Let's Hear It for the LADIES! Cybils Award Nominees Continue

If you are new to this blog you may want to check out one of my earliest posts, my manifesto on the double-edged sword of THEME MONTHS. I'm very discouraged by the common practice of establishing collections of quality books, especially picture books, related to various designated theme months or topics, only to haul them out and pack them away again as pages of the calendar are turned. That's why I'm always happy to feature terrific topics, especially nonfiction picture books, throughout the year. 
In this post I'll share some brief notes about four of the nonfiction CYBILS nominees that impressed me, all of which feature outstanding women!
It's October 31st and snow is falling outside my window, so MARCH (Women's History Month) is a long way off. That means it is a perfect time to bring to readers some fantastic bits of history without waiting for an arbitrary signal at a designated time to share them. 
The first two are fun to compare, since they both explore the significance of MULTIPLE women of history, both books offering deep dives into the past to explore the heroic women who helped create the world we now inhabit. 

BOLD AND BRAVE: Ten Heroes Who Won Women the Right to Vote is written by Kirsten Gillibrand and illustrated by Maira Kalman. Each profiled woman is listed in backmatter in chronological order of their lifespans. The long history of American women suffering for suffrage (the right to vote) spans social class, race, and roles, placing their eventual success in the context of a long, difficult effort. 
It proceeds past that Constitutional amendment into the continuing struggles for equal treatment across many social categories. Gilliband (New York Senator) launches her profiles by placing them in the context of her own close relationship with Great Grandmother Mimi, her Grandmother Polly, and her mother Penny, each of whom instilled, by example and story, the significance of women's voting rights and responsibilities. 
Illustrator Kalman presents each profile with a single page portrait and added spot illustrations on the text spread. Her interpretive/primitive style and vibrant colors infuse personality and character in images of the ten women, allowing young readers to connect with the obviously older and often distant individuals. 
Gillibrand delivers the content and challenges directly back to readers in the final pages, with facing spreads of young girls in white, marching for the right to vote, contrasting with modern young people advocating for changing the world and getting out the vote. 

Charlesbridge, 2019

Pair the above with GIRLS WITH GUTS: The Road to Breaking Barriers and Bashing Records, written by Debbie Gonzales and illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon. Welcome to a parade of profiles of women who broke through arbitrary gender rules/laws to achieve full participation in athletic events, beginning with the ancient Olympics. 
These heroes span centuries, include many sports, and feature women/girls diverse in age, race, and ethnicity. The timeline in back matter is particularly well done, and the illustrations throughout are as energetic and empowering as the text, which is saying a lot. 

The next two titles share the word FEARLESS in their titles, and each is a biographic narrative of a brave woman who stood up to social restrictions, written and unwritten, that barred females from work or sports for which they were fully qualified. 
In HER FEARLESS RUN: Kathrine Switzer's Historic Boston Marathon is written by Kim Chaffee and illustrated by Ellen Rooney. Chaffee does gives entertaining insights to Kathrine's love of running from early childhood on, revealing how dedicated she was to improving and competing. Her older male coach had run the the world-famous Boston Marathon an amazing fifteen times, but girls/women were NOT eligible to enter. In fact, runners must prove their qualifications by running impressive times in other marathons, which Katherine had done. She entered using her initials rather than her name, and so she was issued an official number- the ONLY woman who had ever done so! 
Along the route people began to notice that a woman was running and many cheered her on. At one point she was physically attacked by a man from the sidelines, but another male runner intervened and she ran on. Some women cheered for her, but many did not. 
Her goal had been to prove to other women that they could compete in the Boston Marathon, and also to show other women that they could find the joy, health, and fun of running. An author note reveals some of the ways in which Katherine's fearless run moved her goals toward success. 

Albert Whitman & Company

FEARLESS MARY: Mary Fields, American Stagecoach Driver is written by Tami Charles and illustrated by Claire Almon. Since you're still reading, you noted my aversion to theme months mentioned in the first paragraph. However, a note at the back of this biography points out that it was a Facebook post and article from a previous Women's History Month that brought the amazing Mary Fields to the attention of author Charles. 
As i said, those theme months offer a double-edged sword. 
Let's make sure that this title finds its way to many readers ALL YEAR LONG!
It's a story that takes readers back more than a century to the barely settled young state of Montana. "Whites Only" signs were everywhere, even though it was long after the Civil War ended. That didn't stop Mary. She knew her qualifications could stand up to dozens of men trying to fill the job of stagecoach driver. She proved her worth with the horses, the hitching, and the stagecoach driving. Not a man there, all of them white, could outperform her skill and daring. 
Exciting, right? 
And that's barely the beginning of this story. With hints of her early life ("first thirty years without freedom") the author doesn't try to focus on Mary's childhood but instead reveals her remarkable confidence, skill, and fearlessness to hook readers of any age. 
This is yet another of those untold histories that deserves attention from all readers.

These amazing titles are but a few examples of the many outstanding books nominated for Cybils awards in nonfiction. In this round one stage, we will narrow those down to a few finalists. Eventually, there will be only one book each in the Elementary and Middle grade categories. That, of course, is an outstanding honor. 
Ultimately, though, many of these remarkable nominees could have made that final cut, depending on the panelists making the decisions. It may be Halloween, but the only thing that scares me today is the possibility that anyone would make the mistake of ignoring these terrific books. 
Do me a favor and get your hands on these, then start reading.