Rad American Women A-Z

January 26, 2015
This lively abecedary introduces 25 inspiring women and their accomplishments, from environmentalist Rachel Carson (“R is for Rachel”) and rocker Patti Smith to lesser-known history-makers like Wilma Mankiller, who became the first female Chief of the Cherokee Nation, and transgender author/artist Kate Bornstein. Schatz opens with a discussion of different meanings of rad/radical (“A radical can be a person who wants to make big changes in society”), and the snappy mini-biographies that follow hit the highlights of the women’s lives and legacies in an accessible, conversational tone. Bright hues provide backdrops for Stahl’s angular cut-paper portraits, which emphasize the subjects’ power, humor, and strength. The letter X “is for the women whose names we don’t know.... For the women who aren’t in the history books, or the Halls of Fame.… The women who made huge changes and the women who made dinner.” This inspiring and diverse tribute to artists, journalists, sports phenoms, judges, and more culminates with an energizing A–Z list of “26 Things That You Can Do to Be Rad!” and a reading list to encourage further exploration. Ages 8–up.

February 15, 2015
Rousing tributes to 26 women who didn't keep their heads or voices down.Reserving "X" for "the women whose names we don't know," Schatz presents an unusually diverse gallery of activists. Along with the predictable likes of the Grimke sisters, Billie Jean King and Zora Neale Hurston, it includes Patti Smith, blacklisted musical prodigy Hazel Scott, Mexican-American journalist Jovita Idar and transgender performance artist Kate Bornstein. Furthermore, the author extends her definition of "radical" beyond the arenas of politics and social causes to include Florence Griffith-Joyner ("Who showed us how to run like a girl"), Rachel Carson, Temple Grandin and Dr. Virginia Apgar (developer of the Apgar Score for newborns). The author closes with an above-average reading list and activity suggestions that include a pithy second alphabet of "things that you can do to be rad!" Readers will come away energized if not particularly informed by her enthusiastic but vague profiles ("Patti tried working at a regular job, and she tried going to college, but her creative dreams were too powerful to put on hold"). The combination of hair-fine type, bright, monochrome background colors, and stylized, high-contrast portraits at each entry's head add up to an underground-'zine look overall. A "rad" alternative to less-inclusive albums, such as Cynthia Chin-Lee, Megan Halsey and Sean Addy's Amelia to Zora (2005). (websites) (Collective biography. 11-14)

February 1, 2015

Gr 5 Up-Colorful and hip potraitures create a visual sensation that immediately draws in readers. Profiled are 26 American women from the 18th through 21st centuries, who have made-or are still making-history as artists, writers, teachers, lawyers, or athletes. The women come from a variety of economic and ethnic backgrounds and many had to overcome extreme hardships. One woman represents each alphabetical letter beginning with Angela Davis, an activist, teacher, and writer, and concludes with Zora Neale Hurston, an anthropologist and writer. Readers will also encounter Carol Burnett, the Grimke Sisters, Lucy Parsons, Rachel Carson, and Sonia Sotomayor, among others. Interestingly, the letter X is designated for the women, "we haven't learned about yet, and the women whose stories we will never read." The book's conclusion challenges readers to be strong and to make a difference in their own communities and suggests 26 things that students can do to be rad. VERDICT Classes across the curriculum can utilize this informative book.-Patricia Ann Owens, formerly with Illinois Eastern Community Colls., Mt. Carmel

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