March is Women's History Month! I think a perfect way to celebrate all the women who have changed the world because of their dreams and ambitions is to read about the lives and accomplishments of these women of wonder. Their stories may inspire you to change the world in your own way. Here is a list of five women of wonder books that inspired me.
Written by Pamela S. Turner
Illustrated by Vivien Mildenberger
San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books LLC. 2024. Informational.
Once upon a time there was a girl who was expected to wait on and serve her family every day. One day an invitation came from her brother, not to a royal ball, but to a new country with a new life. Caroline saw her chance to leave her life of servitude and she took it. She went to England with her brother to help him with his household and to perform music with him. They worked together and began to chart the night sky and eventually built a telescope. When Caroline discovered a comet she was able to convince others of her discovery. She was hired by King George III to become the world's first professional woman astronomer.
Written by Vivian Kirkfield
Illustrated by Alison Jay
New York: Calkins Creek. 2024. Informational.
Annie Londonderry was a mother of three living in Boston during 1890. Money was tight and when she saw an ad looking for a woman willing to cycle around the world in a year she decided she wanted the job. She learned how to ride a bike and took off for Chicago. She had to make some changes along the way when she realized she needed a different bicycle and more comfortable clothing, but she didn't quit. She made her way through Europe, Asia, sailed the ocean and crossed the United States. On September 12, 1895 she completed her journey coming in 14 days early. She was an amazing determined woman who showed the world that a woman in pants can do anything.
Written by Deborah Hopkinson
Illustrated by Jen Hill
New York: Balzer + Bray. 2024. Biography.
The famous Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize but before that she was a girl who wanted to become a scientist. She worked hard to make her dream a reality despite people who told her that a woman could never be a scientist. She had a supportive family and husband and through her dedication and hard work she had a brilliant career in science. Read and follow her career from her early years as a young girl chasing her dream, to her discovery of radium and being awarded the Nobel Prize.
Written by Breanna J. McDaniel
Illustrated by April Harrison
New York: Dial Books for Young Readers. 2024. Biography.
Augusta Braxton Baker loved stories! She grew up listening to her grandmother read stories to her and she used the lessons from these stories throughout her life. After high school she went to a teacher's college where she worked on her own storytelling abilities and she eventually became a children's librarian in Harlem. She told positive stories and worked to fix the wrongs she saw in her community and the world, while she inspired and guided children through the magic of her stories. She became the first Black Coordinator of Children's Services for all New York Public Libraries, also hosting radio shows, teaching, and traveling the country as the "Mistress of Storytelling."
Written by Dean Robbins
Illustrated by Susanna Chapman
Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press. 2024. Biography.
Five sisters played together in the Smith Sisters Orchestra but when the littlest sister, Viola came along almost all the instruments were taken except for one, the drums. When Viola sat behind the drums for the first time all she did was make a terrible commotion but she had more fun than she had ever had. She eventually mastered the drums and when she was thirteen she went on tour with her family traveling and performing across the Midwest in the 1920's. Viola loved playing the drums and even after her sisters lost interest she continued to play, eventually forming her own band. She was always learning and she kept getting faster and faster, becoming "the fastest girl drummer in the world."
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