Read These Books! (Children's Dept. Edition)
It's Women's History Month, and it's time to recommend all those books that just weren't quite right for some other occasion. It's an excuse to pull out a biography of a famous woman at random and put it on display somewhere. I love all the ______ History Months, because it reminds us to fill up display cases with books that don't always get attention, mostly because great nonfiction is often just sitting around waiting for someone browsing for something to write a report on, or a teacher with a specific lesson plan. This month, come look at the following awesome, inspiring, totally-worth-owning titles:
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice, by Phillip Hoose
If you haven't read this every-award-it-could-win-winner yet, you must. Somehow Claudette's story wasn't part of my history education, and I wish it had been. She's an inspiration to teen activists (and the rest of us) everywhere.
I'll Pass for Your Comrade: Women Soldiers in the Civil War, by Anita Silvey
Okay, so I haven't read this because I just discovered it on the shelf (yes, we discover things we've never seen here, too) but someone has got to come down and get this! I'm a sucker for books about women in history cross-dresssing to get ahead, and this looks like an awesome one.
Independent Dames: What You Never Knew About the Women and Girls of the American Revolution, by Laurie Halse Anderson, illustrated by Matt Faulkner
This is a picture book, so it'll work for five- to seven-year-olds, but the info is great even for older kids. Did you ever hear of “Mom” Rinker, who sat on a cliff and pretended to knit socks all day, but was really passing secret messages to American soldiers by rolling her ball of yarn down the cliff as they waited below? Or Sybil Ludington, who, at sixteen, rode forty miles to alert Americans of a British attack (the book reminds us that old Paul Revere only rode sixteen miles)?
Indie Girl: From Starting a Band to Launching a Fashion Company, Nine Ways to Turn Your Creative Talent into Reality, by Arne Johnson & Karen Macklin
Just a great book to give to your young adult who's itching to make, do, or be something new. Includes zines, slams, and most everything else you'd want to know how to put together.
My Little Red Book, by Rachel Kauder-Nalebuff
We looooove this book. Really, really, buy-multiple-copies-for-ourselves love this o
ne. It's a compilation of stories about getting your first period, told by women young and old. Is there one about running from Nazis? Yes, there is. How many people mention Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret? Probably a dozen. We all sat around recommending favorites to each other the other day, and it was a bonding experience for sure.
As always, if you have your own favorites, leave them in the comments!
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