[Saturday Reads] Female Trailblazers Who Changed the World

SaturdayReads

Fats here.

Every Saturday we hope to share with you our thoughts on reading and books. We thought that it would be good practice to reflect on our reading lives and our thoughts about reading in general. While on occasion, we would feature a few books in keeping with this, there would be a few posts where we will just write about our thoughts on read-alouds, libraries, reading journals, upcoming literary conferences, books that we are excited about, and just book love miscellany in general.

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As my last hurrah to our January-March theme on Warrior Women, I am sharing three non-fiction titles that feature extraordinary women in history. I’m amazed at how many of these collections I have discovered because of our theme.

History vs Women

The Defiant Lives That They Don’t Want You to Know

by Anita Sarkeesian and Ebony Adams, with illustrations by T.S. Abe

“Looking through the ages and across the globe, Anita Sarkeesian, founder of Feminist Frequency, along with Ebony Adams PHD, have reclaimed the stories of twenty-five remarkable women who dared to defy history and change the world around them. From Mongolian wrestlers to Chinese pirates, Native American ballerinas to Egyptian scientists, Japanese novelists to British Prime Ministers, History vs Women will reframe the history that you thought you knew. Featuring beautiful full-color illustrations of each woman and a bold graphic design, this standout nonfiction title is the perfect read for teens (or adults!) who want the true stories of phenomenal women from around the world and insight into how their lives and accomplishments impacted both their societies and our own.”

Number of pages: 144

Number of women featured in the book: 25

Chapter titles: Reckless Rebels, Revelatory Scholars, Ruthless Villains, Restless Artists, and Relentless Amazons

From the author: “To all the women whose stories were never told, whose songs were never sung, and whose works were never celebrated, may the knowledge of your lives stir up ambitious dreams in new generations of women who will never be forgotten.”

What I like about this book: In-depth focus on some of the most fearless females in history that I have never heard of before, and each woman mentioned in the book had a title attached to her name

Bygone Badass Broads

52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World

by Mackenzie Lee, with illustrations by Petra Eriksson

“Based on Mackenzi Lee’s popular weekly Twitter series of the same name, Bygone Badass Broadsfeatures 52 remarkable and forgotten trailblazing women from all over the world. With tales of heroism and cunning, in-depth bios and witty storytelling, Bygone Badass Broads gives new life to these historic female pioneers. Starting in the fifth century BC and continuing to the present, the book takes a closer look at bold and inspiring women who dared to step outside the traditional gender roles of their time. Coupled with riveting illustrations and Lee’s humorous and conversational storytelling style, this book is an outright celebration of the badass women who paved the way for the rest of us.”

Number of pages: 176

Number of women featured in the book: 52

Chapter titles: Women’s names. (Pretty straightforward.)

From the author: “[These women] span time, the globe, socioeconomic situations, sexual and gender identities, and races. They are queens, scientists, athletes, politicians, spies, warriors, peacemakers, criminals, and scoundrels. They are trendsetters, barrier breakers, innovators, and rebels. Each one of them has shown me an infinite number of ways to be a strong woman and a strong human being…”

What I like about this book: Layout, footnotes, and breathtaking illustrations

Wonder Women

25 Innovators, Inventors, and Trailblazers Who Changed History

by Sam Maggs, with illustrations by Sophia Foster-Dimino

“You may think you know women’s history pretty well. But have you ever heard of Alice Ball, the chemist who developed an effective treatment for leprosy—only to have the credit taken by a man? Mary Sherman Morgan, the rocket scientist whose liquid fuel compounds blasted the first U.S. satellite into orbit? Huang Daopo, the inventor whose weaving technology revolutionized textile production in China—centuries before the cotton gin? Smart women have always been able to achieve amazing things, even when the odds were stacked against them. In Wonder Women, author Sam Maggs tells the stories of the brilliant, brainy, and totally rad women in history who broke barriers as scientists, engineers, mathematicians, adventurers, and inventors. Plus, interviews with real-life women in STEM careers, an extensive bibliography, and a guide to women-centric science and technology organizations—all to show the many ways the geeky girls of today can help to build the future.”

Number of pages: 240

Number of women featured in the book: 25 women in focus, 7 other amazing women from a particular field, and one more for interview (total of 65 women!)

Chapter titles: Women of Science, Women of Medicine, Women of Espionage, Women of Innovation, Women of Adventure

From the author: “It’s time to stop accepting women’s role in history as limited to keeping a great home (though admittedly a harder job than it looks!) and birthing the dudes we learn about in art history or religion or biology class. It’s time to shake off the bogus fear that pursuing any interest that falls outside the traditionally “feminine”—say, working in a STEM field, exploring the world, designing a video game—will make us complete pariahs…. First, though, we have to get the stories of these women out into the world. Because representation matters.”

Why I like this book: A lot of women were represented in the book, the special Q&A with a wonder women of today was a bonus, has an appendix that lists resources and organizations for women of all ages who want to expand their horizons