Educator, Feminist, and Anti-Lynching Civil Rights Leader
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Henry Holt and Company
GODWINBOOKS (pub.1.4.2022) 48 pages
Author: Michelle Duster
Illustrator: Laura Freeman
Character: Ida B. Wells
Overview:
"Ida B. Wells was an educator, journalist, feminist, businesswoman, newspaper owner, public speaker, suffragist, civil rights activist, and women’s club leader.
She was a founder of the NAACP, the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs, the Alpha Suffrage Club, and the Negro Fellowship League.
She wrote, spoke, and traveled, challenging the racist and sexist norms of her time.
Faced with criticism and threats to her life, she never gave up.
This is her extraordinary true story, as told by her great-granddaughter Michelle Duster and beautifully brought to life by Coretta Scott King Award Honoree artist Laura Freeman."
Tantalizing taste:
" One day in 1884, when Ida was in her early twenties, she was riding a train when the conductor asked her to move rom the 'ladies' car' to the 'colored car,' which doubled as the smoking car. She refused and was thrown off the train.
Rather than cower to the powers that be, she wrote about the incident in the newspaper and sued the Chesapeake, Ohio & Southwestern Railroad. She won the case and was awarded $500, even though it was appealed all the way to the Tennessee Supreme Court.
Almost two and a half years later, the ruling was overturned in favor of the railroad, and Ida B. Wells was accused of harassing the company."
And something more: Michelle Duster, author of Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth, worked tirelessly with a committee for over thirteen years to develop a monument in honor of her great-grandmother. The monument was installed in 2021 and located on the land where the Ida B. Wells Homes public housing community once stood in Chicago.
The Only Woman Whose Name Is on the Declaration of Independence
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Christy Ottaviano Books (pub.1.25.2022) 40 pages
Author: Ella Schwartz
Illustrator: Dow Phumiruk
Character: Mary Katharine Goddard
Overview:
"Born in 1738, Mary Katharine Goddard came of age in colonial Connecticut as the burgeoning nation prepared for the American Revolution. As a businesswoman and a newspaper publisher, Goddard paved the way for influential Revolutionary media. Her remarkable accomplishments as a woman defied societal norms and set the stage for a free and open press.
When the Continental Congress decreed that the Declaration of Independence be widely distributed, one person rose to the occasion and printed the document—boldly inserting her name at the bottom with a printing credit: Mary Katharine Goddard."
Tantalizing taste:
"Most parents in colonial America thought girls should only learn to cook, sew, and take care of the house, but Mary Katharine's parents disagreed. They wanted their daughter to have the same education as her brother, William. Mary Katharine learned how to read and write just as well as her brother. They were mostly taught by their mother, who encouraged the Goddard children to study Latin, ancient history, and classic literature. As a young girl, Mary Katharine realized that knowledge made her powerful."
And something more: In the interview of Dow and Ella on John Schu's Watch. Connect. Read. Dow shares more about this inspiring and beautifully illustrated book: "I am grateful for talented authors like Ella. Her meticulous research shines a light on Mary Katharine's life and accomplishments. I am also grateful for our editor Christy Ottaviano (Christy Ottaviano Books), who champions so many stories of influential and brave women like Mary Katharine."
And I agree! I too am grateful for the wonderful Christy Ottaviano.Christy was the editor of the children's picture book biography that Dow and I did together, MAYA LIN: Artist - Architect of Light and Lines, which shares the story of another inspiring and influential woman.
Updated: Mar 22, 2022
The Sometimes Turbulent Life of Meteorologist Joanne Simpson
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Abrams Books for Young Readers
(pub 3.8.22) 48 pages
Author: Sandra Nickel
Illustrator: Helena Perez Garcia
Character: Joanne Simpson
Overview:
"When Joanne Simpson (1923-2010) was a girl, she sailed her boat beneath the puffy white clouds of Cape Cod. As a pilot, she flew her plane so high, its wings almost touched them. And when World War II began and Joanne moved to the University of Chicago, a professor asked her to teach Air Force officers about those very clouds and the weather-changing winds.
As soon as the war ended, Joanne decided to seriously study the clouds she had grown to love so much. Her professors laughed. They told her to go home. They told her she was no longer needed. They told her, 'No woman ever got a doctorate in meteorology. And no woman ever will.'
But Joanne was stubborn. She sold her boat. She flew her last flight. She saved her money so that she could study clouds. She worked so hard and discovered so much that—despite what the professors said—she received a doctorate in meteorology. She was the first woman in the world to do so."
Tantalizing taste:
" By the time Joanne was five, she had discovered her mother didn't much care where she was. That summer on Cape Cod, she slipped a small boat into the inlet behind her cottage, tipped her face to the sky, and watched the clouds above her. There were whiffs and ribbons and mountains of clouds. Some were brilliant; some were frightening. Joanne loved them all.
By the time Joanne was ten, she had learned her mother's words could be icier than the coldest winds.
You are too stubborn. You are too smart.
You have to be lovable to be loved, Joanne."
And something more: Sandra Nickel kindly shared with me her experience of first school visit with her new book: "I just had my first school visit for Breaking Through the Clouds and you could have heard a pin drop. The kids were absolutely enthralled by Joanne's scientific journey and the subject of clouds. I think they were fascinated by Joanne, because I told her story as she did. I went through boxes and boxes of her scientific notes and private papers at Harvard University. I discovered that Joanne's mother was neglectful and emotionally abusive, and I begin Joanne's story that way, showing how clouds became her escape and later her life's passion. As I told the kids about this, I saw them becoming more and more invested in Joanne's journey and also more interested in clouds. It was as if the saving nature of clouds in Joanne's life made clouds more valued and interesting to them. It was beautiful to see."
Thank you to Sandra for sharing your experience with the students. I'm certain those children and all others who read the book will see and appreciate clouds in a new way, and be saddened yet also inspired by the story of Joanne Simpson. And, of course, as another author of picture book biographies, I'm very impressed that Sandra carefully researched this book by going through boxes and boxes of Joanne's scientific notes and private papers at Harvard. Primary sources are the best for telling a person's story!
