A is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Women (Hardcover)

by Lynne Cheney (Author), Robin Preiss Glasser (Illustrator) "In Abigail Adams's time, women could not go to college, become professionals, own property once they were married, or vote..." (more)
Key Phrases: Nobel Prize

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Soldiers, scientists, performers, writers, entrepreneurs, politicians, quilt makers, pilots... as author Lynne Cheney writes, "America’s amazing women have much to teach our children--and much inspiration to offer us, as well." Coming on the heels of America: A Patriotic Primer (Cheney’s previous collaboration with illustrator Robin Preiss Glasser), A Is for Abigail celebrates the achievements of women in American history, with a special emphasis on the individuals who helped win equal rights for women. As with America, Cheney uses an alphabet book format to introduce hundreds of remarkable real women: "O is for SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR and others who were first." In addition to the first woman Supreme Court Justice, the "O" page includes Wilma Mankiller, first woman chief of the Cherokee Nation; Jeannette Rankin, first female member of Congress; and Nellie Tayloe Ross, first woman governor. Glasser’s playful illustrations are lively and busy, inviting readers to explore Abigail Adams's farm or the crowded city block that houses "V is for VARIETY," with its DNA lab, dance studio, dentist office, and "PERSONS at WORK" sign. Snippets of information about each featured woman give a taste; ideally, readers will seek more in-depth biographies about the historical figures who pique their interests. (Ages 6 to 9) --Emilie Coulter

From School Library Journal
Grade 2-4-Similar in design and concept to America (S & S, 2002), this alphabet book is attractive and fun to read. Through it, Cheney hopes to educate children about a number of strong individuals who contributed to American society, and, in many cases, helped women to gain their civil rights. With rare exceptions, the profiled women were born before 1950. For each letter, a page features a person or a concept. The "E" page, for example, discusses six educators. The letter "J" is associated with Anna Jarvis, advocate of the Mother's Day holiday. Information about each figure is given in a phrase or one-sentence reference to her major achievement. The colorful, cartoonlike illustrations make this book particularly engaging, and the detail and varied design of the pages are additional enhancements. Some of the pages have borders containing the names of the women who fit the letter category, such as the authors listed in the borders on the "W" page, which cameos Edith Wharton and lauds women as writers. All of the people are shown in active postures. A double gatefold producing the effect of an opening theater curtain reveals an array of performers ranging from Mary Martin as a flying Peter Pan to Mahalia Jackson singing. While the information is limited, the overall effect creates an awareness of the totality of American women's achievements.
Lynda Ritterman, Atco Elementary School, Waterford, NJ
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (September 16, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689858191
• ISBN-13: 978-0689858192
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 10.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #51,640 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Abigail Adams and hundreds of other American women, January 18, 2004

By	Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

You might think that from the title of "A is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Women," that Lynne Cheney (yes, the wife of the Vice President of the United States), is going to introduce us to twenty-six women, one for each letter of the alphabet. You might be wondering if Cheney is going to go by first names or last names, since Abigail is Abigail Adams (the wife of the first Vice President of the United States) and you could go either way. The answer to the second question is the Cheney uses last names but more importantly on the first point she introduces us to a lot more than twenty-six American women. For example, "D" is for Emily Dickinson, the country's greatest poet, but the names of other poets from Edna St. Vincent Milay to Sylvia Plath, while "F" is for the First Ladies from Martha Washington to Laura Bush, and includes a great quotation from Barbara Bush's great commencement speech at Wellesley College in 1990. Then you should see the four page spread that opens up to show all the performers for "P," from Carol Burnett to Katharine Hepburn, or everything that is crammed into the two pages on "U" for US history.

The back of this book includes Notes on the Text that provides details about all 28 of those poets and some of the First Ladies. The illustrations are by Robin Preiss Glasser, who collaborated with Cheney on "America: A Patriotic Primer." Hopefully one day young readers will be able to appreciate the details that Glasser puts into her art, such as having Carol Burnett in the infamous curtain dress from the "Gone with the Wind" parody and doing the painting of Mary Cassatt in the style of a Mary Cassatt painting. This book intends to bring to light the "remarkable (although often unmarked) achievements of American women." Young readers should be captivated just by what they learn about Abigail Adams on the opening spread of this engaging volume, and if what little they learn here about Althea Gibson, Elizabeth Peabody, Jane Addams, Nellie Bly, Anne Sullivan and the rest of these American women inspires them to find out some more details about even a half-dozen of them, that would certainly be a step in the right direction.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, all kinds of women - even scientists and inventors, October 27, 2006

By	Kendall H. Gelner (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A reviewer below seems to be harboring some kind of hateful grudge against the author stating that it does not offer us women involved in science or chemistry. Yet the book itself offers us Mary Kies for "K" - the first woman to receive a patent, and on the same page other people like Stephanie Kwolek, the inventor of Kevlar (certainly a fine feat of chemical engineering). Other pages offer women from all walks of life, from businesspeople to writers to public figures of great import.

It's a shame that people see fit to dismiss authors and their works just because of who they marry and are not actually open minded enough to read the works before commenting.

But you the reader can see for yourself - I recommend you browse a few pages using the Amazon "Search Inside" feature (select "surprise me" in the book viewer to see an illustrated page from the book) and see what a terrific job the illustrator has done throughout in addition to the great range of women selected.

25 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A is for Another Success, September 18, 2003

By A Customer

Lynne Cheney once again has written engagingly about the history of our nation, this time the history of our women. Beginning with Abigail Adams, the book includes everyone from Mia Hamm to Harriet Tubman. Having only twenty-six letters in the alphabet does not stop Mrs. Cheney from schooling girls everywhere about their influential ancestresses: many women are mentioned in side pictures and quotes, and one letter (U is for Us) is devoted to a colorful two-page history of women's progress in every different aspect of life. Robin Priess Glasser's illustrations depict each historic figure in their element. I found this book even better than the last - it mentioned many interesting woman I had never heard of before, and certainly want to learn more about. Mrs. Cheney begins the book with Abigail Adams' famous quote, "....remember the ladies." After this book, I am sure that no one will forget us any time soon.