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Item Barcode | Collection | Call Number | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33607000910474 | Picture Books | HEARNE | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
Take a journey through time with seven women who left their indelible imprints on the past. Their history is a story and more. They were farmers and artists and missionaries and storytellers. They fought many battles but never in any wars. They were devout and determined and tireless and beloved. They were brave beyond compare. Betsy Hearne and Bethanne Andersen both make their picture-book debuts in this empowering, beautifully illustrated account of seven unforgettable women.
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 4History is often defined by its wars and the men who fought in them. Here, Hearne presents a family history that marks eras by the wars in which the women didn't fight. For instance, the first chapter begins, "My great-great-great-grandmother did great things. Elizabeth lived during the Revolutionary War, but she did not fight in it." The brief text goes on to describe her journey, in a wooden sailboat from Switzerland to America, with two young children and another on the way. Each double-page spread shows how these women's lives were distinctive in their own way. Some, like the great-grandmother who started a women's hospital in India, are remarkable by any standards. Others are remarkable in quieter ways, like the grandmother who lived in the same house her whole life, caring for many family members and all of the neighborhood animals. Hearne's smooth writing style is suited to the succinct narrative; her carefully selected details help bring the past to life. Andersen, in her picture-book debut, has created oil paintings full of color, light, and movement. A dove carrying a pink ribbon moves gracefully from page to page, tying the women's stories together visually and thematically. Feminism, pacifism, and genealogy are woven together to make an attractive book that may inspire young readers to delve into their own family histories. While this book is short on dramatic tension, it's strong in artistry and heart.Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Noting that "in the old days, history books marked time by the wars that men fought," Hearne (Eliza's Dog) tells stories of seven women in her family who "did great things" without fighting in the eight wars that frame their lives. This is a smartly crafted collection of page-long personal tales that shake up common notions of what makes a life worthwhile or even heroic. War defines the era of Hearne's stories, but only incidentally: "Helen lived during World War I, but she did not fight in it. My great-grandmother was brave enough to go to medical school when it was hard for women to become doctors." (This Helen later founded a women's hospital in India). The other women's careers are less dramatic but no less noteworthy. The vividly detailed stories stretch from the Revolutionary War to the present, and are depicted with equal unconventionality by first-time illustrator Andersen's folkish, lyrical, uncommonly energetic oil paintings. Her imaginative compositions show each woman with people or mementos, including some that float in the background; they also feature a pink ribbon that links each scene to the next. The result is a book that is all the more magical for being rooted in history, an exhilarating reminder that "there are a million ways to be brave." Ages 5-up. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved