cover image Women Win the Vote! 19 for the 19th Amendment

Women Win the Vote! 19 for the 19th Amendment

Nancy B. Kennedy, illus. by Katy Dockrill. Norton Young Readers, $19.95 (128p) ISBN 978-1-324-00414-1

Concise profiles portray fiery, complex rabble-rousers, some more well-known than others. Abby Kelley Foster, one of the first suffragettes, admonished the younger generation, “Bloody feet, sisters, have worn smooth the path by which you come up hither.” Other figures who are less commonplace in history texts include Mary Ann Shadd Cary, who wrote to Frederick Douglass, “We should do more and talk less”; Adelina Otero-Warren, who worked tirelessly for ratification of the 19th amendment in New Mexico; and Matilda Joslyn Gage, a passionate activist for women, African-Americans, and Native Americans. More readily known figures include Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony. The poor contrast between typography and background frequently hampers the book’s readability, but the rousing spirit of Kennedy’s writing and Dockrill’s poster-like photo collages shine through. An epilogue, timeline, and extensive notes conclude. Ages 9–12. (Feb.)