Independent Dames

May 26, 2008
Anderson and Faulkner try to do for the women of Colonial America what they did so successfully for the lady behind Thanksgiving in Thank You, Sarah
. Opening with a provocative question about why a school play on the Revolution lacks roles for women and girls, Anderson then unlooses a host of possible starring candidates: women who acted as spies, organized boycotts, even disguised themselves as men to enlist. But their attempt to include females in the pantheon of white men in powdered wigs results in a mile-wide, inch-deep roll call. Readers must juggle four different narrative elements—Anderson's text, a time line, oval insets with biographical detail about individual heroines, and Faulkner's mostly irreverent speech bubbles, which provide laughs but can be at odds with the subject matter. Ambitious but flawed, this may go over best with those needing an antidote to fancy-princess trends. Ages 6–10.

August 1, 2008
Gr 3-5-The stories of 22 "Revolutionary Grandmothers" take center stage in this well-illustrated volume. A few of the names are familiarPhillis Wheatley, Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Deborah Sampsonbut as the author establishes, there are many women and girls whose large and small contributions to the cause of independence have been largely ignored. Prudence Wright and Sarah Shattuck guarded their village when the men were fighting at Concord and Lexington, and they captured a British spy. After her husband was killed in battle, Margaret Corbin fired his cannon until she was shot, making her the first American woman to receive a military pension. Whether the women were disguising themselves as men in order to be soldiers, raising money for suffering soldiers, sewing and knitting for the troops, or participating in protests or a boycott of British goods, their actions were significant. Faulkner's ink-and-watercolor illustrations are exuberant, often amusing, and filled with crosshatching and dialogue balloons. The spreads are busy and information-packed, and readers will be both engaged by and educated about this critical period."Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.