The lives of ten brave women -- including Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman and Shirley Chisholm, Sojourner Truth, Fannie Lou Hamer - are part of an incredible story about courage in the face of oppression; about the challenges and triumphs of the battle for civil rights; and about speaking out for what you believe in--even when it feels like no one is listening.

It lost a half star because it needs to be updated, but otherwise a very good book for children in grades 3-6. ( )

Stories of ten important women are given here: Sojourner Truth, Biddy Mason, Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Mary McLeod Bethune, Ella Josephine Baker, Dorothy Irene Height, Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Shirley Chisholm. Each biography is preceded by an oil painting by illustrator Stephen Alcorn highlighting that woman's accomplishments.

Awards for this book include Coretta Scott King Honor (Author, 2001) and ALA Notable Children's Book (2001). ( )

You could use this book in a 5th grade classroom as a read aloud. (You could read the whole book or just pick out different women to focus on). If you just read one, then you could extend it into a writing lesson where children will pick a different woman from the book to focus on. They will research her and create a page that describes how she made a difference when it came to womens rights. The students will then put all of their pages together to make a classroom book. To wrap up the lesson you could read the actual book and the children's book to compare them. You could also use this book in a 4th grade classroom. Before reading, explain that the book is about women who didn't have the rights that they deserved and that they were fighting to get them. After reading, tell them that they are now going to be fighting for their rights. Tell them that they are to pretend that the principal has decided to take away their right to eat lunch at lunch time. The students will have to write a letter to the principal persuading him to give their rights back to them. This way the students understand the rights that the women had to fight for, and they get to practice their persuasive writing skills.

I think that this book is a fantastic source for young children to read about the women who were instrumental in the end of slavery and the beginning of equality. It has portraits of the women. ( )