My Name is Not Isabella

March 22 - Today's post contributed by Terry Doherty of The Reading Tub

As the modern mom of a modern girl, one of my goals has always been to create limitless horizons of opportunity for my daughter. I want to introduce her to women whose sense of beauty came from within and fill her world with women whose greatness comes from hard work, perseverance, dedication … am I preaching to the choir? Sorry.

From women who were ahead of their time to everyday heroes, I have wanted Catherine to not just “meet them,” but also get a sense of their role in history. As all of the posts before this have shown us - there are so many untold and lesser-known stories of women of great accomplishment still to tell. I am so excited about the chances for Catherine and I to continue learning, sharing, and growing together. 

That is now, but what about then? How could I entice a toddler and preschooler with biographies? How do you explain “accomplishment” to a three-year-old? I’ve always loved biographies and read them every chance I get. But biographies for little girls? Do they make them in “half pints” (to paraphrase Laura Ingalls Wilder)! 

The answer is yes! My Name is Not Isabella by Jennifer Fosberry (Monkey Barrel Press, 2008) was our first discovery. It was not only the hook I was looking for, Catherine chose it as the standard against which she measured other books about famous women. 

Catherine, my husband Bill, and I were smitten by the story instantly. We read it for weeks, usually at Catherine’s request. 

My Name is Not Isabella is a picture book that introduces young audiences to six highly accomplished women: Sallie Ride, Annie Oakley, Rosa Parks, Elizabeth Blackwell, Marie Curie, and mom.

When Isabella wakes up, she announces to her mom that she has changed her name to Sally, “the greatest, toughest astronaut who ever was.” By breakfast, she has changed her name to Annie, “the greatest, fastest sharp-shooter who ever was.” As she leaves to board the school bus, she’s Rosa, “the greatest, bravest activist who ever was.” 

After school, Marie Curie, the “greatest, smartest scientist who ever was” enjoys her chocolate chip cook and “discovers” the answers to her homework. Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, “the greatest kindest doctor who ever was” joins the family dinner table; and Mom “the greatest sweetest mother who ever was,” takes a bubble bath before climbing into bed as Isabella, once again.

Having a broad selection of women - and including being a mom as being as equally accomplished - really made the book stand out for us. I also loved how mom’s responses complemented the historical character. For example, when Isabella declared that she was Annie, Mom asked her to “ride over here and eat up [breakfast.]”

The author includes a photograph and short paragraph describing the accomplishments of each of the women, as well as a definition of their profession (astronaut, sharpshooter, activist, scientist, doctor, mother). The bios were particularly helpful. I learned things, too! The biography of Mom is a nice touch.

My Name is Not Isabella, with its bright colors, simple sentences, and repetitive text is a perfect read aloud for one-on-one reading or small groups. The story relies heavily on dialogue, and Catherine quickly memorized her lines as “Isabella” so she could be part of the book … and always had a big hug for mom at the end! I couldn’t offer a better recommendation than that.

Terry is a lifelong reader and lover of historical fiction and biography. She left the work-a-day world of public service when she became Mom, and picked up a new torch: paying forward a love of reading. 

She founded The Reading Tub®, a family literacy nonprofit, when her now 11-year-old was just 18 months. Tired of seeing piles of cast-aside library books that Catherine decided she didn’t want to read anymore, Terry decided to help families find books that their kids DID want to read. 

Today, you’ll find her writing about family literacy on her blog Family Bookshelf, and adding book reviews to The Reading Tub® Web site and Pinterest, as well as chatting about both on Google+ and Twitter. 

The Trickle Up Effect

March 18 - Today's post contributed by Tanya Lee Stone

The Trickle-Up Effect

By Tanya Lee Stone

My newest picture book biography is about the first female doctor in America—Elizabeth Blackwell. We hear about “firsts” a lot, so what makes this “first” worth highlighting? Elizabeth Blackwell was a true inspiration to thousands upon thousands of women who went on to become doctors after she opened that door. In fact, so many women followed in her footsteps that there are now more women than men in the average medical school class.

Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors? gives kids a bit of insight into the kind of girl Elizabeth Blackwell was that made her pursue something that no one at the time thought was even remotely possible. It also shows them what medical school was like for Elizabeth, at a time when there were no other girls in a medical school class!

It’s a pretty big topic for a picture book, and people often ask me why I choose this form for some of my biography subjects. “It’s the trickle-up effect,” I tell them. What do I mean by that? Well, I’ll tell you. I am often dismayed that some of the extraordinary people in our world are not better known. That we don’t have at the tips of our tongues the names of the people who have pushed aside boundaries to pursue their dream, paving the way for others who come after them. That more of these pioneers are not embedded in our collective brains.

And so begins my evil plan.

Step 1) Choose the format: The picture book biography is a very specific beast. My intention is never to tell someone’s whole life story; how could I in such a small amount of space? Instead, my goal is to impress young readers with how extremely cool and interesting I think a particular person is in hopes that they will, in turn, become as fascinated. I choose the aspects that I believe capture who that person really is, and what might have inspired in them such trail-blazing personality traits, and then I pick the one thing that person did that I find the most fascinating.

Step 2) Target the audience: Young readers continually delight me in how receptive they are to learning about extremely cool and interesting people. They LOVE nonfiction and are eager to read it, especially when it is presented in a lively and engaging way—Enter the Illustrator! (I can’t tell you how much I love Marjorie Priceman’s illustrations in Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors?)

Step 3) Plant the seed: When a strong enough seed is planted in the minds of young readers and they really enjoy the experience of learning about an extremely interesting and cool person, they remember it. (I hope.) It becomes a part of their knowledge base. As they get older and perhaps come across this person’s name again—in a fleeting line in a history textbook, for example—that familiarity will kick in and they will be ready to learn more. And Bam!—after a while, you have a bunch of grownups walking around who know one more extremely cool and interesting person!  

           

Ta-Da! The trickle-up effect!

Tanya Lee Stone was an editor of children's nonfiction for many years.  After moving to Vermont, she returned to writing, and has written a wide array of titles including a young adult novel, biographical picture books, and narrative nonfiction for young people.  She has three books coming out in 2013:  Who Says Women Can't be Doctors? (Henry Holt);   The House that Jane Built (Henry Holt); and Courage Has No Color (Candlewick).