Title: She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World
Author: Chelsea Clinton
Illustrator: Alexandra Boiger
Publisher: Philomel Books, 2017
Editor: Jill Santopolo
Book Type: Non-Fiction
Ages: 6-10
Theme: Persistence, Feminism, Activism
Synopsis (from Amazon website):
Chelsea Clinton introduces tiny feminists, mini activists and little kids who are ready to take on the world to thirteen inspirational women who never took no for an answer, and who always, inevitably and without fail, persisted.
Throughout American history, there have always been women who have spoken out for what’s right, even when they have to fight to be heard. In early 2017, Senator Elizabeth Warren’s refusal to be silenced in the Senate inspired a spontaneous celebration of women who persevered in the face of adversity. In this book, Chelsea Clinton celebrates thirteen American women who helped shape our country through their tenacity, sometimes through speaking out, sometimes by staying seated, sometimes by captivating an audience. They all certainly persisted.
She Persisted is for everyone who has ever wanted to speak up but has been told to quiet down, for everyone who has ever tried to reach for the stars but was told to sit down, and for everyone who has ever been made to feel unworthy or unimportant or small.
With vivid, compelling art by Alexandra Boiger, this book shows readers that no matter what obstacles may be in their paths, they shouldn’t give up on their dreams. Persistence is power.
This book features: Harriet Tubman, Helen Keller, Clara Lemlich, Nellie Bly, Virginia Apgar, Maria Tallchief, Claudette Colvin, Ruby Bridges, Margaret Chase Smith, Sally Ride, Florence Griffith Joyner, Oprah Winfrey, Sonia Sotomayor—and one special cameo.
Activities:
- Check out this wonderful extension activity by Book Nerd Mommy. Have a child create a mini-biography by drawing another figure from history and adding a paragraph about how that person persisted.
- Visit the Mighty Girl Books page to find other wonderful titles to encourage and inspire.
Why I Like This Book:
A timely, engaging book about 13 women who “persisted” through history against the status quo to pursue their dream for what they believed.
The opening spread invites the reader into the book with a portrait of each of the future biographies to come. The book starts with well-known women such as Harriet Tubman to lesser known women such as Virginia Apgar, to modern day women such as Oprah Winfrey and Sonia Sotomayor.
While history can be dry, these short 1-paragraph mini-biographies are perfect for engaging readers. The book contains women across different races, though my astute nine-year old noticed there were no South Asians. I replied that our history in the United States has been relatively short so maybe in another generation or two we’ll see more South Asians being celebrated in the media. I did wonder why there were no Chinese/Japanese – Americans since they have been in this country for much longer.
This book opens the doors to numerous conversations about persistence, race, feminism and more; that is where I think the real magic lies with this book.
The publisher recommended age is 4 to 8 years, however, I would say it is a bit older. Kids who can already recognize at least 4 to 5 women will have an easier time of staying engaged. The use of the phrase “she persisted” in each mini-biography helps to hold the stories together.
The watercolor and ink art contributes a soft inviting feel for each story. The quotes by each famous woman were fun to read. One of my favorites being Sally Ride’s “Young girls need to see role models in whatever careers they may choose, just so they can picture themselves doing those jobs someday. You can’t be what you can’t see.”
The only thing missing from this book was a reference page with other recommended titles to read. This book was done so well that I wanted to immediately know what else was out there. Missed opportunity.
Good for home and school libraries. Best read together with an adult.
Find She Persisted at the following spots:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | Goodreads
ISBN-10: 1524741728
ISBN-13: 978-1524741723
Flowering Minds 