Rad Women Worldwide

Title: Rad Women Worldwide: Artists and Athletes, Pirates and Punks, and Other Revolutionaries Who Shaped History
Author: Katie Schatz, Miriam Klein Stahl (illustrator)
Genre: Historical Nonfiction
Rating: n/a
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
source: publisher

In Rad Women Worldwide, writer Kate Schatz and artist Miriam Klein Stahl tell fresh, engaging, and inspiring tales of perseverance and radical success by pairing well researched and riveting biographies with powerful and expressive cut-paper portraits. Featuring an array of diverse figures from Hatshepsut (the great female king who ruled Egypt peacefully for two decades) and Malala Yousafzi (the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize) to Poly Styrene (legendary teenage punk and lead singer of X-Ray Spex) and Liv Arnesen and Ann Bancroft (polar explorers and the first women to cross Antarctica), this progressive and visually arresting book is a compelling addition to women's history. 

I realize I just reviewed a book very similar to this one, but to be honest, I'm just really glad that we are getting a rise in books like this. I think these books work for young girls to teenagers to adults. The stories of women have been squashed for so long, and it's about time we got to hear them.

I loved the illustrations in this one, as they were beautiful and striking. And let's face it, no matter how old you are, pictures just make everyone better. One thing I also loved about this book was how so many of the women were new to me. Which is sad, but I'm glad their stories are finally getting told. I loved how we saw people from all backgrounds, from every single continent (yes, including Antarctica!). The range of women was very diverse, and I think every little girl will find someone they relate to in here. The book did spread across a lot of history, but a lot of these women are also modern, a good majority of them being still alive. I loved that, as I think it's a great thing for young girls to see that women are still fighting and paving the way.

The stories are not too long or complex, making this a great book for younger readers as well. But I also think older women will get just as much out of it. It's one of those books that I want to recommend to everyone. 

Books like this: 

Kate Schatz &
Miriam Klein Stahl (illus.)

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