Bring New Children's Books to Life with Crafts and Games

March 2 - Today's post contributed by Penny Peck

Many children prefer to learn with hands on activities, so crafts and games are a great way to celebrate women in history.  Instead of sounding like a history lesson, this interactive format can attract a wide age range of children who will enjoy the crafts and art projects, as well as some fun games. Today, I am going to outline some simple do-it-yourself programming ideas tied to new children’s books on great women and their accomplishments.

The books and related activities are divided by age appeal, so you can use an activity with the appropriate grade level. For example, you can use books for young children in a storytime, along with the suggested hands-on activity, or use one of the books for tweens in a book discussion group who would also enjoy the related project. If a class comes for a library tour, you can read one of the short books suggested for that grade, or do booktalks if the class is 4th grade and up, and offer one of the activities that relate to those books.

You can also offer just one of these activities as a “passive program.”  Just set up the supplies for one activity, along with a poster outlining the instructions, for parent and child to do together at a library table.  These activities can also be adapted to the classroom, bookstore, or museum, since they fall into the type of “living history” activities that are so popular.  

Here are several books and a hands-on activity relating to each, which would be a great focus for a Women’s History program.

Books for Grades 4-8:















Conkling, Winifred. Passenger on the Pearl: The True Story of Emily Edmonson’s Flight from Slavery. Algonquin, 2015.

    Born a slave in 1782, Edmonson dreamed her children would be free. Filled with illustrations and sidebars, this history of their escape on a schooner in 1848 is an empowering look at an unknown true story. For a related activity, make paper quilt blocks similar to those thought to be used on the Underground Railroad: http://page.reallygoodstuff.com/pdfs/154227.pdf .  

Draper, Sharon M. Stella by Starlight. Atheneum, 2015.

    Stella uses writing to help her cope with the challenges of being an African-American girl in 1932 in North Carolina. Combining both sobering issues like segregation with humorous incidents like a Christmas pageant, this thoughtful novel will inspire readers to try their own hands at writing. Make journals out of cereal boxes: www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/cereal-box-books .

Gherman, Beverly. First Mothers. Clarion, 2015.

    Short sketches of the U.S. Presidents’ mothers are the focus of this engaging collective biography. Watercolor and pencil illustrations bring these important figures to life – perfect for Mothers’ Day! For an activity, children can make Mothers’ Day cards for the important women in their lives: www.allkidsnetwork.com/crafts/mothers-day/ .

Grimes, Nikki. Chasing Freedom: The Life Journeys of Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony, Inspired by Historical Facts. Orchard/Scholastic, 2015.

    One-page vignettes describe the fictional friendship of Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony, with factual information that shows the shared goals of these two women would have made them fast friends if they had met. Dramatic illustrations by Michelle Wood add to the enjoyment.  For an activity, have readers write a letter to a famous woman they would like to meet, including elected officials, sports figures, entertainers, scientists or astronauts, or business leaders: www.readingrockets.org/article/introduction-letter-writing .

Kanefield, Teri. The Girl from the Tar Paper School: Barbara Rose Johns and the Advent of the Civil Rights Movement. Abrams, 2014.

    Barbara Rose Johns is no longer an unsung hero in the Civil Rights movement, thanks to this book packed with photos and interesting information. In 1951, Johns led a walkout of her segregated high school to protest unfair conditions. For a related activity, readers can do something to benefit their own schools, including holding a book drive for the school library: www.instructables.com/id/Easy-book-drive-at-your-school/ .

Pinkney, Andrea Davis. The Red Pencil. Little Brown, 2014.

    Set in Darfur about ten years ago, this novel in free verse describes the life of a 12-year-old girl and her experience in a refugee camp. Amira dreams of going to school to learn to read and write, something her traditional mother doesn’t support. Celebrate this true-to-life novel by making sandpaper art. Using crayons, draw on coarse sandpaper to create pictures of animals, scenery, or people. www.dltk-kids.com/world/egypt/sand_paper_art.htm.

Books for Grades 1-3:

Fern, Tracey E. Dare the Wind: The Record-Breaking Voyage of Eleanor Prentiss and the Flying Cloud. Farrar, 2014.

  Prentiss was the navigator on the Flying Cloud, a ship that made a record-breaking voyage from New York City to San Francisco in 1851. This picture book biography brings that achievement to life. Children can make a ship model following these instructions: www.redtedart.com/2013/06/08/boat-craft-ideas-for-summer/ .

McCully, Emily Arnold. Queen of the Diamond: The Lizzie Murphy Story. Farrar, 2015.

    Lizzie Murphy became a professional baseball player in the early 1900’s, and is the star of this picture book biography. Murphy’s life is an excellent example of a person standing up for herself against prejudice, doubt, and opposition. For a related activity, offer these baseball word search puzzles: http://homeschooling.about.com/od/freeprintables/ss/baseball.htm .

Editors Note: Emily Arnold McCully will be our featured contributor on March 6th!

Paul, Miranda. One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia. Millbrook, 2015.

    In the 1980’s, Isatou Ceesay noticed that discarded plastic bags were harming the environment and animals in her native Gambia, so she came upon a solution. She crocheted strips of the plastic bags into purses to sell! Have tweens create their own bookbags by weaving strips of plastic bags: www.instructables.com/id/Woven-Plastic-Bag-Bag/.

Tonatiuh, Duncan. Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation. Abrams, 2014.

    In both the straightforward text and the dramatic, stylized illustrations, readers will learn about the court case that integrated California schools in the late 1940’s. The Mendez family fought for all children to attend local schools at a time when segregated “Mexican” schools were the norm. For a related activity, children can make some authentic Mexican crafts such as papel picado:  www.teachkidsart.net/mexican-papel-picado/ .

Books for Preschool – Kindergarten:

Martin, Jacqueline Briggs. Alice Waters and the Trip to Delicious. Readers to Eaters, 2014.

    This picture book biography celebrates Berkeley restaurant-owner and chef Alice Waters, who founded the Edible Schoolyard Project to promote healthy school lunches. One activity could involve growing a library vegetable garden if you have the space. Or, have children decorate flower pots planted with carrot seeds for their own home mini-gardens: www.kiddiegardens.com/painting_clay_pots.html .

Spires, Ashley. The Most Magnificent Thing. Kids Can Press, 2014.

    In this picture book, a girl attempts to make a “magnificent thing” with unsuccessful results, until she learns to plan her project. Readers will take away the notion that invention takes several attempts as well as solid planning. For a related activity, use up all your leftover craft materials and recyclables and allow children to make their own collages, sculptures, or art projects: http://artfulparent.com/collage-art-ideas-kids .

Penny Peck has been a children's librarian for over 25 years; before that, she was Snow White and Mother Goose at Children's Fairyland in Oakland, ran a nightclub, worked as the wardrobe mistress for the Berkeley Ballet, and was an agent for a standup comedian. Her experience includes performing thousands of storytimes, leading hundreds of book club discussions for students in grades 4-12, conducting hundreds of school tours and assemblies, and reviewing children's books and media. She is editor of "BayNews," the newsletter for the Association of Children's Librarians of Northern California, www.bayviews.org.  Since 2002 she has been a part-time instructor at San Jose State University, specializing in classes on youth and teen services and programming, and has written three books on children’s services, published by Libraries Unlimited, including Crash Course in Children’s Services: 2nd Edition (2014), Crash Course in Storytime Fundamentals: 2nd Edition (2015), and Reader’s Advisory for Children and Tweens (2010).

The Value of Picture Book Biographies

March 30 - Today’s post by Jennifer Brown of Twenty by Jenny and Shelf Awareness

The Value of Picture Book Biographies

By Jennifer M. Brown

A librarian friend I deeply respect said to me recently that she wasn’t sure what purpose a picture-book biography serves. I immediately thought of many ways to celebrate and defend it as a form, but the most compelling reason is that a picture book biography done well will lead youngest readers to find out more about the person at its heart. And during women’s history month, here are a few favorites to bring youngest readers on board.

Georgia in Hawaii: When Georgia O’Keeffe Painted What She Pleased by Amy Novesky, illustrated by Yuyi Morales (Harcourt/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $16.99 hardcover, 9780152054205) is an excellent example of a picture book biography that may well lead young readers to further investigation. Novesky chooses one episode in Georgia O’Keeffe’s career—when the Hawaiian Pineapple Company (later known as Dole) brings her to Hawaii to create two paintings of a pineapple—and she refuses to paint the fruit on their terms. She wants to live among the pineapple workers; the company won’t let her. So she travels the islands and paints “what she pleases.” In the end, back in New York, she does paint a pineapple, but she paints it her way. Novesky convincingly chronicles O’Keeffe’s change of heart, and the illustrations by Morales capture the essence of O’Keeffe’s trademark combination of close observations of nature while making them entirely her own. O’Keeffe’s paintings make us see flowers and sky—and yes, a pineapple—differently, and Morales evokes that same feeling.

Children who respond to Georgia in Hawaii, may then pick up My Name Is Georgia by Jeanette Winter (Sandpiper/HMH), which shows the artist’s early leanings toward her career from childhood, when she traced pictures out of books in her local library in Wisconsin. The picture book follows her through to adulthood, and Winter peppers the narrative with quotes from the artist as spare as her artwork. Young people can easily find a role model in O’Keeffe—the way she trusted her early calling and stuck with it her entire life. It makes a strong statement next to her steadfast stand with the pineapple company in the previous book.

The picture-book biography that prompted the remark from my friend was Jazz Age Josephine by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Marjorie Priceman (Atheneum/S&S, $16.99, 9781416961239), and while I acknowledge that Josephine Baker’s sensual dances as an adult might be a bit more than a child could handle, Winter does an extraordinary job of conveying her early experimentation in dance as well as how the race riots of her St. Louis childhood prompted her flight to France and planted the seeds for her involvement in the French Resistance and the Civil Rights Movement. Without giving these influences short shrift or delivering them with a heavy hand, Winter creates a portrait of a playful, inventive and principled young woman, and Marjorie Priceman’s kinetic illustrations convey Josephine’s charisma and talent.

One of the most fortuitous examples of a picture-book biography leading to further study is the collaboration between Pam Muñoz Ryan and Brian Selznick, Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride (Scholastic). Ryan and Selznick encapsulate in one evening’s adventure two women whose strength and fearlessness broke open gender boundaries during their lifetime. After First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt invites “First Lady of the Air” Amelia Earhart to dinner at the White House, Earhart repays her hostess’s kindness by offering her a night flight over the capital. The book gets across a sense of why these women were such icons and also why they became such good friends. (Those who wish to read more about Earhart or Roosevelt may turn to Candace Fleming’s Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart,Schwartz & Wade/Random House; and Fleming’s Our Eleanor: A Scrapbook Look at Eleanor Roosevelt’s Remarkable Life, Atheneum/S&S.)

That book led to further exploration by Ryan and Selznick, and another episode in Eleanor Roosevelt’s life, When Marian Sang: The True Recital of Marian Anderson(Scholastic). An African-American opera singer at a time when America was still in the throes of segregation, Marian Anderson took the stage all over the world—except when she returned to her homeland. When the singer was denied entry to Constitution Hall, Eleanor Roosevelt stepped in and arranged for Anderson to perform on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The notes at the back of this picture book let young readers know how Amelia and Eleanor led to the picture-book collaboration about Marian Anderson and Eleanor. What a power of example for where curious minds and creativity can lead.

Editor’s Note:

Jennifer M. Brown is the children’s editor for Shelf Awareness, an e-newsletter for the book trade that recently launched an edition aimed at consumers. She also writes for Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal’s Curriculum Connections. Jenny is the founder of Twenty by Jenny, a Web site that helps families build their children’s libraries one book at a time.

Beryl Markham: Feminist Hero? or Heroic Female?

March 18 - Today's post provided by Michaela MacColl

I’m so pleased to be part of the Kidlit Celebrates National Women’s History Month. All my books (so far) have featured strong women heroines and I feel totally at home this March!

A few weeks ago I heard that my second historical fiction novel, Promise the Night, had been recognized by the Amelia Bloomer Project from the American Library Association.  I’m embarrassed to say that I had to look up exactly what the Amelia Bloomer Project was.

 (Amelia Bloomer championed less restrictive clothing. She didn’t invent the “bloomer” but it’s associated with her).

The Amelia Bloomer list is for books for young people with significant feminist content. What I found most interesting was that the criteria states that “Feminist books for young readers must move beyond merely “spunky” and “feisty” young women… to show women overcoming the obstacles of intersecting forces of race, gender, and class, actively shaping their destinies… Feminist books show women solving problems, gaining personal power, and empowering others.” Wow. Solving problems. Gaining power. I’m so glad I wrote that kind of book!

Promise the Night is about Beryl Markham. Beryl (we’re on a first name basis now) grew up on a remote farm in colonial Africa. She refused to act like other British expatriate girls and spent all her time with the Nandi tribe who worked for her father. She was brave and reckless, and to my mind, addicted to danger.  What else could she grow up in the 1930’s to be, but a pilot? 

Beryl Markham

She wasn’t a society girl – flying for publicity’s sake (Yes, I mean you Amelia!). She considered herself a working pilot who needed to earn her living.  She learnt to fly over the uncharted deserts and jungles of Africa. For a time, she made good money spotting elephants for big game hunters. In 1936, a sponsor dared her to fly the Atlantic from the UK to New York, east to west, the hard way.  No one had made the flight solo yet. She accepted the challenge. This is what she said when she did:

I am going to fly the Atlantic to New York. Not as a society girl. Not as a woman even. But as a pilot with 2000 flying hours, mostly in uncharted Africa, to my credit.  The only thing that really counts… is whether one can fly. I have a license. I can take an engine apart and put it back. I can navigate. I am fit, and given ordinary luck I am sure I can fly to New York. This is to be no stunt flight. No woman's superiority over man affair. I don't want to be superior to men. If I can be a good pilot, I'll be the happiest creature alive.

The flight mesmerized the world ---particularly since she left it late in the year. The Atlantic was dark and stormy. Strong winds ate up her fuel and ice blocked her fuel lines. She made it – just barely. She crash landed in Newfoundland.

Beryl was battered by the flight but not defeated.  Here she is with Mayor de La Guardia accepting a hero’s welcome in New York City with an African “salaam.”

Beryl didn’t set out to be a feminist heroine. She didn’t have an agenda beyond landing safely. Beryl Markham was a brave pilot who broke an important record, who just happened to be a woman.  It never occurred to her that her gender had anything to do with her flying.  That’s how I like my feminism. 

Check out this link to see a video of the rescue party who found Beryl’s crashed plane in New Brunswick: http://blog.michaelamaccoll.com/check-out-this-rare-video-of-beryl-markham-landing-in-nyc/

My next book is due out in April 2013 and it’s a mystery starring an unexpected protagonist…. Emily Dickinson. Can she solve the mystery of who killed Mr. Nobody? For more information, visit my website, www.michaelamaccoll.com.

Editor's Note:

 Michaela MacColl has written two historical novels, Prisoners in the Palace (Chronicle, 2010) and Promise the Night (Chronicle, 2011). Her next novel, a mystery, featuring Emily Dickinson, will be released in 2013. She lives in Connecticut with her husband, two daughters and three rather large cats. 

The American Library Association's Amelia Bloomer Project was inspired by a book written by one of this year's contributing authors, Shana Corey (You Forgot Your Skirt, Amelia Bloomer!).  The project is led by a committee of the Feminist Task Force of the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association, which produces the annual Amelia Bloomer list. Promise the Night was selected for the 2012 Amelia Bloomer List.

Amelia Lost

March 30 - Today's post provided by Candace Fleming



I began work on Amelia Lost back in 2007, but Amelia Earhart has been on my radar (no pun intended) for much longer.  Years ago, my mother told me a story about how she felt after learning of Amelia’s 1937 disappearance. Mom was ten years old at the time, and couldn’t believe the news.  It was impossible.  Amelia Earhart was the woman who could do anything.  She couldn’t be lost at sea.  So my mother, who lived in a small town on Lake Michigan, stood on the beach and gazed up into the sky.  She was convinced that if she stood there long enough, she’d eventually spot the aviatrix, winging her way through the clouds to safety.  Isn’t that wonderful?  Can’t you just see her there?  That’s how connected my mother felt to Earhart, how vividly the pilot’s life had captured her imagination.  And through my mother’s retelling decades later, Amelia captured mine.  I knew I would someday have to write about her.

And really, who wouldn’t want to research and write about Amelia Earhart?  She is, after all, America’s favorite missing person. So I spent two weeks at the Purdue University Library, shifting through the vast holdings of the George Putnam Palmer Collection of Amelia Earhart Papers.  I gathered digitized files from the collection of the National Air and Space Museum, as well as from the Schlesinger Library, the National Archives, the Library of Congress, the USCG National Maritime Center, and the Seaver Center for Western History Research.  Best of all, Ric Gillespie, executive director of The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR), generously shared his organization’s miles of documents, including those marvelous pages from Betty Klenck’s notebook.

  It was my exploration of TIGHAR’s documents that made me eager to tell about the seventeen-day search for her downed plane  --what the press called “the greatest rescue expedition in flying history.”  It’s a dramatic, suspenseful tale.  And believe it or not, it’s never before been told in a book for young readers.  Sure some of the pieces of the search are well-known, and have been used selectively in the past to support various theories about her disappearance, but the entire picture, scattered and dispersed among dozens of archival files and private collections has been hard to decipher.  Luckily, Ric Gillespie and the smart people at TIGHAR helped guide me through the historical record, providing me with a day-to-day, in some cases minute-by-minute view of what really happened.  That view can be found in the book.

(Amelia Earhart source:
 http://www.americaslibrary.gov/
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 {{PD-USGov}})

As for Amelia herself, the most surprising part of my research was the discovery that she was… well… sort of a fibber.  Time and again, I unearthed a telling detail, or charming anecdote only to learn that it wasn’t true; that Amelia had made it up to maintain her public image.  Take, for example, the often-repeated story of the flier’s first glimpse of an airplane.  According to Earhart, this happened at the Iowa State Fair in 1908, when she was just eleven years old.  “It was a thing of wire and wood,” she wrote in her memoir, The Fun Of It.  “I was much more interested in an absurd hat made of an inverted peach basket which I purchased for fifteen cents.” It’s a sweet story, but placed in the context of aviation history it can’t possibly be true.  Or, take that popular anecdote about Fred Noonan and the around-the-world trip.  According to Amelia, Fred was confined to the navigator’s station in the rear cabin and could communicate with her only in notes passed forward over the fuel tanks by means of a bamboo fishing pole.  True?  Absolutely not.  In fact, Fred spent much of his time in the cockpit with Amelia, clambering over the fuel tanks in the rear cabin only when he needed room to spread out a chart.  At first, I was frustrated by these (and so many more) fabrications.  I started to think I should retitle the book, Flyer, Flyer Pants On Fire.  But then I began to see her fibs as a challenge – a challenge to finding the real Amelia behind the public persona, and discovering the events that led to her disappearance.  My hope is that readers will be able to glimpse the real woman through the pages of this book.

Editor's Note:

"Candace Fleming awarded herself the Newbery Medal in fifth grade after scraping the gold sticker off the class copy of  The Witch of Blackbird Pond and pasting it onto her first novel—a ten page, ten-chapter mystery called Who Done It? She’s been collecting awards (her own, not Elizabeth George Speare’s) ever since.

Today, Candace is the versatile and acclaimed author of more than twenty books for children, including the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award-winning biography, The Lincolns; the bestselling picture book, Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!; and the beloved Boxes for Katje." 

Visit Candace Fleming's blog to find out more about Candace and her books.

Women of Color Make Their Presence Known

March 21 - Today's post provided by TheHappyNappyBookseller

 

I loved the movie A League of Their Own, directed by Penny Marshall. The story is inspired by the All American Girls Professional Baseball League. It's been years since I've seen it but I still remember a lot of it.  Geena Davis was fearless behind the plate, and of course the now classic scene of Tom Hanks screaming, "there's no crying in baseball."

Another smaller scene I will never forget is when the players are practicing and a ball gets away from Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell's characters.  On the other side of the fence three Black woman are walking past. When asked to return the ball, one of the woman just guns it back.  All the women just stare at each other for a blink of a second.  The Black woman is clearly good enough to play but can't because of her race.   

The Voice that Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights, by Russell Freedman, the story of singer Marian Anderson, broke my heart.  Anderson was rejected many times because of either race or gender. 

It's not lost on me that both examples I've given feature Black women.  It's second nature for people to focus on what they feel most connected to.  The trick is to recognize this and make a conscious  effort to think outside of yourself.            

One book I discovered last March was Amelia to Zora: Twenty-six Women who Changed the World, by Chin- Lee Megan, illustrated by Halsey Sean Addy.  A few of the women featured are Babe Didrikson Zaharias, an athlete that excelled at every sport she played; Cecilia Payne Gaposchkin, an astronomer and the first female professor at Harvard University; Nawal El Sadaawi a doctor and fighter for woman's rights; Grace Hopper inventor and computer pioneer; Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit -an Indian diplomat and the first woman president of the United Nations.   I love that the woman included are as diverse as their accomplishments. 

 It's no secret Women of Color  face more obstacles in life and I am always moved by their stories.  Below are a few of the ones I've loved.   

Shining Star: The Anna May Wong Story by Paula Yoo, illustrated by Lin Wang- The first Asian movie star in Hollywood. If you get a chance watch this great interview with the author.


The Little Piano Girl : The Story of Mary Lou Williams by Ann Ingalls and MaryAnn Macdonald, illustrated by Giselle Potter -  Not only was Mary Lou Williams a jazz pianist she was also a  composer and arranger.  In the afterword there is a Duke Ellington quote - "Mary's music retains a standard of quality that is timeless. She is like soul on soul."

In Her Hands: The Story of Sculptor Augusta Savage by Alan Schroder,  illustrated by JaeMe Bereal - Augusta Savage was one of the primary artists of the Harlem Renaissance. Thanks to this biography I know that Savage created  a sculpture for the 1939 World's Fair in New York, "The Harp."

She Loved Baseball by Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Don Tate. The story of Effa Manley, co-owner of the Brooklyn Eagles, a Negro League Baseball team. Manley is the first woman to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. 

Skit Scat Raggedy Cat : Ella Fitzgerald by Roxanne Orgill, illustrated by Sean Qualls.  We get a whole lot of Ella. Perfect for anyone who loves Fitzgerald's music and for those who are not familiar with her work.   

Sky High: The True Story of Maggie Gee by Marissa Moss, illustrated by Carl Angel - One of only two Chinese American women to serve in Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program during WWII. Moss includes some wonderful photographs in the back, including one of Maggie in her uniform and Maggie's mother building Liberty ships, hardhat and all.
    
Side by Side/Lado a Lado by Monica Brown,  illustrated by Joe Cepeda- Dolores Huerta is an activist and co founder of National Farmers Workers Association with Cesar Chavez. There are a few children's biographies on Cesar Chavez, although as far as I know this is the first one that pertains to Dolores Huerta.

Seeds of Change: Wangari's Gift to the World by Jen Cullerton Johnson, illustrated by Sonia Lynn Sadler-  This is my favorite children's biography on Wangari Maathai. My interview with the author can be found here. 

Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in  the Bronx by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Edel Rodriquez - A timely biography on the first Latina judge to serve on the Supreme Court.  

I did my best to place the biographies in a timeline order. This last one should be somewhere in the middle but I felt its gender and racial unity made it the perfect book to end with.  

The Sweethearts of Rhythm: The Story of the Greatest All-girl Swing Band in the World by Marilyn Nelson, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney - The Sweethearts of Rhythm was the first integrated all women swing band in the world. When formed in 1937 the band included a Chinese saxophonist, a Hawaiian trumpeter and a Mexican clarinetist, along with Black musicians. In 1943, White musicians join the band for the first time.  

All of these women refused to let anyone deny them their rightful place in history.  Knowing what all they have accomplished in spite of everything fulls me with so much joy.  All of these biographies make sure their contributions, successes and sacrifices are not forgotten. 

Editor's Note:
TheHappyNappyBookseller is a bookseller and baseball fan in Atlanta Georgia.
Author Audrey Vernick, mentioned above, has shared her experience of writing She Loved Baseball in an earlier post.

Booktalks for Women’s History Month

MARCH 15 Today's post is provided by Abby the Librarian

I am always on the lookout for great titles to booktalk for Women's History Month, so I wanted to share a few of my favorites here with you today!

Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart by Candace Fleming (Schwartz & Wade, 2011)

You know the story of Amelia Earhart, right?  She was a famous female pilot, flying across the country and even across the Atlantic Ocean back when airplanes were not nearly as common as they are today.  But Amelia Lost tells Amelia's story like no other book has.  The book switches between biographical information about Amelia and the story of the days of her disappearance.  In a gripping narrative, Candace Fleming relates what happened on the day that Amelia Earhart disappeared.  There were several reports of civilians (even children) picking up what might have been snatches of Amelia's radio broadcasts as her plane crash-landed on a remote island in the Pacific!  Can you imagine turning on your radio and hearing Amelia Earhart's voice calling for help?

This book brings Amelia's story to life as no other book has done.  Even if you think you know the story of Amelia Earhart, it's worth picking up Amelia Lost to give it another look!

Girls Think of Everything by Catherine Thimmesh, illustrated by Melissa Sweet (Houghton Mifflin, 2002).

What do chocolate chip cookies, windshield wipers, and flat-bottomed paper bags have in common?  They were all invented by women!  Girls Think of Everything gives a glimpse at some of the many, many products invented by women. In some cases, women weren't allowed to patent their own inventions. In some cases, they had to fight to keep their ideas from being patented by men. In some cases, they weren't even allowed in the factories to oversee their own products being produced. But thank goodness women kept inventing things!  Short entries are accompanied by collage illustrations and a list of additional inventions by women is included in the back matter.  Bring along some of the items mentioned in the book and see if kids can guess what they have in common.

Skit Scat Raggedy Cat: Ella Fitzgerald by Roxanne Orgill, illustrated by Sean Qualls (Candlewick Press, 2010).

Ever since Ella Fitzgerald was a little girl, she had an unstoppable love for music.  When she was 14, her mother died, leaving Ella all alone and with no place to live.  But Ella didn't give up on her dream of performing.  She kept going to auditions, even though she looked like a "raggedy cat" since she didn't have money for fancy clothes.  It was hard at first, but people could see she had something special: her music made people want to get up and DANCE!  And soon, she wasn't a "raggedy cat" anymore, she was a "rowdy-dowdy high-hat baby" climbing the charts.  Ella went on to win 14 Grammy awards, including one for lifetime achievement.   Play some of Ella's music for the kids (I'm fond of the following clip if you have access to YouTube:)

Lives of Extraordinary Women: Rulers, Rebels (And What the Neighbors Thought) by Kathleen Krull (Harcourt Children's Books, 2000).

Which woman was not only one of her country's most successful rulers but also threw parties that lasted for 18 days?  Which woman forbid her subjects to call her queen, taking the title of king instead and leading her country in a war for its independence?  Which woman, when hit in the face with a rock during the middle of a speech, used her sari to cover the blood and kept speaking?  (Elizabeth I of England, Nzingha of West Africa [Angola], Indira Gandhi of India, respectively.)  In Lives of Extraordinary Women, Kathleen Krull gives us brief biographies, complete with juicy details, of 20 outrageous women from all over the world.

A Strong Right Arm: The Story of Mamie "Peanut" Johnson by Michelle Y. Green (Dial, 2002).

Ever since she could remember, Mamie Johnson loved playing baseball.  And I'm not talking softball here, I'm talking hardball.  She was a fabulous pitcher, striking out the boys in her neighborhood.  The problem?  Mamie was born in 1935, a time when women were not allowed to play professional sports.  When the All-American Girls' Baseball League was developed after many male baseball players went overseas to serve in the army, Mamie was hopeful that she could follow her dreams at last... but the League would not accept her because she was black.

Mamie still didn't give up.  She went on to play with the Negro Leagues - yep, a men's baseball league - and Mamie held her own. Her strong right arm took her far!

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone (Candlewick, 2009).

In 1960, the Space Race was all the rage and astronauts were American heroes.

They were also men.

Enter Jerrie Cobb and the rest of the "Mercury 13". In the early '60s, 13 women took and passed the same physical and psychological tests that men took to qualify for NASA's astronaut training program. But the "Mercury 13" women were not allowed to become astronauts, despite the fact that they were expert pilots. In fact, no woman went into space until Sally Ride did in 1983 and even then she didn't pilot the ship.

Almost Astronauts tells the story of the extraordinary women who fought for their right to make history, to go into space as qualified, talented astronauts.