WOMEN in Congress: Contemporary and Historic Change-Makers!

Calkins Creek, 2023
Imprint of Astra Books for Young Readers

I'm eager to share two important picture books about United States Congresswomen. The first is, in fact, about the very first woman who was elected and served in Congress. A TAKE-CHARGE GIRL Blazes a Trail to Congress is written by Gretchen Woelfle and illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon. Jeannette Rankin's story begins in "the old West". As a teen in Missula, Montana, she helped care for younger siblings, cooked, cleaned, sewed, and stepped up in every emergency that arose. She was no slouch when it came to brains, earning a college degree, teaching school, studying science, and working as a dressmaker and hat designer. Nothing felt "right" to her, until, at age twenty-seven, she visited a San Francisco neighborhood of destitute poverty. She decided she could do the most good by training as a social worker.

After working there and in New York City with women and children in need of everything from food to clothing to health care to shelter to education, she saw an even greater need than one woman or organization could meet. Rankin resolved that the best way to help was to change the laws. But women did not even have the right to vote. In 1910 she traveled and spoke and campaigned across the country for federal laws to allow women to vote. When her home state of Montana led the nation in guaranteeing women's rights to vote in 1914, Jeannette went a step further and ran for office. Her take-charge approach included a grass-roots effort to reach every voter in Montana, and that finally included women. She was a tireless advocate for protections and rights for children and women, declaring, accurately, that she might be the first woman serving in Congress but she would not be the last! 

More than a century has passed since Congresswoman Rankin was sworn in, and female representatives are still far fewer than the 51% of women within our national population. Even so, the current Congress has a record number of female representatives, 29%. That's exactly 128 women members of the total 440. Back matter in this important biographic profile of a female political change-maker highlights some of her many historic accomplishments, including a timeline of her life.

CLARIOON BOOKS, 2022

For a contemporary look at one of those 128 current women elected to serve, read about a Congresswoman whose success is equally remarkable and historic. MAMA IN CONGRESS: Rashida Tlaib's Journey to Washington, is co-authored by Rashida Tlaib, Adam Tlaib, and Miranda Paul, with illustrations by Olivia Asser. The narrator's voice is that of Rashid's son, Adam, who recounts the ways in which his family supports his mother's campaigns and her service, as well the struggles and outright resistance their family has met to help her succeed. Across the intervening century, active resistance is less about her being a woman than it is about her identity. But she was not, would not be stopped.

The causes supported by both Tlaib and Rankin center on JUSTICE, on ensuring a level playing field  for all, and on providing the security of basic life needs for everyone, regardless of background or origins.There is much to learn from both women in these two outstanding picture books, and each title is likely to spark curiosity while  inspiring young girls and women to consider engaging with political roles. There are also valuable nuggets of learning about government functioning and processes in each. Don't miss out on either title.