Monday, February 18, 2019

Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison (Picture Book Review)

Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History
by Vashti Harrison
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published on December 5, 2017
Length: 88 pages


Literary Awards: 
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Picture Books (2018)
NAACP Image Award for Children (2018)

Synopsis: 
Featuring forty trailblazing black women in American history, Little Leaders educates and inspires as it relates true stories of breaking boundaries and achieving beyond expectations. Illuminating text paired with irresistible illustrations bring to life both iconic and lesser-known female figures of Black history such as abolitionist Sojourner Truth, pilot Bessie Coleman, chemist Alice Ball, politician Shirley Chisholm, mathematician Katherine Johnson, poet Maya Angelou, and filmmaker Julie Dash. Among these biographies, readers will find heroes, role models, and everyday women who did extraordinary things -- bold women whose actions and beliefs contributed to making the world better for generations of girls and women to come. Whether they were putting pen to paper, soaring through the air or speaking up for the rights of others, the women profiled in these pages were all taking a stand against a world that didn't always accept them. The leaders in this book may be little, but they all did something big and amazing, inspiring generations to come. 

My Thoughts: 
Much like Little Leaders: Visionary Women Around the World, this is a fantastic collection of biographies on 50 extraordinary women. What sets it apart is that this particular collection is entirely about African-American women who pursued their dreams.  

I love that the author's introduction includes the hope that readers of every background, and not just African-American readers, can enjoy this book and see themselves in these 'Little Leaders'. 

We read Visionary Women in January and loved it so I knew I'd make this a priority for Black History Month. My daughter wasn't interested enough to sit through every page so we read a few pages a day this week. I'm certainly getting more from it at this point but hope that the overall idea that women can do whatever they put their mind to sticks for her. 

I was quite surprised at how many names were familiar for me. It helps that there are a few authors, poets, and singers, as well as already-famous figures from history, but it also included a lot of women whom I had no knowledge of previously so I learned a lot. 

Each biography is about a page long, with an illustration of each woman on the opposite page. I personally love Vashti Harrison's super-cute illustration style. Each woman looks so peaceful and wise and I love the details in their era dress. I also really love the header doodles and doodled backgrounds that match each biography. 
I  also love the 'Further Reading, Watching, and Listening' pages at the back of the book that shares websites to do further research as well as lists of films these women starred in or books that they wrote. 

More from this author: 

More books for empowered girls:
    

Happy reading!!

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