Winter, Jonah. Wild Women of the Wild West.

Winter, Jonah.  Wild Women of the Wild West.    Holiday House, 2011.  40p.  $16.95 ISBN 978-0--8234-1601-1  elm/ms (Grades 3-7).  E-BNe           

     This book includes the biographies of fifteen women who shaped the frontier during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Each woman's background and impact on her community and on American history is accompanied by a full-page color portrait.  The concise yet informative biographies provide a look at the place of women on the American frontier when it was just becoming settled. The women include Calamity Jane, Belle Starr, Annie Oakley, Carry Nation and other lesser-known but equally important women who shaped the West. Through all the biographies run the threads of strength, self-assurance, and a desire for freedom to live their lives as they wished. This book is an excellent addition to feminist collections as well as pioneer-history collections.             

Subject:  Women of the Frontier - Biography    

Lois McNicol

Schwartz, Heather E. Breaking Barriers (Women of the US Marine Corps)

Schwartz, Heather E.     Breaking Barriers (Women of the US Marine Corps)

            Capstone Publishers 2011   32p     20.25  978-1-4296-5450-0           

elm/ms           Snap Books(Capstone)         E-BN  

Colorful photos illustrate the history of

women in the Marine Corps. The focus is on current service by women as

helicopter pilots and combat support positions. Glossary terms appear in bold

with definition at the bottom of the page. Grades 4-8.     This book provides an

up close and personal look at a female Marine who piloted the Presidential

helicopter. Her entry into the Marines and advancement through pilot school

shows young girls that they too may find success in the military.  The training

in boot camp is rigorous and the physical conditioning needed to be successful

is not downplayed.  A thorough history of women in the Marines starts with the

War of 1812 and continues through the Afghanistan/Iraq War. The only misstep is

a photo showing female Marines without head covering interacting with female

Iraqi children while the text below the photo indicates that female Marines wear

headscarves as an indication of respect for the Muslim culture.  Excellent color

photos, both current and historic, illustrate the text admirably.  Students do

not need to flip to the glossary for terms highlighted in bold as the terms are

defined at the bottom of the page they appear on. An excellent addition to women

studies collections for elementary and middle school libraries as well as great

career information for female students who may not give much thought to a career

in the military. Fast facts, a timeline of women in the Marines, index and

further reading complete the book.            Snap: Women in the U.S. Armed Forces

contains four books, one for each service branch, show how women have served in

the military, an up close and personal interview with a current female

serviceperson and excellent color photos.             McNicol,Lois

Henningfeld, Diane Andrews,editor. Women in Islam.

Henningfeld, Diane Andrews,editor.   Women in Islam.        

Cengage(Gale,Lucent,Kidhaven/Blackbirch 2011   116p   23.85  978-0-7377-4905-2            

secondary       At Issue (Cengage/Gale/Greenhaven)       E-BN   

Women in Islam is a book that will open your eyes to the injustices some women face in Islam. 

The issues are presented in such a way that encourage discussions.      

Women is Islam is a book on a very timely topic. 

The rights of women are discussed all over the world but in

countries where Islam rules all, women have very few rights. The articles in

this issue exposes the truth of how women are treated in the world of Islam. It is a topic

the Western world rarely ever tackles. Many of the articles address, domestic

abuse, dress code for women, where they must hide every part of their body or

risk severe punishment, divorce issues, education for women, female genitalia

mutilation a topic rarely spoken of in any circle.

 The issues also include readings about women from Islam living in the western

world and how they are perceived.

 The book presents pro and con views of these and many other issues pertaining

to women's rights. Also offers eyewitness stories as well as statements from

country officials and politicians. 

Includes: Organizations to contact,  Bibliography, and index.          Diaz, Magna

Jocelyn, Marthe. Scribbling Women.

Jocelyn, Marthe. Scribbling Women.
Tundra Books 2011 208p 19.95
978-0-88776-952-8 VG
Jocelyn highlights eleven inspiring women, from various cultures and time periods, who had diverse reasons for writing. Despite various challenges, their writing has left a rich legacy about their lives. Some are famous, such as the journalist, Nellie Bly, others less well-known. Their lives were often brave; one survived a brutal existence in the Arctic during a scientific expedition gone wrong, another lived a cosseted life in Imperial Japan, and yet another was a Vietnamese doctor who perished while writing amidst American bombing in the jungles of Vietnam.
Jocelyn establishes that their lives were bold and that their writings offer a fascinating perspective into challenging lives of these extraordinary women. She has researched her subjects well; for example, when describing Mary Kingsley’s adventures in West Africa, she notes how Kingsley disapproved of King Leopold’s colonization and mistreatment of the people of the Belgian Congo. Jocelyn provides illustrations or photographs of the woman and links each chapter cleverly so that the book flows effortlessly from one story to another. Pieces of the women’s writings are interspersed within the chapters about them, so in addition to reading about them, one gets a feel for their writing style and personality. This is would be a very good title that could enlighten high school readers on how, despite various challenges, writing can leave a rich legacy about the writer’s life.
This is would be a very good title that could enlighten high school readers on how, despite various challenges, writing can leave a rich legacy about the writer’s life. Weinraub, Tina

George-Warren, Holly The Cowgirl Way

George-Warren, Holly The Cowgirl Way
Houghton Mifflin/Clarion/Graphia/Kingfisher 2010 112p 18.00
978-0-618-73738-3 ms/hs VG-BN
Discusses the origins of the cowgirl in the form of sharpshooters, outlaws, legislators, wranglers, and performers who helped settle the American West. To paraphrase Toby Keith, “...should’ve been a cowgirl, should’ve learned to rope and ride, ...just like Jane and Dale....” And just like trick rider Mabel Strickland, Wild West star May Lillie and rodeo rider Prairie Rose Henderson. These women, and others, are the focus of this fascinating study of “cow-boy girls”, from the nineteenth century to today. What stands out about these women is the manner in which they subtly changed the social expectations of women in the West, breaking down social barriers as they claimed a piece of the cowboy life for themselves on their own terms. George-Warren offers a variety of cowgirls, including Wild West show trick riders, outlaws, celluloid stars and all-women rodeo events sponsored by The Women’s Professional Rodeo Association. The narrative ropes in a variety of cowgirls, whose quotes and remenesences provide an insight into a world that may not be familiar to most readers. The design of the book has an old-fashioned appeal and includes archival photos, posters and postcards. Includes an index of content and photographs. This a little known area of women’s history would be a fine addition to a women’s studies collection. Recommended for women’s studies and American West history. Zajko, Rosanne
Cowgirls

Sullivan, J. Courtney. Commencement

Sullivan, J. Courtney Commencement
Vintage see Random 2009 419p 14.95
978-0-307-45496-6 college E
Four young women continue their friendship after graduating from college. Each has a destiny to follow and as their new life unfolds they try to support each other whether they agree or not. Four young women from different part of the states come together as freshman and forge a friendship that will continue even after they graduate from college. Celia the writer in the group introduces us to her best friends, April, always on the path searching for the truth and ready to document it, Sally wealthy and eager to face life as a professional but ultimate choosing to marry and have a child, and then there is Bree, beautiful, gorgeous Bree, confused as to her sexuality and choosing doomed love affairs.
Together they continue their friendship and support each other whether they agree with the choices their friends make or not.
Each character gets a chance to tell her story and they are interweaved so that the reader gets to know all the characters and how each life affects the other characters and although there are strange moments of tension, fear and danger but ultimately friendship wins out.
An excellent story but not for high school. Diaz, Magna
Young college women - Female friendship - United States - Social conditions

Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

Kent, Deborah. Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Enslow 2010 128p 31.93
Americans-Spirit of a Nation(Enslow)
978-0-7660-3357-3 ms/hs VG-BN
Examines the life of women's rights pioneer Elizabeth Cady Stanton, including her childhood, her tireless battle for women's suffrage, and her legacy in American history. After reading this biography of women’s rights activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, one wonders why her image wasn’t paired with Susan B. Anthony’s on the silver dollar. The two women worked together for fifty years on a variety of issues, including women’s suffrage and the temperance movement. It was Stanton’s written speeches that Anthony delivered, thus spreading the message of women’s rights, yet Anthony appears to be considered the sole force behind women’s suffrage. Since Stanton frequently seems to be overshadowed by Anthony, this biography of Stanton should be required reading for any student researching the foundations of the women’s rights movement. Stanton’s dedication to women’s rights began with a remark by her father who, when she tried to comfort him over the death of her only (surviving) brother, told her he wished she were a boy and although she excelled in her studies, it was for naught in her father’s eyes. Her father’s law office provided Stanton with ample opportunities to see firsthand how the law treated women, which further deepened her determination to change was she saw as a fundamental flaw in human rights. Her marriage to abolitionist Henry Stanton and her close association with her cousin Gerit Smith, also an abolitionist, introduced her to other well-known figures who would later influence and assist her in her struggles for equality for women. Stanton is perhaps best known for organizing, along with Mary Anne McClintock and Lucretia Mott, the Woman’s Right’s Convention in Seneca Falls, NY in 1848. Here Stanton delivered her most well known speech, _The Declaration of Sentiments_. The speech was composed by Stanton and other like-minded women and as the author notes, “it changed the course of history.” The force of Stanton’s personality and her beliefs shine through in every chapter. The facts of her life are interwoven with the history of the women’s movement and placed in the context of what society expected of women at that time. To trace the arc of Stanton’s life is to examine the spark that ignited the fight for women’s rights, rights which many of us today take for granted. Many women who toiled with Stanton to advance women’s rights are given their due accord as well, and none more than Susan B. Anthony. Some of Stanton’s beliefs, as outlined in The Women’s Bible, were unpopular but that did not stop her from her passionate stand for women’s rights. This readable, informative biography is an inspiration and a reminder of a dedicated woman who stood up for what she believed. Sidebar text boxes and photographs and other illustrations are included, as is a Table of Contents, a chronology, Chapter notes and an index. Most noticeably absent is a copy of the The Declaration of Sentiments and in the Further Resources suggestion, a link to the Stanton-Anthony Papers at Rutgers should have been included. Zajko, Rosanne

A Reader’s Guide to Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club by Pamela Loos

Loos, Pamela. A Reader’s Guide to Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club.
Enslow, 2008, 112p, $31.93, 978-0-7660-2832-6.

This reader’s guide to Amy Tan’s “The Joy Luck Club”, is an excellent companion to the book. It explores the complexity of the Chinese culture and opens a door to the world of their women. It also becomes a lens for the immigrant’s dream of becoming an American and having American born children. Beginning with her biography, Amy Tan shares with the reader her struggle in the American society and how her traditional parents got lost in the American way even as they embraced the concept.
Amy then translates this struggle beautifully in the book the Joy Luck Club. In choosing four young Chinese women and their mothers the reader gets a chance to see how the mothers took the opportunity to escape the China and with barely anything on their backs except their clothes they ran for freedom. As the story progresses we see how the mother’s life story brought them to despair and to the point of choosing to take a chance at a new life in a world that does not even speak their language. There are plenty of symbolisms, and family pride. And in this story the connection takes you back to China where the thread of family rejoins the American end bring it full circle.
This is a great resource for the teachers and the students. I suspect this book will help explain the book and have the students searching their book for answers to questions.
Includes: glossary, chronology, major works, bibliography, web sites and index. MD

Doomed Queens. by Kris Waldherr

Waldherr, Kris. Doomed Queens.
Broadway Books (Random), 2008, 176p, $14.95, 978-0-7679-2899-1.

Discusses the unfortunate deaths of fifty different queens throughout history and examines what they had in common that led to their untimely demise.
Technically, Princess Di was not a queen, but she was royal by marriage and by all accounts, the marriage was doomed from the start. And of course, her life ended tragically. Diana is not alone; other royal women as far back 835 BC shared her fate. In a light, entertaining narrative, readers learn about royal women who met an untimely end through poisoning, starvation, beheading and assassination, to name a few. The queenly profiles are divided chronologically by chapter, from the Biblical to the semi-modern, with a quirky end of chapter multiple choice quiz at the end of each chapter. Each profile is short but succinct, ranging from one to three pages, and highlights the well-known doomed queens (the wives of Henry VII and Marie Antoinette) to the lesser known (Caroline of Brunswick and Urraca of Castille) to the multicultural (Oghul Ghaimish and Empress Xu Pingjun). A cautionary moral is associated with each queen. For example: “Don’t marry a man in love with another man.” Had Roxanne, the wife of Alexander the Great, realized this, she may have saved herself much heartache as well as death by poisoning. Pencil sketches and sidebar information accompanies most profiles. Includes a timeline, Table of Contents and an Index.
Recommended as brain candy - a fun read. RZ