Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery

Freedman, Russell. Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery. 1993. 334 pp. Lexile 1100.

Eleanor Roosevelt is known for saying, “"You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”  This excellent biography, a Newbery Honor book, illustrates how she put this adage into action in her own life, which was filled with courage and public service.  Freedman looks at the span of Roosevelt’s life, covering personal aspects but emphasizing on her many accomplishments.  He gives an even-handed view of her sometimes troubled marriage, a marriage that led to her international influence as she traveled around the world during and after World War II working for peace and social justice.  Excellent black-and-white photographs enhance the text, with an additional fifteen pages of photos at the end.  Back matter includes a list of sites to visit, a bibliographic essay, and an index.  A pleasure to read.

Reading Std #6: Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.  Freedman seems to present his information with a neutral tone.  Have students look closely to see if they can detect a point of view that the author is advancing, citing specific passages in the text.

Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women

Thimmesh, Catherine.  Illus. by Melissa Sweet. Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women. 2000. 264 pp. Lexile 960.

Despite restrictions on their education and careers, American girls and women have been responsible for a number of important inventions over the years. Thimmesh devotes two or three pages to each inventor and her invention, from the ever-useful brown paper bag to the also useful strong fiber Kevlar® that goes into bullet-proof vests.  The profiles of the women and descriptions of the inventions—some based on personal interviews--are brief and interesting, highlighting the need for the invention and process of designing it.  Collage illustrations make the book attractive while the endpapers give a timeline that includes more female inventors.

Reading Std #1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and implicitly, citing specific textual evidence to support conclusions drawn from it. Thimmesh contends in her introduction that some inventions are the result of curiosity while others come about by accident.  Have students find evidence, if any, for these contentions in the book.  Have them see if they find other motivations (such as financial) in the chapters.

Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy

Marrin, Albert. Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy. 2011. 182pp. Lexile 1000.

In 1911, 146 workers—most of them young women—died in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in Manhattan.  Veteran nonfiction writer Marrin goes beyond recounting the tragedy to analyzing immigration, limitations on women, and the rise of unions in conjunction with the fire.  He explains why most of the women, ages fourteen to twenty-three, were Russian Jews and Italian Catholics.  He describes tenement life, with the portrayal reinforced by black-and-white photographs including some from photojournalist Jacob Riis, whose words provide the title: "Oh, God!  That bread should be so dear, and flesh and blood so cheap!"  Marrin discusses the aftermath of the fire and the movement to improve working conditions.  He wraps up with a look at garment workers today in the U.S. and internationally, some of whom face sweatshop conditions similar to those in the past. 

Reading Std #3: Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.  Marrin brings together topics of immigration, the labor movement, and safety issues and laws in his account of the Triangle Fire.  Have students analyze how he connects these topics, including the role of important people in the different sub-topics.

Bull's-Eye: A Photobiography of Annie Oakley

Macy, Sue.  Bull's-Eye: A Photobiography of Annie Oakley. 2001. 64pp. Lexile 1150.

With a figure as legendary as Annie Oakley, who was a superstar in her time, a biographer has to be careful to distinguish fact from legend—and point out when it’s impossible to be sure.  Macy does this well, especially about the different versions of Oakley’s childhood and the rumors that newspapers printed throughout her career. She addresses the issue in her Author’s Note, titled “Getting the Details Right.” The narrative focus is on Oakley's remarkable skill and international career but it also covers her personal life including her long marriage to fellow sharpshooter Frank Butler.  Historic photographs and other illustrations, printed in sepia, give a wonderful sense of the woman and of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.   Resources include a timeline; a list of books, videos, websites and places to visit; and an index.
   
Writing Std #8: Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information.  Use this short biography as a model of assessing the credibility and accuracy of sources.  Have students read the Author’s Note about getting details right and look through the text for examples of how she handles information that is hard to assess for accuracy.  Have them note her specific wording for such examples.

With Courage and Cloth: Winning the Fight for a Woman's Right to Vote

Bausum, Ann. With Courage and Cloth: Winning the Fight for a Woman's Right to Vote. 2004. 111pp. Lexile 1080.

In a time when many don’t exercise their right to vote, this book will open the eyes of readers the era when half of the adult population was denied that right.  Bausum does an excellent job of recapping the struggle of women’s suffrage, with a focus on 1906 to 1920.  These last fourteen years were the most radical as American women adopted techniques of the British, spending more time in jail, conducting hunger strikes, and picketing the White House.  Often they were arrested just for silently holding a banner.  The dedication and courage of these suffragists drew public sympathy for their cause, and the story concludes with the slow but exciting process, as first the House, then the Senate, and finally the states ratified the 19th amendment.  Excellent historical photographs and an elegant design help convey the inspiring story.

Fiction/poetry tie-in:  In Helen Frost's Crossing Stones, set in 1917, two sets of older teenage siblings live near each other on Michigan farms.  The two boys head off to fight in World War I; one comes back missing an arm.  Muriel, strong-minded and uneasy with traditional female roles, goes to Washington D.C. when her aunt goes on a hunger strike for women's rights.  A world opens up for Muriel when she meets kindred spirits and joins the suffragists' protests.  The two girls and one of the boys tell their stories in poetry: Muriel's free verse alternates with tightly-formatted poems from the viewpoint of the other two in this outstanding verse novel. 

Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX, The Law That Changed the Future of Girls in America

Blumenthal, Karen. Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX, The Law That Changed the Future of Girls in America. 2005. 152pp. Lexile 1140.

This year is the 40th anniversary of Title IX, with good reason to celebrate. In 1972, 2 out of 54 girls played high school sports; today 2 out of 5 do. Title IX, one of the most successful federal laws of the twentieth century. This excellent chronological account uses charts throughout to show the law's effect over the years as schools reluctantly complied with the requirements for more equality for girls in sports (only one aspect of the law). Politicians, college administrators, and NCAA officials resisted, citing lack of girls' interest, an argument which was quickly proven false. Stories and sidebars highlight individual girls who wanted to participate in athletics but were denied because they were female, showing the unfair situation before the law--and until it was enforced.  Although girls and women still face discrimination in athletics, the gains have been extraordinary.  Photographs, cartoons, magazine covers, and memorabilia enhance this often moving narrative.  Source notes, timeline, further reading, bibliography, and index.

Reading Std #3: Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text. Blumenthal uses cartoons and comic strips throughout the book to add humor and insight.  Have students analyze changes over time, if any, in the cartoons--the first one is from 1909--in political content and approach.

Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (with a Few Flat Tires Along the Way)

Macy, Sue.  Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (with a Few Flat Tires Along the Way).  2011.  96pp.  Lexile: 1280.

The historic photographs alone would make this an outstanding book but it also conveys fascinating information about the important effect of bicycles on the lives of women.  When bikes became popular in the late nineteenth century, due to heavy promotion by manufacturers, women gained unexpected independence.  Macy briefs readers on the history of bicycles—including one ridden “side saddle”—and discusses their social significance.  While some viewed them as a moral threat, many girls and women seized the opportunity to gain exercise, escape chaperones, start racing, and generally increase independence.  Macy touches on famous women who biked and the role of biking in introducing less constricting clothing.  Excellent examples of ads, songs, and other popular culture add to the visual information.  For a related title, see Macy’s equally eye-opening book, Winning Ways: A Photohistory of American Women in Sports (1996).  

Reading Std #8: Delineate and evaluate argument and specific claims in a text, assessing reasoning & evidence.  Shorter than many texts at this level and heavily illustrated, this would be a good choice for less proficient students to analyze Macy’s contention about how bicycles changed women’s lives. 

Rosie the Riveter: Women Working on the Home Front in World War II

Colman, Penny. Rosie the Riveter: Women Working on the Home Front in World War II. 1995. 113pp. Lexile 1060.  Available in paperback.

Many of the women who worked during World War II lost their jobs as soon as men returned home.  But "they never forgot that once there was a time in America when women were told that they could do anything.  And they did."  So concludes this outstanding history book about the six million brave, competent women whose work was vital to the war effort and kept the nation going.  A wide variety of excellent photographs portrays women in their jobs from shipyards to farmyards, jobs previously closed to women, who were considered too weak or delicate for them.  It‘s inspiring to read about the individual women who took on difficult work and succeeded at it, and heartbreaking to see them suddenly out of work when the war ended.  The book's back matter includes index, bibliography, chronology, and additional facts and figures.  A well-crafted, exciting book about women's history.

               

Reading Std #3: Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.  Colman uses specific examples of women, their work, and its effect on them.  Have students compare and contrast these women,  grouping them in categories to get a broader picture of the effect of war and work on the groups.