Customer Reviews

Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
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Already at a young age, Elizabeth understood that American society considered girls inferior to boys. As she grew older, she became increasingly angry that women did not have the right to claim ownership of property or the money they earned, they could not attend the same colleges as men, they were not allowed to vote, and they were expected to have babies and stay home to take care of their families. She realized that one of the most effective ways to change women's status as secondary citizens and to change the existing laws was to give women the right to vote.

Together with several like-minded women, she wrote the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments, which called for a broad range of social, economic, legal, and political reforms to boost the status of women in American life. The Declaration was signed at the first American women's rights convention held in Seneca Falls, NY, in 1848. The demand for women's right to vote was the most controversial reform proposed at the convention, and Elizabeth worked the rest of her life to fight for women's right to vote.

This well-researched book does a nice job in explaining to children that the right to vote plays an important role in improving women's economic and social status. By emphasizing this link, the book embraces several concepts in economics related to human resources, work, discrimination, and property rights. Historical narratives about Elizabeth Cady Stanton abound, but Elizabeth Leads the Way is one of the few accounts of Elizabeth's leading role in the women's rights movement that is accessible to younger readers.

In "Elizabeth Leads the Way", kids and adults can learn about Elizabeth Cady Stanton and why she believed that women should have the right to vote. This book inspires the reader to take action on something that they believe in. While it's a picture book, it presents Elizabeth's story in such a way that all ages can catch her vision.

What is most impressive about this biography is that Stone effectively conveys a clear picture of Cady Stanton's personality and spirit AND gives a great overview of the beginning of the movement using clear and concise language. Rebecca Gibbon's illustrations are rendered in gouache and colored-pencil on paper and compliment the story's vibrant and fast-paced tone.

Readers are not overwhelmed with facts and leave with this message: Cady Stanton was a courageous, determined, and well-respected person whose efforts and persistence inspired others to continue in her footsteps and ultimately win the right to vote for women. It's a very inspiring and engaging story.

Great book to introduce little girls to the history of American womens' right to vote. Starts as a bit of a biography, showing ELizabeth as a little girl, growing up, and the differences/similarities between then and now. Excellent illustrations--visually engagin--giving a glimpse into the clothing, ammenties, styles of the past.

I checked this book out of the library as a way show my young daughter why I'm so fired up about voting. It's written in language a young child can understand. My daughter was amazed that anyone ever thought it was a disadvantage to be born female. We'll be buying this book for our home library.

Purchased this book for an 8-year-old to help her understand the struggle for women's right to vote. It is an easy read, and relates this important history in an interesting and engaging manner. Highly recommended for personal library or public library.

In this book suitable for early elementary school-aged children, Tanya Lee Stone paints a colorful picture of one of the leading figures in the fight for women's rights, Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Delightfully illustrated in a folk art style by Rebecca Gibbon, the story of Elizabeth's life is told in simple language that is accessible for the youngest readers. The author begins with an illustration of Elizabeth Cady Stanton as an elderly woman, and draws us in right away with this provocative text:

What would you do
if someone told you
You can't be what you want to be
because you are a girl?

We see Elizabeth growing up, horrified by the injustices done to women, and committed to being able to do anything a boy could do, including excelling in Greek, French, math, and religious studies. When she married Henry Stanton, an ardent abolitionist, she told him she wouldn't give up her name but would add his to her own. Elizabeth became one of the organizers of the Seneca Falls Convention, the first large-scale meeting discussing women's rights, particularly their right to vote. She was widely criticized for her boldness, but as Tanya Lee Stone states in concluding her book, "Elizabeth had tossed a stone in the water and the ripples grew wider and wider and wider....She changed America forever."

An Author Note with additional biographical information and a list of sources are included.

While this book doesn't provide lots of details on Elizabeth Cady Stanton's life, it is a good starting point for young readers to explore the beginnings of the women's movement. Its attractive format and brief text are likely to create further interest in this pioneer of women's rights and her circle.

This book was fun to read with my 8 year old granddaughter. It was a Christmas present. We believe it is important for her to have feminine role models and learn of the achievements of women in years past. This book presented good opportunities to talk with her about Cady, Cady's values and beliefs. This type of book raises the bar for young people's minds rather than reading simply fluff stuff. We also read other children's books of women in history such as Amelia Earhart (from Amazon) and I rate that highly as well.

I bought this for my granddaughter for Christmas along with 3 other books on the 4 for 3 deal. I bought them because they were all highly rated and they were on my granddaughter's reading list from school. She's in second grade. I read all the books before I gave them to her. I wanted to be sure that none of them said things that I didn't agree with. This one I think is pretty accurate historically and it doesn't promote any specific point of view. I liked that because I believe that history should be factual. I'm not really sure how much my granddaughter liked the book. I haven't heard anything. If I had to guess, I'd say it's probably not a book that a 7 or 8 year old would get excited about but given that it was on her book list and I think it's pretty accurate historically, I think it's probably a worthwhile read.

I sometimes worry about the audience intended age on these historical picture books but this one hit the mark for my almost 3 year old. I was able to explain only a couple concepts she didn't know (abolitionist and what voting means) in order for her to appreciate the storyline here. She now talks about this book a lot and requests it by name several times a week. It brings to life the story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and how in her day it was a pity to be born a girl. We follow Elizabeth on her journey through simple easy to read text, nothing overdone, to showcase how she lived to show the world a girl CAN do anything she wants to. It was a wonderful history lesson and easily read to young ears, we loved it!