This is a terrific book readers of all ages will appreciate.
Twenty-six women are highlighted from a variety of cultures, races, ethnicities and fields of accomplishment: one for each letter in the alphabet (e.g., Amelia Earhart, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Cecelia Payne-Gaposchkin, Dolores Huerta, Eleanor Roosevelt, etc.) Each page features a brief biography and a famous quote.
Succinct and interesting background is provided for the following 26 women:
Amelia Earhart, pilot and pioneer for women
Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Olympic athlete extraordinaire
Cecilia Payne-Gasposchkin, astronomer and first woman professor at Harvard
Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers union
Eleanor Roosevelt, first lady & civil rights activist
Frida Kahlo, painter, folklorist, and activist
Grace Hopper, computer scientist and first female doctorate in math at Yale
Helen Keller, advocate for the disabled, poor, women, and minorities
Imogen Cunningham, famous portrait and plant photographer
Jane Goodall, scientist, ethologist, & animal rights activist
Kristi Yamaguchi, Olympic ice skating champion
Lena Horne, entertainer and civil rights activist
Maya Lin, architect, notably of the Vietnam War Memorial
Nawal El Sadaawi, medical doctor and women’s rights activist
Oprah Winfrey, entertainment entrepreneur
Patricia Schroeder, congresswoman, and champion of women’s rights
Quah Ah, Pueblo artist and pioneer for Native American women’s rights
Rachel Carson, environmentalist, notably campaigning against pesticides
Aung San Suu Kyi, political leader and activist; Novel Peace Prize winner
Mother Teresa, servant of the poor; Nobel Peace Prize winner
Ursula Le Guin, feminist writer and author
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Indian diplomat and activist for Indian rights
Wilma Mankiller, chief of the Cherokee nation and activist for Native rights
Chen Xiefen, journalist and activist for women’s rights in China and Japan
Yoshiko Uchida, writer and activist for Japanese American rights
Zora Neale Hurston, anthropologist and writer
The extremely creative illustrations by Megan Halsey and Sean Addy are mixed-media collages made from drawings, photographs, flowers, maps, cloth, and landscapes in an entertaining representation of the essence of the woman being profiled.
A selected bibliography is at the back of the book.
Published by Charlesbridge, 2005