cover image Rebel Voices: The Global Fight for Women’s Equality and the Right to Vote

Rebel Voices: The Global Fight for Women’s Equality and the Right to Vote

Eve Lloyd Knight, illus. by Louise Kay Stewart. Crocodile, $18.95 (48p) ISBN 978-1-62371-964-7

History’s suffragists were anything but timid, Knight and Stewart declare in this vividly written and powerfully illustrated volume. The collaborators chronologically present the slow progression of women’s suffrage worldwide, beginning with New Zealand in 1893 and ending with Saudi Arabia in 2015. Each spread focuses on a woman, group of women, or organization that was pivotal to the suffrage fight in a given nation. Stewart captures the grit and determination of the women through stormy backgrounds, stark design elements, and vehement facial expressions. Activist and actress Kimura Komako has red lips and eyes that reflect the Japanese flag’s red disc; another spread shows Marguerite Durand with a sweeping cape and a pink-tinged lioness (she strolled through Paris with the cat to promote suffrage). The portraits call to mind sorceresses or other fairy tale figures, but through clear, evocative descriptions and useful timelines, Knight emphasizes that these heroines were and are very real. Ages 9–up. [em](Nov.) [/em]