A Woman Who Raced for the Stars: Kalpana Chawla, Astronaut

 Everyone knows this hard truth: Becoming a NASA astronaut is a daunting challenge. 

BEAMING BOOKS, 2024

That has been true from the earliest days of space travel, and continues to be true today. JOURNEY TO THE STARS: Kalpana Chawla, Astronaut, co-written by Laurie Wallmark and Raakhee Mirchandani and illustrated by Maitreyi Ghosh, shares an impressive true story of a young girl who eventually reached that goal. 

What ARE the requirements? Check NASA's page, HERE. Better yet, read this terrific new biographic account of a remarkable young girl who grew up in love with the sky! The requirements are all in there, and she met/exceeded them but still faced setbacks. You may be one of those people who is afraid of heights of any kind, or one who loves flying, or even one who mountain climbs or otherwise enjoys extreme height sports. Kalpana Chawla knew, even as a young girl in India, that a view from on high was thrilling. She craved it. From her family home rooftop she would watch for passing pilots to wave and imagine herself up there, flying with them. 

That's just the opener for this chronologic profile of the first woman from India who followed her dreams and became a NASA astronaut, meeting every one of those requirements, and more. Author Laurie Wallmark is widely admired for her picture books that celebrate Women in STEM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Math). I've reviewed several of her titles and posted interviews with Laurie HERE, HERE, and HERE, among others. 

In many cases, cultures, and eras, girls/women are actively discouraged from (if not outright denied) pursuit of their interest in STEM areas or access to  attend the institutions that help lead to successful careers. In the case of Kalpana, her parents provided both encouragement and opportunities at early ages. The steps and stages through which she proceeded toward her goal are described as straightforward and inspiring, revealing not only hard work and persistence, but also her  determination and joyful engagement in these studies. She also developed whole-person, whole life activities that assured the fitness, endurance, and broad knowledge that contributed to her eventual selection as a NASA astronaut.

Chawla's two space assignments were on shuttle flights, but she also fulfilled many other successful assignments. Despite various delays in training, she acquired those skills and worked in NASA's control center while preparing her for inflight experimentation and her role as controller for the robotic arm. Throughout it all, she fully embraced her identity as an American citizen but also her Indian cultural heritage, including foods, music, sports, and her own personal history. Co-author Mirchandani provides a  note on the back pages to share the importance of Chawla as a role model in her own life and in sharing those successes with her own daughter. Chawla is not the most widely known NASA astronaut, in part because her life was cut tragically short. I was impressed that this fact was not centered or used to launch her story, or even included in the main text. This woman's life and career is inspiring, based on her lived values and accomplishments, not just because she was one of several astronauts whose lives were lost in a NASA accident. Don't miss her honors listed on back pages, and the timeline will make clear how many impressive and courageous accomplishments she packed into her short life.

Illustrations are vibrant and exciting, with Chawla's fascination and enthusiasm for so many interests and pursuits shining through at every age and situation pictured. The quality of the pages/paper enhances the brilliant, saturated colors that offer contrast between the many deep indigo sky backgrounds and the colorful figures, expressions, and clothing, or even the background white-space on some pages. The spine and endpaper "astronaut orange" choice is ideal. I'm counting on each of you to share this with girls, especially, but with any child who has big dreams and might not be getting the validation and encouragement to help support them into their futures, where setbacks too often become stop signs. Chawla's life models the truth that delays or rejections can be seen as opportunities to forge stronger paths forward. And don't wait for (or limit this to) WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH.

Women's History Month Begins: DIshwashing Machines and Calculators!

 

Yes, I'll admit it. I often insist that theme months often cut both ways, calling much-needed attention to underrepresented individuals but also tempting classrooms and libraries to "feature" the theme for only one month of the year. When the other eleven months return to tried and true dominate-culture titles or other topics, it's a fierce endorsement of "othering" anyone who is NOT of the dominant culture and identity. I've made no secret of those concerns, HERE, HERE, HERE, and more. Yet here I am, celebrating a series of nonfiction titles that deserve that year-round attention. No better time to start than NOW!

Calkins Creek, 2023
Imprint of Astra Books for Young Readers

What's not to like about washing dishes... if a safe and reliable machine can do it for you? Back in 1891, no such machines were available for sale... yet. But when Josephine Garis Cochrane invented, refined, patented, and manufactured just such a machine for home use, one local paper shouted her praises. She was praised for setting women free from\

 "...the most slavish and disgusting task of housekeeping!"

To learn more, read JOSEPHINE and Her DISHWASHING MACHINE: Josephine Cochrane's Bright Invention Makes a Big Splash, written by Kate Hannigan and illustrated by Sarah Green.

Josephine lived with enough means to have domestic help, yet the process of washing dishes, especially after a crowd, left her precious dishware dinged and chipped. Not one to complain without taking action, she plunged in to wash them herself, only to discover how much precious TIME was wasted in this process. As a modern woman (in post-Civil War 1800's) she was aware of many new inventions, some even created by women inventors. With a family heritage of inventors, Josephine was driven to create a machine that could safely and thoroughly wash and rinse her dishes without damaging them. 

She not only imagined, sketched, and revised, she got to work with tools and her own two hands to bring her ideas into the world. This book credits the man, George Butters, who worked on these attempts with her (something rarely done by male inventors when assistants were women). It also indicates the near-disastrous impact of her husband's early death and ensuing debts.But Josephine was as determined as she was modern, which this book depicts with colorful and appealing illustrations that reveal much about the time, circumstances, and processes that led her to eventual successes. Efficient and compelling text throughout make Josephine's personality and accomplishments shine as brightly has her newly washed dishes. The expanded content in back matter provide excellent additional resources.

Calkins Creek, 2023 
Imprint of Astra Books for Young Readers

THE BRILLIANT CALCULATOR: How Mathematician EDITH CLARKE Helped Electrify America. Written by Jan Lower and illustrated by Susan Reagan.

Josephine and Edith had much in common, particularly their vision for what was needed and how they might provide answers. There were differences, too. Working on a decidedly non-domestic problem, Edith Clarke (also with an /e/ to end her surname), excelled at academic tasks, puzzle-solving, and dreaming of building railroads, bridges, and dams. She was sent to boarding school to learn manners and grace, but dismissed that frustratingly unchallenging curriculum during the same era as Josephine was inventing- the turn of the twentieth century. Potential career paths in engineering of any kind led Edith to closed and locked doors, but she used her inheritance to hire private tutors in languages, math, science, and to study the emerging wave of technology. Employed to manage mundane tasks within the burgeoning telephone industry, Edith became aware of operational weaknesses and evaluated ways to address those. That involved complex analytical computations; ones she was able to complete but few others could. Instead, she devised and carefully constructed a simple rotating, two-armed cardboard tool that would allow others to determine precise and necessary answers to a myriad of equations. A calculator!

In the field of electrical engineering, Edith Clarke is a less familiar name than most, but she stands as equal to Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and Morgan in the measure of the contributions she made through her work. Back matter includes a detailed timeline and some archival photos, as well as brief notes about other notable women in math and engineering.

So, as March begins, I share these two notable women I celebrate their accomplishments and the creators who provided us with accounts of their lives in these outstanding books. Please share them widely and often- long after the calendar page turns to a new month!

I received copies of these books form the publisher with no promise of a review of any kind.

KATE'S LIGHT: Kate Walker at Robbins Reef Lighthouse

 Who doesn't love a lighthouse? 

Certainly no one I have ever met. I've also never met a lighthouse-themed book that didn't win my heart, especially if it is a picture book. Going a long way back to the evergreen  KEEP THE LIGHTS BURNING ABBIE, by the incomparable writing Wisconsinites, Peter and Connie Roop, a commitment to do lifesaving, sometimes life-threatening work is a reading hook that refuses to be ignored. The Caldecott winning HELLO, LIGHTHOUSE, by Sophie Blackall, uses  a family-centric point of view in an oversized/tall format to reveal the inner workings and daily practices of lighthouse operations with elegance and insight. If either of these books is new to you, add them to your must-read lists.

Margaret Ferguson Books
Holiday House Publishing, Inc., 2020

Now another beloved and Caldecott-winning illustrator, Emily Arnold McCulley, has created the latest lighthouse picture book, KATE'S LIGHT: Kate Walker at Robbins Reef Lighthouse. Those famiiar with New York City will recognize immediately that Robbins Reef Lighthouse is in the bay that shelters the Statue of Liberty, within rowing distance from Staten Island. Those less familiar with that territory benefit from the excellent historic map featured on endpapers, a map clearly labeling geographic sites that are so often referenced in various narratives, and also anchoring (forgive the pun) the story in time. The waters are practically littered with enormous steamboats, tall masted ships, and water vehicles of every kind and size you can imagine. 

Author Elizabeth Spires has written other texts for children, all of which reflect her core identity as a poet of extraordinary grace. This biography in prose sustains a lyrical quality. It manages to engage readers despite launching Kate's story as a 34 year old widow with a son, immigrating from Germany to find a better life for herself and her child.

It's not easy to "hook" young readers on an adult biography with nary a word about their childhood life, and yet there is that irresistible lighthouse, entering Kate's life in the opening pages.  

Kate was not an early supporter of her new husband's choice to live on a rock: no garden, no neighbors, away from the happy and settled life she had been building with him and her son on land. In fact, she kept her belongings packed in the lighthouse for six months before she fully absorbed the lure of her new life. Spires's  storytelling is powerful, informative, and admiring (with good reason). Kate's developing role as assistant lighthouse keeper, then full lighthouse tender, was not welcomed by the Lighthouse Board, but her competence and reliability won their grudging approval and eventual full endorsement. 

Despite the appeal of the writing and the details of Kate's barrier-breaking accomplishments, including numerous rescues at sea, I began this post with a nod to the art. Those familiar with McCulley's work will recognize and appreciate her style. With settings that feature water and sky, in all kinds of weather, McCulley is at her best. The scenes range from idyllic to horrific, with colors and expressions revealing that Kate's decision to remain, in fact insist, on assuming Lighthouse Keeper duties was driven by her heartfelt conversion to such a life. She lived out her long and dedicated responsibilities in tribute to her young husband's parting words to her as he was rowed back to the mainland: "Mind the light, Kate." When medical treatment of the time failed to save his life, his words sustained her until (and after) her retirement several decades later.

In that earlier book about another female light keeper, Abbie, her father's parting words to "Keep the lights burning, Abbie," had a happier conclusion, with his return after a desperately long storm delay. Even so, she, too, felt that commitment to continue on as Lighthouse Keeper. 

Both women, and those two Caldecott-winning women illustrators among a much longer list of male medalists, remind us that following our own lights, finding our path through life, even when discouraged or directly hindered, is worth the effort. Stories like these underscore the importance of WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH, but also reveal why the accomplishments of  women (and girls), in history (and present day), should be celebrated all year long.

Happy MARCH: Another Theme Month, Right?

Can we agree to avoid the trap of sequestering so many outstanding, remarkable, important, glorious picture books on themes or topics into the confines of calendars? Theme months are double edged swords, pulling into the spotlight so countless terrific books, then tempting us to pack those away, or slide them onto the back shelves, as the next theme comes along. My thoughts on this practice developed during decades of teaching, and an essay starred in an early post on this blog. My conviction of the damage of this approach has strengthened and continues to this day.

So, I'm using this first of the month post to launch WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH by linking back to some of my favorite posts that spotlight this topic. 

Some amazing CYBILS AWARDS nominees from 2019 can be checked out HERE.

Recent posts about author Laurie Wallmark's titles featuring WOMEN IN STEM,  (giveaway has ended) are linked here:

Elizabeth Friedman, Codebreaker, Spyhunter, 

Ada Lovelace and the Thinking Machine

Sophie Kowalevski, Queen of Mathematics,

Hedy Lamar's Double Life,  and

Grace Hopper, Queen of Computers.

Let's not forget women and girls who werre/are trailblazers and stars SPORTS!

Lily Parr, Woman star in football (Soccer), reviewed HERE.

Miss Mary Reporting, the True Story of Mary Graber, reviewed HERE.

Olympians Wilma Rudolph, HERE, and Nadia, HERE.

There are so many more, but this is a sampling of the remarkable lives of women and girls who inspire and amaze and persist and deserve to be in the spotlight month after month, years after year. Let's hear it for GIRL/WOMEN POWER!

MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD: Allies Matter

little bee books, 2020

Countless lessons can be learned from stories shared during BLACK HISTORY MONTH.  MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD: The Inspiring Friendship of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe, with words by Vivian Kirkfield and art by Alleanna Harris, reveals a story I had never about an important connection between two iconic women who are widely (and rightly) admired. 
Count me among those admirers. 
After exploring the book, including the informative author notes at the back, I admire both women even more. 
I'm equally impressed by the storyteller. Within the limited word counts and pages of a picture book, Kirkfield has provided a parallel-then-intersecting story that reads with all the drama and excitement of a fictional plot. Its power is magnified by some lesser-known details about these two talented and courageous lives. 
Within the limited format of a picture book, Kirkfield has presented each of their early struggles and the circumstances that led to their "discovery" and eventual fame. Each experienced injustice and prejudice, for different reasons. In each case, those unfair treatments limited opportunities and outlets for their talents. 
The fact that they were fans of each other, from a distance, was an appealing detail that led to their eventual friendship. Marilyn's effort to learn from Ella's singing opened doors for her professional movie career. 
Ending the story there would have been interesting, but that would have ignored the more important story of two iconic allies.
I was impressed that Monroe took intentional steps to convey her gratitude, to use her position of privilege to support Ella's crossing of color barriers and career advancement. Harris's approach to illustration offers nuances of intense color tones, soft edges, theatrical lighting, and glossy pages that suit the story perfectly. Kirkfield has used the back pages to enhance the main text with rich and deeply researched details as well as providing resources that work for young readers and adults to learn more. 
There are plenty of reasons to share this during theme months of February (Black History) and March (Women's History). This nonfiction book traces a path from fandom, to ally-ship, to lifetime friendship. Its value serves readers well throughout the year to inspire us all to follow a similar path. 
Not likely to fame and stardom.
This revelation of the mutual support between Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe offers a guide for present day, everyday decisions. It can inspire us by increasing awareness of ways to serve as allies. 
Certainly, its natural to do so in the lives of those we know and care about. Our challenge should be to do so across the margins of our usual contacts, to those who cross our path but to whom we owe nothing. Who knows what might develop?
At the very least we can extended a hand of support to someone else. 

This is not a new video, but it is one worth sharing. 
(Scroll down to the active clip. It only takes a few minutes, and is worth it.)

Burger King NO-BULLY campaign, 2017

For more details and praise from others, check reviews from KIRKUS (here), and Darlene Beck-Jacobson's blog (here). 

An End-of-Month Concession to Women's History Month

FOUNDING MOTHERS: REMEMBERING THE LADIES

by Cokie Roberts, Illustrated by Diane Goode

Harper Collins Children's Books, 2014

Despite my best efforts to avoid theme month posts in this year's cycle of books, I find myself losing will power toward the end of each month. Today and tomorrow, as March winds down (not that you'd know it from stepping outdoors around here), I'm featuring some titles in hopes that readers will find and use them beyond the arbitrary boundaries of March, Women's History Month. It officially becomes "poetry month" in a few days, and it's my heartfelt hope that poems are  permeating classrooms, library displays, and family readings throughout the year. So,too, should books like these reach readers around the calendar, not get back-shelved until "next March".

Full disclaimer- I went into this recent release as a fan of both Cokie Roberts and Diane Goode. They never disappoint, and in this case they exceeded my already high expectations. 

Cokie Roberts, ABC News Reporter, Author

 The content (in word and image) offers a portal to the past, and to the women who are most often ignored or mentioned in 25 words or less when reading or speaking of the early days of this country. Perhaps it's due to her experience as an on-air reporter, but Roberts has managed to incorporate extensive meticulous research into fluent and engaging prose. It reads aloud well, which is no surprise, and I can hear her physical and writing voice clearly in every line. Passages offer text with digestible length, language, and detail to be read independently and used as mentor text by established readers, even younger ones.

Diane Goode, Author, Illustrator

Goode's  illustrations enhance and extend each featured profile, including hints of personality, rich elements of the setting, and "asides": small sketches portraying responses of male figures of the time. The design of book, as it should, contributes further to the sense of time and place, using paper colors and end pages that echo documents of the times.

This remarkable production should be in every elementary classroom and is a perfect (and necessary) fit for anyone reading about American history.

It's been widely praised, so don't take my word for it. Find out why Kirkus (which does not always respond with admiration to celebrity offerings for young readers) gave it a starred review.

Gender-Free Book Selection

In the last post I shared some outstanding titles about women who played pivotal roles in American and world history. The post included links to several admirable blogs, all in deference to Women's History Month. The always helpful blog,  Humor Me, offers a recent post featuring a cavalcade of stellar titles. But PLEASE, please, note my concern: once March is over don't let these titles languish on shelves or even be tucked away in unit boxes, not to see the light of day again until next March.

This week's TIME Magazine had a short piece titled: PLAY WITHOUT STEREOTYPES, which asserted that gender-stereotyping, mainly toy preferences, often first appear at the age of school attendance. Their report that toy-makers are tapping into new markets by developing gender-neutral versions of  various toys is encouraging. It reminded me that one reason I HATED kindergarten was the gender segregation of the activity centers. The "Girls' Corner" had a kitchen, playhouse, and various "homemaker" options. The "Boys' Corner" had, well, pretty much everything else: easel, blocks, anything on wheels, fire fighter, military, and police hats, tools, etc. (Is there any wonder I developed feminist leanings before that word even existed?)

Marshall Cavendish
Children's Books, 2012

Marshall Cavendish 
Children's Books, 2011

So, where am I going with this? I'm heading to a discussion of three titles by Sue Fliess. 
SHOES FOR ME  and A DRESS FOR ME are both illustrated by Mike Laughead. 
TONS OF TRUCKS is illustrated by Betsy Snyder. It's a sturdily constructed interactive book with delightful flaps, wheels, and folds to enhance the colorful illustrations.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012

All three are written in verse that is crisp, well-metered, and tightly rhymed with very low word counts. In the first two a young hippo  has outgrown her clothing and finds lots of options, but none that work. Her frustrated mom is heading for the door when the "just-right" choice is spotted and little hippo's mission is accomplished. 

On first glance the truck book appears to be nothing more than a compendium of truck types, richly embedded with colors, sizes, shapes, descriptive words, and charming characters. Add to that loads of appealing interactivity.  Then the final spread parks the vehicles at a rest stop, and suddenly it becomes a bedtime book. All three titles are delightful additions to any collection for young readers and I recommend them to you.

Hippo shares her pages with a variety of other animal shoppers, and the trucks are "manned" by a wide array of recognizable animals, most of whom appear to be male, but several sport bows or are generic enough to be gender neutral.

I asked a kindergarten-teaching friend to share these lively, colorful books with her class and let me know what they thought of them. She reported that all three received "thumbs up" from both boys and girls. Specific praise included the lively rhymes, the funny characters, the colorful illustrations. Of course, the interactive book was the favorite for both boys and girls. 

Then she asked her ultimate "rating" question: Would you take it from the shelf to reread?

The girls said they would choose any/all of the three eagerly. 

The boys said they would take the Dress and Shoe books for their sisters, but the Truck book for themselves. 

When it comes right down to it, that's not a "problem", and yet it bothers me. After listening attentively and praising many aspects of the first two books, none of the boys would actually choose to read them. Setting aside my personal gender-ization trauma from  kindergarten, I wonder if we've succeeded in helping girls find their way into activities and interests of all kinds quite easily, while allowing boys to self-limit and restrict their choices, particularly in book selection. 
When it comes to reading, CHOICE is the magic word, and I don't advocate ruling specific titles "in" or "out" for kids. But let's make sure we encourage wide reading for all kids, and never make the mistake of limiting their choices by gender assumptions.

And just as we would never suggest that only African Americans should read titles featured during Black History Month, let's never make the assumption that stories about women/girls won't appeal to boys. We need to find and share titles featuring characters and stories with such dramatic appeal that they will be snatched off the shelves by EVERY reader.
The same is true during Black History Month, Women's History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, or any "topical" focus unit. 

Unsung Women... and Titles

All across the blogosphere and print publications the celebration of Women’s History Month is well underway. Engaging posts feature important and worthy picture book titles about women who have made contributions to the course of history. Many of these are recent releases and attention allows these titles to find readers- and fans.

This week I’ll use some older titles to call attention to some unsung, often anonymous women and girls who helped to build this country. These heroines bore the many burdens of expansion and homesteading with strength and courage, but not without fear and suffering. Their names are unsung because the roles they played were so unremarkable, so typical, yet no less heroic.

Sketchy details about real women, sometimes family ancestors, are often the prototypes for historical fiction. Stories based on these family retellings and supported by extensive research generate wholly authentic tales that deserve to be told, offering admirable icons of everyday women.

Ann Turner’s DAKOTA DUGOUT uses only 126 words and Ronald Himler’s richly detailed line drawings to trace one such woman’s prairie years from the days of her soggy sodhouse, blizzard devastation, and searing crop destruction to her eventual life in a clean clapboard home in a thriving community. Each of Turner’s 126 words is precious, especially the final eight: “Sometimes the things we start with are best.”

Eve Bunting, a notable woman of history herself, brings us DANDELIONS, illustrated by Ronald Himler. In this case a young girl tells her version of the struggling, often miserable first year in a sod home on the prairie, desperately transplanting a stray dandelion on their roof. The only hint of time passing occurs on the final page with a view of sprawling dandelions.

These are terrific books to pair with the 2012 middle grade release, MAY B. by Caroline Starr Rose. At 225 pages, this, too, is a fairly easy read with few words per page. The story in verse relates not only preteen May B.’s life-or death challenges but also reveals that not all prairie wives withstood the stresses of soddy life.

In each case the simplicity of the words require the reader to engage deeply with ideas and the realities of a ruthless time in our history, weighing the costs and consequences, considering what their own choices might have been.

A humorous but equally revealing tale is APPLES TO OREGON: BEING THE (SLIGHTLY) TRUE NARRARIVE OF HOW A BRAVE PIONEER FATHER BROUGHT APPLES. PEACHES. PEARS. PLUMS. GRAPES, AND CHERRIES (AND CHILDREN) ACROSS THE PLAINS. Deborah Hopkinson’s text and Nancy Carpenter’s illustrations invite repeated readings , raise questions, and encourage further research. Young Delicious (yes, she was named for the apple) is no less courageous because of her age and stands proudly in the ranks of women who shaped America.

Among many other earlier titles, don’t miss THE PRAIRIE TRAIN, written by Antoine O’Flatharta, illustrated by Eric Rohmann. It’s a wild and rollicking view of the impact of railroads in the settlement of the west. Rail passage brought access to supplies, but it also provided the woman and child power needed to make homesteads into homes in that exhausting, demanding new world.

The comparative value of children, not to mention of boys versus girls, is depicted in TRAIN TO SOMEWHERE, also by Eve Bunting, illustrated (once again) by Ronald Himler. Based on true stories of children transported by train from east coast orphanages to stops along the route, they would line up at each station to be selected (or passed over) by locals as needed. Newspapers advertised their scheduled arrival and, quite naturally, able-bodied lads were the first to find homes. In fact, though, these often proved to be little more than unpaid slave markets.

One final reminder, here, of the series of picture books, illustrated by Wisconsin’s own Renee Graef, which introduces younger readers to Laura Ingalls Wilder. MY FIRST LITTLE HOUSE SERIES, including A LITTLE PRAIRIE HOUSE, reveals the humor and challenges of families moving to the outer edges of our land.



Speaking of word counts, I’ve far exceeded a reasonable number of words here, but the potential for titles, links, and tributes goes on and on. The collection sited above includes Caldecott illustrators, Newberry notables, and more starred reviews than you can shake a cornstalk at. So, just as we can search out the everyday heroic women of past and present, I urge you to read, share, and celebrate the books already on our library shelves.

***I hope you’ll also check the links to these authors and illustrators- notables one and all.

And now let's hear it for WOMEN!

Whether March came in like a lion or a lamb where you live, it ushered in Women’s History Month here in the USA. Initiated as Women’s History Week back in 1981, this annual spotlight has a short track record considering that females have outnumbered males in this country for decades.

If you read my post at the start of February regarding Black History Month you can safely assume those same sentiments apply to this month’s designation.

*sigh of resignation*

In the interest of sharing picture books deserving of a place on any bookshelf any time of the year, let’s look at three titles featuring six amazing women- three history-makers and three authors, all women of distinction in their own right.

When Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart by Candace Fleming was released last spring I posted a detailed review for the Center for Children’s Literacy. Since its release it has garnered four starred reviews and the coveted SCBWI Golden Kite Award for non-fiction. It’s a comprehensive and authoritative biography that reads like the best of fiction and features extensive photographic and archival images.

Nikki Grimes offers another impressive portrait in Talkin’ About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman (illustrated by E. B. Lewis). Grimes, acclaimed for her poetry and fiction, infuses energy, emotion, and insight into the story of Bessie’s short but influential life. This book has the distinction of winning a Coretta Scott King Honor for the text and medal for the illustrations.

Rounding out this high-flying trio of picture book inspiration is Amelia and Eleanor Go For a Ride, by Pam Munoz Ryan, (illustrated by Brian Selznick). Ryan depicts an evening at the White House dinner at which Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt slip away to share a night flight over Washington. They return and cap off a memorable evening when Eleanor slips behind the wheel of her brand new car to drive Amelia around Washington. Ryan’s notes in the back indicate the blend of research and imagination underlying her award-winning title.


All three are set in a time before Women's History Month was conceivable, paving the way for those of us who came after. Together they depict an era in which barriers of race and gender were far beyond overt and offensive, to say the least. That familiar old saw, "Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it", hovers over all of us. These three titles offer a line-up of impressive women from that time, each of whom deserves our attention on any day or month of the calendar.


And don't overlook the authors who brought these stories to us, three very impressive women by any measure.


So who do you nominate as an author or history-maker of note?