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lakeblackett's review against another edition
3.0
Some strong women who deserve to be in there and I guess at face value, all of them do. But some, not so much when you consider their shady history/links.
bookish_maddie's review against another edition
3.0
At first glance, I love the concept of this book. An A to Z board book on incredible women throughout history? Sign me up! I read this book once for pleasure, and then again with a more critical eye. Personally, I enjoyed this introduction to world changing women. For the most part, the women the author chose for the book were inspiring role models for young women and girls everywhere. However, considering this book was aimed at babies, it seems to me that some of the words were too advanced to engage and hold a young reader’s attention. Words like modernist, formidable, tempestuous, and philanthropist appear on almost every page of this board book aimed at babies and very young toddlers, thereby essentially excluding the child from the reading experience. This appears to be a board book written for the adult, rather than the child in the reading pair.
There are also quotes on each page from each iconic woman. These quotes, while inspiring, may have better served an older audience. Even an older child, such as a middle school student, likely would have received more of a benefit from this book than babies do, but they are unlikely to engage with this book due to the “childish” format.
The positive of the text is that the difficult words can serve to expand the child’s vocabulary. An older toddler may ask their parents what words like “intrepid” means, thereby giving the parent an opportunity to expand their child’s vocabulary. That being said, it may have served the book better if the difficult words were few and far between – as the book is, there’s one on nearly every page.
While the writing of this board book left the child out of the reading experience, the illustrations were almost as strong as the writing was weak. The book provides the reader with bright, colorful illustrations of this incredible and diverse group of women, and the visible though not tangible texture effect for each illustrations’ hair is a particularly appealing aspect for children. Each illustration expresses a different emotion as well, leaving Ruth Bader Ginsburg with a serious, stern expression, Emiline Pankhurst outraged, Beyonce Knowles confident, and Oprah Winfrey excited. I can see babies learning from these varying expressions and trying to imitate them.
The last page covers X, Y, and Z, for “Extraordinary You, and the Zillions of Brilliant, Brave Adventure You Will Have.” The last page is accompanied by a mirror on the two page spread. While this may seem like a cop out to avoid coming up with women for X, Y, and Z, I believe this is actually the most engaging page of the whole book. There is a wealth of research to suggest that babies like mirrors. The sight of “another” baby can be quite exciting to them.
Overall, this book’s mismatched format and content make for an intriguing book for adults, but a less than engaging book for young children, who may be discouraged by its content.
There are also quotes on each page from each iconic woman. These quotes, while inspiring, may have better served an older audience. Even an older child, such as a middle school student, likely would have received more of a benefit from this book than babies do, but they are unlikely to engage with this book due to the “childish” format.
The positive of the text is that the difficult words can serve to expand the child’s vocabulary. An older toddler may ask their parents what words like “intrepid” means, thereby giving the parent an opportunity to expand their child’s vocabulary. That being said, it may have served the book better if the difficult words were few and far between – as the book is, there’s one on nearly every page.
While the writing of this board book left the child out of the reading experience, the illustrations were almost as strong as the writing was weak. The book provides the reader with bright, colorful illustrations of this incredible and diverse group of women, and the visible though not tangible texture effect for each illustrations’ hair is a particularly appealing aspect for children. Each illustration expresses a different emotion as well, leaving Ruth Bader Ginsburg with a serious, stern expression, Emiline Pankhurst outraged, Beyonce Knowles confident, and Oprah Winfrey excited. I can see babies learning from these varying expressions and trying to imitate them.
The last page covers X, Y, and Z, for “Extraordinary You, and the Zillions of Brilliant, Brave Adventure You Will Have.” The last page is accompanied by a mirror on the two page spread. While this may seem like a cop out to avoid coming up with women for X, Y, and Z, I believe this is actually the most engaging page of the whole book. There is a wealth of research to suggest that babies like mirrors. The sight of “another” baby can be quite exciting to them.
Overall, this book’s mismatched format and content make for an intriguing book for adults, but a less than engaging book for young children, who may be discouraged by its content.
tatzmcgee's review against another edition
5.0
One of the most amazing books. I bought it for my niece and we both absolutely love it.
dereadergal's review against another edition
2.0
I thought the concept for this book was great, but did it have to include 3 rock stars/singers? I have nothing against any of these women, but by including all of them, other equally, if not more important women, were left out. Also, why include a fictional character (Venus) and cop out at the end by not including the last few letters of the alphabet? This isn't a very good example for children of a woman author's perseverance and creativity if they are unable (or unwilling) to do the simple research to find strong women to fit these letters.
msgabbythelibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
Okay, so.....I don't love some of the women chosen (more just because I would have done something different personally....not because they don't deserve recognition.) But I want Audrey to see the scope of things women have done and will do!
jkribbit's review against another edition
5.0
This is such a fun board book featuring an awesome woman for each letter of the alphabet (except x, y, and z and it’s cute how that is handled!) Most of them feature a quote from the highlighted woman and then they all have a catchy sentence. So not an in-depth study, but a fantastic introduction! The illustrations really make this book, too! They are so expressive! Highly recommend!!