What I Did:
I wanted kids to know that it's important to celebrate women's history year-round, not just during Women's History Month. A great way to do that is to share children's books that celebrate women's history.
How I Did It:
One of the books I recommend is "Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters." The book, which was written by Andrea Davis Pinkney, focuses on ten women, from Sojourner Truth to Shirley Chisholm. Each of their stories is accompanied by a stunning oil on canvas portrait of the featured woman. The portraits, which contain a variety of allegorical images, are by Stephen Alcorn. My review of the book is at http://childrensbooks.about.com/cs/culturalafrican/fr/letitshine.htm.
Advice
- Share children's books about women's history by reading aloud to your kids and discussing the books with your kids.
- Share stories about the history of the women in your own family.
- Find stories and books about women of accomplishment in subjects that interest your sons and daughters.
- Get help from the children's librarian at your public library in identifying good books on women's history at your children's reading and interest levels.
What were your hopes and goals? Were they met?
My goal is to get kids reading more books about various aspects of women's history. I feel I have accomplished that goal when I receive an email from a parent or teacher thanking me for recommending books on the subject and telling me how they used them.
