Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Susan B. Anthony
Nonfiction Picture Book
For ages 7 to 9
Holiday House, 2012 ISBN: 978-0823419531
Susan B. Anthony grew up in Adams, Massachusetts, with her six brothers and sisters, and she had a happy life. Though her parents were strict, they, unlike so many other parents at that time, thought that it was important to educate their daughters as well as their sons. Susan’s grandfather taught her how to read, and later her father set up a school for his worker’s children, hiring a woman to teach both the girls and the boys. Susan became one of the students at this “factory school.”
When Susan was eighteen she got a job teaching at a school for girls, but after a few years she decided that she did not want to spend her whole life teaching. She wanted a bigger challenge and made the decision to “become a voice for change.”
Susan believed that women should have the same rights as men, that slavery was an evil institution, and that the world would be a better place if people did not drink alcohol. She began to speak publically about the issues that she cared about, and had to tolerate audiences who treated her rudely and who even threatened her.
Then Susan met Elizabeth Cady Stanton, another person who wanted woman to have the same rights as men. They became friends and began to work together, gathering other women around them who had similar convictions, who were willing to work hard, and who would not be intimidated into quitting. Together the women were determined to fight for what they thought was right.
In this excellent picture book Alexandra Wallner tells the story of Susan B. Anthony’s life, helping readers to see how determined she was, and how hard she had to fight to be heard and respected.
