Lately I feel women's rights are under attack. They overturned Roe vs. Wade which started it all spiraling. The stories I have read from states where abortions are now against the law are shameful. I think the worst is the one from Georgia about a woman declared brain dead who had to be kept alive because she was pregnant and the doctors could not harm the baby. Think about the poor family and the poor baby! Then they have been cutting research for women's health. Women in general were not included in healthcare research until 1993. (Source) Now the government is taking away funding for it. It is scary. It is obvious there is a portion of men in this country who still want to control women. It is on this premise that I feel it is more important than ever to focus on women and women's history. It is important for us to remember how hard the women before us fought for our rights and how it is now our turn to step up. With that on my mind, I am excited to share a book with you today. It is The ABCs of Women's History by Rio Cortez and illustrated by Lauren Semmer. It is recommended for ages 5 and up.
About the Book:
From the New York Times bestselling creative team behind The ABCs of Black History comes a statement-making follow-up that celebrates women, their history, and their future by centering the diversity of the disruptors who blazed a path forward for everyone.In a beautiful picture book brimming with G for Groundbreaking women, National Book Award nominee Rio Cortez and illustrator Lauren Semmer celebrate all the joys, challenges, and historic forward movement of women’s history in the United States, with a special focus on the Black women, brown women, transwomen, and others who make change happen. This is a book about Artists, Activists and Allies, about Civil Rights and Choice, about Freedom Fighters, Headliners, Labor — and Librarians! It’s about historic moments—Kamala Harris being sworn in as the first African-American and first Asian-American Vice President of the United States; Title IX passing through Congress; Seneca Falls, where the first women’s rights convention was held; the Riot Grrrls movement; and so much more.
From Me:
I was expecting this book to share women from history for each letter of the alphabet, however it does not. It is better!! It goes through the alphabet picking a word or a few and discussing those words and how they relate to women's history and women's rights. This book is inspiring and upbeat. I absolutely love it! It is full of diverse girls and women and wonderful ideas. There are pages in it where specific women are mentioned, and some are just labeled in the illustrations. At the end of the book there are further explanations from each page including paragraph biographies on the women mentioned and illustrated.
The book uses words like bookish, dreaming, groundbreakers, justice, knowledge, persist, resourcefulness, and wisdom. My favorite however is "Y is for you." The book introduces amazing women from the past and present but also invites the young reader in to join the fight. The book focuses on women in history and the fight for women's rights, but it is not just focused on white straight women. It has Black women, Latina women, Muslim women, and LGBTQ+ women. It also focuses on sayings that have become popular mantras for women like "Nevertheless she persisted" and "Never again." The book shares authors, musicians, athletes, activists, politicians, mathematicians, scientists, teachers, librarians and more! It is well rounded and has something for everyone and will give every girl a hero to look up to. This book is just inspiring and well written!
This book is perfect to inspire the next generation of women to pick up the fight for equal rights and carry us even further. It teaches the past and shares the strengths of the women who have changed history. It leads girls to learn and keep going through anything that is thrown at us. This book is perfect for a classroom to study women's history, but it is also a powerful gift to give a young girl. I know this is the type of book my mother would have given to me and my sisters. It is one I would have had Hazel read when she was younger. When I read it, I felt its power and inspiration. It lifted my hopes and mood like not much has this year. I hope you will check it out!!
