Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Remember the Ladies: 100 Great American Women
Nonfiction Picture Book
For ages 8 to and up
HarperTrophy, 2003 ISBN: 978-0064438698
In a letter to her husband in 1776 Abigail Adams reminded her husband, the President of the United States, that he should "remember the ladies." In other words he should not forget that at least half of the citizens in his country were women and that they too should be heard in the halls of government. Unfortunately this was not to be, and a long struggle took place between the women who wanted their rights and the society that wanted to deprive them of these rights.
In this extraordinary tribute to American women, the author tells us a little about one hundred women who have played important roles in all aspects of American life from the time when Europeans first settled in the New World to the present day. We are able to see how every period in American history had its women heroes, women who cared for their families under very difficult circumstances, women who defended their right to basic freedoms, women to cared for others, and much more. Indeed it is hard to find an arena of life that has not been affected by some forthright woman at some time in American history.
Many of the "ladies" in this book are known to us and many are less well known but are still very important in the history of the United States in their own ways. After reading this book it is hard to imagine what we would have done without Nellie Bly, Helen Keller, Amelia Bloomer, and the others. Together they made the United States a better country and together they made it possible for modern women to have all the freedoms and rights that they sometimes take for granted.
Packed with information and with a tone that resonates with passion and pride, this is a book which should be placed into the hands of every American child to both educate and inspire.
