennifer Orkin Lewis, All Hail the Queen: Twenty Women Who Ruled (Chronicle Books, 2019) covers twenty of history’s greats in chronological order from Hatshepsut, female pharaoh of Egypt through England’s Queen Victoria, Hawaii’s Queen Liliuokalani, and Queen Marie of Romania. For ages 9 and up.
	Andrea Davis Pinkney’s Let It Shine (Sandpiper, 2013) tells the stories of ten black female freedom fighters, among them Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Mary McLeod Bethune, Rosa Parks, and Shirley Chisholm. For ages 8 and up.
	Kate Schatz’s RAD American Women A to Z (City Lights, 2015) is a collective biography of a wide range of history-making women (“who didn’t keep their heads or voices down”) from Angela Davis to Zora Neale Hurston. For ages 10 and up.
	The “Outrageous Women” series includes Mary Rodd Furbee’s Outrageous Women of Colonial America (Jossey-Bass, 2001), Outrageous Women of the American Frontier (John Wiley & Sons, 2002), and Outrageous Women of Civil War Times (Jossey-Bass, 2003); and Vicki Leon’s Outrageous Women of Ancient Times (John Wiley & Sons, 1998), Outrageous Women of the Middle Ages, and Outrageous Women of the Renaissance. Each 128-page book has chatty and detailed biographies of over a dozen influential women. (Not all are exactly outrageous, but all are interesting.) For ages 10-14.
	Jill Lepore’s The Secret History of Wonder Woman (Vintage, 2015) is a fascinating cultural history of the famous superhero, whose creator was inspired by early feminists and suffragists. For teens and adults.
	The National Women’s Hall of Fame has information about great American women (searchable by first or last name). Included for each is a picture, a brief biography, and a resource list.
	Scholastic’s Women Who Changed History has profiles of Mae Jemison, Amelia Earhart, Rosa Parks, Sally Ride, and Melba Pattillo, History Mystery challenges, a women’s history math hunt, activities, a book list, and more.