Reading Recommendations: Women’s History Month 2018

Hello everyone! In celebration of Women’s History Month I decided to compile yet another list of reading recommendations. You can see the previous year here. This list is a compilation of novels from Children to Adult books that feature diverse, strong, admirable female protagonists in order to celebrate this month and women’s accomplishments from the past to the present. Here are some recommendations of female empowered books to add to your reading list!

Dead Feminists: Historic Heroines in Living Color

Synopsis: This gorgeously illustrated letterpress-inspired book combines feminist history with a vision for a better future. Based on the beloved Dead Feminists letterpress poster series, this illuminating look at 27 women who’ve changed the world. Intricate and beautiful broadside art takes center stage in this richly visual book that ties inspiring women and the challenges they faced to today’s most important issues. Dead Feminists takes feminist inspiration to a new level of artistry and shows how ordinary and extraordinary women have made a difference throughout history (and how you can too). (description from Goodreads)

I love typography and books about feminism, so if you enjoy those two things, you’ll enjoy this book! Each chapter focuses on three feminists and gives a bit of background about their life and legacy. They also go into depth about the creation of each print and the artistry and awareness it creates for each issue. I loved the whole idea of this poster series and it was nice to see them pay tribute to leading ladies, but give back to the community.

Unmentionable by Therese O’ Neill

Synopsis: Have you ever wished you could live in an earlier, more romantic era?Ladies, welcome to the 19th century, where there’s arsenic in your face cream, a pot of cold pee sits under your bed, and all of your underwear is crotchless. (Why? Shush, dear. A lady doesn’t question.)UNMENTIONABLE is your hilarious, illustrated, scandalously honest (yet never crass) guide to the secrets of Victorian womanhood.Irresistibly charming, laugh-out-loud funny, and featuring nearly 200 images from Victorian publications, UNMENTIONABLE will inspire a whole new level of respect for Elizabeth Bennett, Scarlet O’Hara, Jane Eyre, and all of our great, great grandmothers. (description from Goodreads)

Unmentionable is a history book that about women in the Victorian era that covers a variety of topics such as hygiene, clothing, menstruation, marriage, and much more. Each chapter focuses one topic, as to not overwhelm the reader, and it explore it-depth. I loved the book’s casual tone and humor aspect that made it into an entertaining, rather than a dry history book. I learned about the Victorian era through reading this book, and I found it to be an interesting read.

Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Méndez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation by Ducan Tonatum

Synopsis: lmost 10 years before Brown vs. Board of Education, Sylvia Méndez and her parents helped end school segregation in California. An American citizen of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage who spoke and wrote perfect English, Méndez was denied enrollment to a “Whites only” school. Her parents took action by organizing the Hispanic community and filing a lawsuit in federal district court. Their success eventually brought an end to the era of segregated education in California.

This was an empowering and intriguing picture book. I learned about a piece of history that I was very unfamiliar with and how it led to an important change in California’s education system. It was sad to read about all of the hard time that Sylvia and her family went through, but in the end they achieve their goal. The art style is a bit different from other children’s literature, but I think that’s what makes this informative picture book stand out among the rest.

Mrs. Sherlock Homes by Brad Ricca

Synopsis: Mrs. Sherlock Holmes tells the true story of Grace Humiston, the detective and lawyer who turned her back on New York society life to become one of the nation’s greatest crimefighters during an era when women weren’t involved with murder investigations. After agreeing to take the sensational Cruger case, Grace and her partner, the hard-boiled detective Julius J. Kron, navigated a dangerous web of secret boyfriends, two-faced cops, underground tunnels, rumors of white slavery, and a mysterious pale man — in a desperate race against time. (description from Goodreads)

Miss Sherlock Holmes is a book that tells the story of Grace Humingston, first female United States Attorney. She was a lawyer who was a force to be reckoned with in her time, when female detectives were a rarity. Though the book is a bit wordy and drags from time to time, I still enjoyed reading this book. It read like a novel rather than non-fiction which made it easier to digest. It also gives insight and teaches readers about the justice system, immigration regulations, laws being passed throughout the 1900s.

Women in Sports: 50 Fearless Athletes Who Played To Win by Rachel Ignotofsky

Synopsis: Women in Sports highlights notable women’s contributions to competitive athletics to inspire readers young and old. Keeping girls interested in sports has never been more important: research suggests that girls who play sports get better grades and have higher self-esteem–but girls are six times more likely to quit playing sports than boys and are unlikely to see female athlete role models in the media. A fascinating collection full of striking, singular art, Women in Sports features 50 profiles and illustrated portraits of women athletes from the 1800s to today including trailblazers, Olympians, and record-breakers in more than 40 different sports. The book also contains infographics about relevant topics such as muscle anatomy, a timeline of women’s participation in sports, statistics about women in athletics, and influential female teams. (description from Goodreads)

Women in Sports focuses on women in athletics around the globe. I commend Ignotofsky by not only putting the book in chronological order so that readers can see how women’s sports have evolved over time, but all the research she does into making a comprehensive biography for each athlete. It shows how overcoming their obstacles made them stronger and how it paved the way for future generations. This book is a great resource for adults and children alike. If you enjoy Women in Sports, check out Rachel’s other book, Women in Science.

That concludes this year’s reading recommendations for Women’s History Month! What books do you recommend or what are your favorites? Comment below!

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