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A is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Women Review
Mothers, daughters, schoolchildren, generations of families -- everyone -- will take Abigail Adams's words to heart and "remember the ladies" once they read the stories of these astonishing, astounding, amazing American women. User Submitted A is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Women ReviewsOctober 20, 2008 A is for Abigail I bought this book for my eight year old daughter, who absolutely loves history! She loved this book, as did I. The book goes through the alphabet recognizing different women of history who have contributed to this great nation. The illustration, in my opinion, is wonderful. Hats off to Lynne Cheney and Robin Preiss Glasser. Well Done! April 21, 2008 A is for Awesome... I love this book and find it very educational. The author did a great job with the writing and research and the illustrator did a wonderful job with making the appearance attractive. This is an excellent book to have on any shelf. April 21, 2008 Abigail to John: Don't forget the women When John Adams began considering what laws should be made, his wife Abigail wrote from the family farm: "I desire you would remember the ladies." A familiar line in American history, but here is the rest of it: "If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound to any laws by which we have no voice or representation." Is it any wonder that Writer Lynne Cheney and illustrator Robin Preiss Glasser begin their alphabet Almanac of Amazing American Women with Abigail Adams? Cheney, herself the wife of a Vice President and accomplished children's writer, and Glasser, a former ballet soloist and professional children's illustrator, have jointly produced several books about Americana: Our 50 States: A Family Adventure Across America and America : A Patriotic Primer. This one about women throughout American history is dear to the hearts of both women. Because Abigail is first in many ways, she gets a two-page spread filled to the edges of the pages with depictions of life on the Adams farm, which Abigail ran single-handedly while John helped found a country. Glasser's illustrations are a delight to the eye. A child could spend quite a while on each of these pages, just reveling in the details of the lively illustrations. B is for Elizabeth Blackwell, the center figure and the first woman to earn a medical degree, with four other healers in the four corners, plus names of nine other written in the empty spaces. It is fun to follow the trails of words and count the extra names. There is a fabulous home-spun illustration representing Emily Dickinson, America's "greatest poet," along with names of other women poets tucked in here and there in the rose-entwined trellis lining all four sides. F for First Ladies is another two-page spread with Glasser depicting each first lady on a teacup, teapot, sugar bowl, creamer. It is quite elegant and prettified. Barbara Bush is quoted: "Somewhere out in this audience may even be someone who will one day follow in my footsteps and preside over the White House as the president's spouse. I wish him well!" And so the book goes. The P section is a fold out of four pages illustrating performers: Sarah Caldwell (conductor), Tina Turner, Maria Tallchief (ballerina), Gilda Radner, Mahalia Jackson, just to give a flavor of the names. Other letters: Trailblazers, W for Edith Wharton and women writers, X marks the ballot, Z for Babe Didrikson Zaharias and other strong women, N for Louise Nevelson and other creators of beautiful things, and K for Mary Kies and other inventors and entrepeneurs. If you cannot tell I think this is an absolutely fabulous book for children, then I did not gush enough. Oh, in case you didn't know, in 1924 Gertrude Muller started a company to market the potty seat she had invented. Glasser's illustration is too precious. Very highly recommended for all ages. May 22, 2007 A is for Abigail This is a wonderful book that will enchant young children as you read to them about our country's rich history of strong women. My 4 year old picks this book out for me to read to her along with Lynne Cheney's other books A is for America and our 50 states. I love to hear her chatter on about the states and how she remembers things that are there and people who live there and have lived there in the past. October 28, 2006 Great book, all kinds of women - even scientists and inventors A reviewer below seems to be harboring some kind of hateful grudge against the author stating that it does not offer us women involved in science or chemistry. Yet the book itself offers us Mary Kies for "K" - the first woman to receive a patent, and on the same page other people like Stephanie Kwolek, the inventor of Kevlar (certainly a fine feat of chemical engineering). Other pages offer women from all walks of life, from businesspeople to writers to public figures of great import. It's a shame that people see fit to dismiss authors and their works just because of who they marry and are not actually open minded enough to read the works before commenting. But you the reader can see for yourself - I recommend you browse a few pages using the Amazon "Search Inside" feature (select "surprise me" in the book viewer to see an illustrated page from the book) and see what a terrific job the illustrator has done throughout in addition to the great range of women selected. January 30, 2006 A is for Abigail A is for Abigail An Almanac of Amazing American Women. This book is well constructed (dust jacket, binding, and pages very sturdy). It has many colorful illustrations. It also gives information on American women who, although they made important contributions to society, are very seldom mentioned in today's history books. August 9, 2005 Proud to be female I bought this book for my 8 yr. old grandaughter, Abigail, for this coming Christmas. I know that she will be surprised at what a number of females have accomplished, as I was. The illustrations are also done well and some jump off of the page. Any female reading this is sure to feel that they, as a female, can accomplish anything that they wish. March 18, 2005 A Terrific Start for Learning About America's Great Women In this book, Lynne Cheney reveals her love for America and her admiration for those who have contributed to its greatness through vision, talent, determination and hard work. Young readers will learn about women who have a place in history because they led the way in important fields. These women range from well-known figures like Betsy Ross and Annie Oakley to people like Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman doctor; Mary Lyon, whose founding of Mount Holyoke College "opened the doors of higher education to women"; and Marie Curie, who received Nobel prizes for her work in both physics and chemistry. This book is a rich compilation about the efforts of some of America's bravest and brightest female citizens, and should be in every home library. As with Cheney's America, this is a book best read together with parents. There's so much to explore and learn; it's a wonderful book to bring the generations together. Mrs. Cheney follows the formula she used so well in America: A Patriotic Primer. Robin Preiss Glasser's terrific illustrations bring this book to life. Although some readers may find the illustrations a bit busy, many others will find the unique style stimulating. [...] January 17, 2005 disappointing While it has it's bright moments, there are far better books out their. I guess I expected more from this author. Hollywood is fun but there are more imporant figures to promote involved in science, engineering and chemistry. Does Jesus all want us to be ornaments? Give me a break! September 15, 2004 Tokenism, glamour, and trivia, not history If the children in your life don't know the names of enough women singers or film actresses, this is for them. Or if they need a timeline showing when poodle skirts and miniskirts were in vogue, this is the book. For someone who professes to love history, and to believe "A system of education that fails to nurture memory of the past denies its students a great deal," Ms. Cheney has written an apallingly bad book. Okay, an alphabet book of women in American history is unlikely to convey any important information, and I don't normally object to books whose focus is women neglected in mainstream history. But this book doesn't help. If anything it makes it all worse. Women of color are so clearly tokens here. Harriet Tubman was a brave and noble woman, but she's mentioned three times, and her's are the only references to slavery in the book. Three Native American women are mentioned: Pocohantas, Sacajawea, and Wilma Mankiller. There are more mentions of Hollywood actresses (all dead except for Lauren Bacall). This is the sort of book that brings up Amelia Bloomer repeatedly, while ignoring devlopments that affect millions, such as the criminalization of abortion and birth control in the mid-1800s, or the efforts of Emma Goldman and Margaret Sanger, or even the gradual end of childbed fever as the number one killer of mothers. This is a book that mentions The Industrial Revolution for providing mill work to women and children. I cannot possibly heap enough scorn on this work. For more A is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Women reviews click here.
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