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She Persisted: Maria Tallchief by Christine Day ill. Alexandra Boiger & Gillian Flint

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 17 Nov 2021

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“Day clearly shows that even as Tallchief became a star in the world of ballet, she never forgot her roots and gives readers necessary history and context to understand their importance. Flint’s black-and-white illustrations excel at depictions of Tallchief in motion. Inspiringly shows how Maria Tallchief persisted and made her dreams come true.” KIRKUS

The latest in an American chapter book biography series about women who stood up, spoke up and rose up against the odds inspired by the #1 New York Times bestseller She Persisted by Chelsea Clinton.

Maria Tallchief loved to dance, but was told that she might need to change her Osage name to one that sounded more Russian to make it as a professional ballerina. She refused, and worked hard at dancing her best, becoming America’s first prima ballerina.

Complete with an introduction from Chelsea Clinton, black-and-white illustrations throughout, and a list of ways that readers can follow in Maria Tallchief’s footsteps and make a difference.

This extremely affordable series is highly recommended for primary school libraries and book corners.

Follow the author, an enrolled citizen of the Upper Skagit tribe, on Instagram:

Follow Gillian Flint on Instagram:

Follow the cover illustrator on Instagram:

Our Beautiful Game by Lou Kuenzler

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 5 Jul 2021

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They can take our ball, but they can never stop the game.

A timely, important and well-researched ‘middle-grade’ historical novel about the growth in women’s football on the home front during WWI. Publication of the novel marks the centenary of the FA’s shameful banning of women’s football in 1921—a ban that remained in place for 50 years.

Who better to tell you more about the book than the author herself:

A hundred years before the Lionesses, Lily Parr, Alice Woods and their teammates were proudly playing their beloved, exciting and skilful game. As men were sent to fight in the war, women and girls took their place in munitions factories. Football became a favourite pastime and, before long, they were creating all-female sides and playing public matches to sell-out crowds, overshadowing the men’s football.

“Absolutely magnificent! A glorious tale of football, friendship, feminism and social history”
EMMA CARROLL

 

Women In Science – 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed The World by Rachel Ignotofsky

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Waterstones

Recommended non-fiction title for KS2 and KS3 readers aged 7 – 14 packed with information about the chosen 50 women of science, many previously unknown to me. 

The book has a straightforward format. A biographical-dictionary style entry on the right, with marginal illustrations giving additional information, alongside a a full-page illustration on the left. Both text and illustrations are the work of Rachel Ignotovsky.

The book is designed, I suppose understandably, to appeal to girls, with a profusion of pastel shades on black backgrounds and a fancy font used for page titles.  

Interview with Stefano Brunesci | MONOVISIONS

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First inspired by the timeless portraits of Hollywood greats such as Rita Hayworth, Greta Garbo and Marilyn Monroe, Stefano first began photographing women at the age of 13. After a short diversion into travel and landscape photography in his late teens Stefano returned to his first passion, editorial fashion, in 2007.

 

http://monovisions.com/interview-with-stefano-brunesci/

Worth A Look: Popular, A Memoir – Vintage Wisdom For A Modern Geek by Maya Van Wagenen

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popular

So you know that teenage girl you need to buy a present for will already have Zoe Sugg’s novel Girl Online – what else can you consider?

She may very well have this book as well, but then again she might not. It came out in the Spring, and received a fair bit of media attention, but nothing like the amount of attention and hype that Girl Online has had. Steven Spielberg has apparently snapped up the movie rights, so he sees cinematic potential in the story told in Popular’s pages.

It is not a novel, rather a diary-style  account of an American teenager’s rather clever plan of trying to lead her life according to advice set out in Betty Cornell’s Teenage Popularity Guide from the 1950s.

Betty Cornell herself writes, in a short Introduction, to the teenager’s memoir:

Maya Van Wagenen told me that I had changed her life. She had used my book for tops and hints on how to deal with the challenges she was facing in school. Remarkably she used advice I wrote decades ago and applied it in today’s world. I was so delighted that my book had withstood the test of time and was still providing help to teenagers.

When I finished reading Maya’s book… I felt a cascade of feelings: pride, love, satisfaction, and happy memories. It amazed me to see Maya tell her tale with such knowledge,m poise and grace.

It looks diverting and thought-provoking at the very least.

It’s no wonder boys aren’t reading — the children’s book market is run by women

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The Times gives coverage to Jonathan Emmett’s campaign for greater representation by men in all aspects of children’s publishing, reviewing and award judging:

thetimes

Emmett’s study of more than 450 reviews in five national newspapers found that while 47 per cent of the picture books and 41 per cent of the children’s fiction books featured were written by men, less than 20 per cent of the picture book reviews and less than a third of the fiction reviews were by men.
Emmett, a former winner of the Red House Children’s Book Award for Pigs Might Fly, said that of the 30-50 editors he had dealt with, only two were male. He estimates that 95 per cent of picture books were bought for children by women.
“Mums and grans buy books — that’s what is driving the market,” he said. “So even if a book is meant to be particularly appealing to boys there’s tendency for its content to reflect the female buyer’s taste as well.
“So picture book pirates tend to be a lot more tame than those on TV or in films.
“The number of times that I have tried to get technical information into a book and it is deemed inappropriate. It is one of the things that leads boys, and girls with boy-typical tastes, to say ‘I am not really interested in that kind of content, I am more interested in video games’.”
He added that “illustrators with a flair for technology were also more likely to want to work in the films, TV or game industry where their enthusiasms were better reflected.”

via It’s no wonder boys aren’t reading — the children’s book market is run by women | The Times.

Do Jewish Children’s Books Have a Problem With Gender?

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Emily Sigalow asks Do Jewish Children’s Books Have a Problem With Gender? in an essay for Tablet Magazine:

The Longest Night: A Passover Story, written by Laurel Snyder and illustrated with beautiful watercolors by Catia Chien, retells the Passover story through the eyes of a young slave girl. On Tuesday, The Longest Night won the 2014 gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award’s young readers category. Presented annually since 1968 by the Association for Jewish Libraries and named in memory of the beloved author of the widely read classic All-of-a-Kind Family series, the award honors books that have made a distinguished contribution to Jewish children’s literature.

This year’s award also seems to signal a new trend in young Jewish children’s literature that highlights the experiences and stories of Jewish girls. In 2011, Hannah’s Way received the same award, and together these two books mark an important shift in the gender politics of Jewish children’s literature, which has tended to disproportionately feature stories of Jewish boys.

via Do Jewish Children’s Books Have a Problem With Gender? – Tablet Magazine.

Bookmarks for The Year of Reading Women

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A set of bookmarks has been designed by Joanna Walsh to celebrate The Year of Reading Women:

bookmark1

Joanna Walsh, a writer and artist, recently took up the call [to read only women in 2014] by making “cartes de voeux” — cards sent on New Year’s, a French tradition — that functioned as bookmarks. Each of the bookmarks has, on the front, an illustration of one of six women writers: Anne Carson, Marguerite Duras, Deborah Levy, Simone de Beauvoir, Gertrude Stein, and Djuna Barnes.

via Stylish Bookmarks Featuring Famous Female Authors – Flavorwire.

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A.M. Homes wins 2013 Women’s Prize for Fiction – Women’s Prize for Fiction

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women's prize

American author A.M. Homes has won the 2013 Women’s Prize for Fiction with her sixth novel May We Be Forgiven (Granta).

2013 marks the eighteenth year of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, known from 1996 to 2012 as the Orange Prize for Fiction, which celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility in women’s writing from throughout the world.

At an awards ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London – hosted by Chair of the Women’s Prize for Fiction board, Kate Mosse – the 2013 Chair of Judges, Miranda Richardson, presented the author with the £30,000 prize and the ‘Bessie’, a limited edition bronze figurine.  Both are anonymously endowed.

Miranda Richardson, Chair of Judges, said: “Our 2013 shortlist was exceptionally strong and our judges’ meeting was long and passionately argued, but in the end we agreed that May we be Forgiven is a dazzling, original, viscerally funny black comedy – a subversion of the American dream. This is a book we want to read again and give to our friends.”

via A.M. Homes wins 2013 Women’s Prize for Fiction – Women’s Prize for Fiction.