Customer Reviews

33 Things Every Girl Should Know About Women's History: From Suffragettes to Skirt Lengths to the E.R.A.

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

OK, I read this book, and I fall out of the line of happy, snappy reviews. But, here are some of my problems with the book. First of all, stop with the alternative layout already! It's distracting, annoying, and detracts from the important content. I guess it's got many font heads etc to appeal to teens, but frankly I think it misses its mark. Also, I thought the book could have given more to Phyllis Wheatley than one line in a poem! There are also a number of other important female thinkers left out of this book such as Adrianne Rich, but Blondie makes it into the book. I guess if you only are going to put in 33 items, somethings gotta go! So cut Blondie. Some of the poetry choices that are to
enhance the nonfiction text were disappointing, or weak. I think that the editor could have done a better job to flesh out
that part of the book, because I like the idea of using poems
with nonfiction. So, with that, I do not recommend you buy this scrap book version of women's history.

I bought this book for my granddaughter but my daughter also
read it. They both agreed with me that it is very informative.
THis book sheds light on some less well known contributions to history by women. The list for other sources of information is really great and very helpful to encourage more research.
I know my granddaughter was eager to learn more.

33 things Every Female Should Know About Women's History is a charming and insiteful book. It contains 33 chapters each on a different aspect of woman's history. I was pleased to find that there were things I never thought to associate with woman's history. For example, there is a chapter devoted to National Monuments and how few are dedicated to women. It gives the locations of a few and then suggests sending for a pamphlet published by the US Government on how you can suggest a National Monument.

Other chapters in this book include subjects such as magazine publishing, fashion, health issues, sports, short stories, politics and even a helpful book review.

The only problem I had with the book wasn't anything the authors could have helped. Because there is such limited information on women's history, the chapters seemed to repeat the same information over and over. I do give them credit for trying to present it all in a different light though. I am definately going to pass this book on to my daughters (and sons) so that they can read about and appreciate the struggles women in the past have made so that women of the present can be free to do as they please.

I thought this looked like something I should have on my shelf. Only a few chapters into it, there is an abridged version of "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. I read this in 1999 in a Women Studies course and remembered being affected by it. However,this time it totally FREAKED me out...all the bits about creeping women and being trapped. Eek!! (Although I had just seen the horror movie "The Grudge" so that may have influenced my emotions, too).

Despite my powerful response to that selection, this book is not as wonderful as I had hoped. Rather than a list of 33 top/most important things, or 33 rarely taught things, etc...it is just 33 pieces written by 33 different women. One is a poem inspired by a woman's immigrant mother, another a fictional tale of women on the frontier, etc. I mean, they are each sort of interesting, but there is little cohesion between the pieces. And, the order seems odd. Still, makes a quick "bathroom reader" or as something to read while uploading songs to one's computer.

I felt that the last third of the book was remarkably better than the first two-thirds. The pieces were more powerful and interesting, and lots of facts were introduced as well. Overall, this was not the greatest book I've read on these subjects, but it was fine. Also, perhaps this format makes these topics more accessible to someone who is not as familiar with them.

Tonya Bolden has selected excellent articles, pictures, excerpts from historical documents, a journal excerpt, a poem, and a short story to help girls learn the history and perspectives of more than half of the population that have been either left out or trivialized for too long. The problem is that, with the exception of Chapter 20 "Girl Groups Mean Girl Power," these selections were not written in a style that would appeal to young girls; therefore, I don't believe that most of them would take the time to read the entire book.

Unfortunately, I wasn't exposed to any of these things until I was over 50 years old and earning a minor in Women's Studies in college, so it seems obvious to me that the information in this book should not be restricted to girls. Boys should also be learning this information that has been systematically left out of history classes. As long as books and classes continue to separate "women's" history from "men's" history, women's history will be ignored by men and boys as unimportant.

I ordered this book to give to my teenaged granddaughter, but after reading it, I was disappointed that it just wasn't presented in a way that would pique her interest or that of her friends. I would love for her and her friends to read Bolden's book, but I really doubt that they would take the time.

The book was disappointing. It was published in 2002, plenty of time to mention Condoleeza Rice, the first female African-American Secretary of State. Instead, the women in politics parts focuses on Hilary Clinton and Geraldine Farraro. The book has a definate Liberal slant. There were other notable female authors who were excluded who have made hefty contributions to the literary world and social commentary. It was really biased. Next time, make more than 33.

Even though I have studied Women's history in college, I still found some information I didn't know. For myself, reading about multicultural women and the differences they have made in the world, makes me proud to be a woman. Every woman should know their history. This book is also a quick read.