My celebration of Women's History Month continues with a collection of books about amazing women who took risks, worked hard, and were outstanding in their field. I also threw in one historical fiction title that seemed relevant in an election year. I can't believe that I only have one more week of Women's History Month. I have only begun to scratch the surface of fantastic books on women. Hopefully, this will encourage everyone to seek out more stores about dynamic women who have changed history for the better.

Miss Mary Reporting
by Sue Macy; Illustrated by C.F. Payne
Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman (February 16, 2016)
Nonfiction * Biography * Women's History
Audience: Ages 7 to 10
Indiebound | WorldCat

Description from GoodReads:
While sitting in the bleachers of a Soap Box Derby in the 1950s, Mary Garber overheard two African-American boys in the following exchange: “See that lady down there?” asked one boy. “That’s Mary Garber. She doesn’t care who you are, but if you do something good, she’ll write about you.”

Mary Garber was a pioneering sports journalist in a time where women were rarely a part of the newspaper business. Women weren’t even allowed to sit in the press boxes at sporting events, so Mary was forced to sit with the coaches’ wives. But that didn’t stop her.

In a time when African-American sports were not routinely covered, Mary went to the games and wrote about them. Garber was a sportswriter for fifty-six years and was the first woman to receive the Associated Press Sports Editors’ Red Smith Award, presented for major contributions in sports journalism. And now, every year the Association of Women in Sports Media presents the Mary Garber Pioneer Award in her honor to a role model for women in sports media.

Sure to inspire future journalists, athletes, and any child who has a dream, this illustrated biography of Mary Garber captures her feisty and determined spirit and brings her story to life.

Quick comments on this book:

I have read a number of Macy's books and I always find myself learning about new facts involving women and sports. This biography on Mary Garber is no exception.

Dorothea's Eyes: Dorothea Lange Photographs the Truth
by Barb Rosenstock; Illustrated by Gerard DuBois
Calkins Creek (March 1, 2016)
Nonfiction * Biography * Art
Audience: Ages 7 to 10
Indiebound | World Cat

Description from GoodReads:
After a childhood bout of polio left her with a limp, all Dorothea Lange wanted to do was disappear. But this desire not to be seen helped her learn how to blend into the background and observe others acutely. With a passion for the artistic life, and in spite of her family’s disapproval, Dorothea pursued her dream to become a photographer and focused her lens on the previously unseen victims of the Great Depression. This poetic biography tells the emotional story of Lange’s evolution as one of the founders of documentary photography. It includes a gallery of Lange’s photographs, and an author’s note, timeline, and bibliography.

Quick thoughts:

Rosenstock provides readers with a fascinating biography including the significant factors and life experiences that influenced Dorothea Lange's decision to become a photographer.

One of Lange's most famous photographs from her Migrant Farm Families series.

The House That Jane Built
by Tanya Lee Stone; Illustrated by Kathryn Brown
Henry Holt & Co. (June 23, 2015)
Nonfiction * Biography * Social Activists
Audience: Ages 7 to 10
Indiebound | WorldCat

Description from GoodReads:
This is the story of Jane Addams, the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, who transformed a poor neighborhood in Chicago by opening up her house as a community center.

Quick comments on this book:

This book about Jane Addams came out too late to feature last year for Women's History Month. As a fan of Smith's work, I knew I needed to include this biography in this year's round-up.

And one Historical Fiction New Release:

Elizabeth Started All the Trouble
by Doreen Rappaport; Illustrated by Matt Faulkner
Disney-Hyperion (February 23, 2016)
Audience: Ages 7 to 10
Fiction * Historical * Women's Rights
Indiebound | WorldCat

Description from GoodReads:
She couldn't go to college.
She couldn't become a politician.
She couldn't even vote.
But Elizabeth Cady Stanton didn't let that stop her.

She called on women across the nation to stand together and demand to be treated as equal to men-and that included the right to vote. It took nearly seventy-five years and generations of women fighting for their rights through words, through action, and through pure determination . . . for things to slowly begin to change.

With the help of these trailblazers' own words, Doreen Rappaport's engaging text, brought to life by Matt Faulkner's vibrant illustrations, shows readers just how far this revolution has come, and inspires them to keep it going!

Quick comments on this book:

I have been a fan of both Rappaport and Faulkner and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. it made me realize how even today we need to still protect the rights we, as women, have worked so hard to gain.

All four are worth adding to your classroom or school library. Look for each one of these books at your local indie bookstore or public library.