Cool Women (Paperback)

~ (Author), Pamela Nelson (Author), Mari Florence (Author), Naomi Wax (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The roster of female role models in Cool Women is extremely eclectic, spanning history and national boundaries to include Cleopatra and Amelia Earhart. Mexican freedom fighters stand side by side with Soviet WWII fighter pilots, Mother Jones, and Rosie the Riveter. Editor Pam Nelson places emphasis on women who overcame their own fears to go beyond society's expectations and succeed on their own terms. Cool Women also introduces many young readers to women about whom they might otherwise not learn until adulthood, such as Dorothy Parker, Janet Flanner, and Jane Goodall. The eye-catching design and friendly writing style (Josephine Baker's "to-do list" includes "Become toast of Paris") will keep girls' attention and hopefully inspire them to check out some of the references provided.

Product Description

Featuring images from real life, fiction, and pop culture, "Cool Women" is the thinking girl's guide to the hippest ladies in history. The mix of profiles is eclectic and creative enough to capture every girl's interest, from Catwoman to Amelia Earhart to Cleopatra. Color illustrations & photos National author tour. Print publicity. .

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Girl Press (November 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965975401
• ISBN-13: 978-0965975407
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 9.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,643,678 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #9 in

  Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction > Girl Power

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent material for growing strong women., March 9, 2001

By	"sarah_elizabeth" (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

I purchased this book as a Christmas gift for the youngest daughter of a friend of the family. I was looking for something I knew her mother would never buy her, something that would make her learn about women as unique and wonderful human creatures.

I stumbled across this book and was attracted to its magazine-style layout, with photos and blurbs in sidebars as well as a main, brief narrative on each of the diverse women profiled. It drew me in immediately - in fact before I wrapped it, I had read it myself! It also offers, in the sidebars, ways for girls to start imagining themselves in roles like those of the women written about, but without that cheesy condescending tone of voice that so many educational books written by adults for kids take.

The book offers women throughout history, many of whom may not be known to adults (!), who achieved much on their own. Artists, politicians, soldiers, writers, inventors and businesswomen all are represented. The text avoids serious revolutionaries, which is, I think, age-appropriate. The book is targeted for girls and boys ages 12-14, and it fits well within those age groups, using colorful layout and a conversational tone to talk about these "cool women."

This isn't the text to choose for your burdgeoning Socialist, as many of the women celebrated within its pages are female entrepreneurs and monarchs (all, arguably, quite rightly chosen by the editors). However, many of the stories also chronicle women who rise from adversity, giving it a real sense of balance. One might also argue that there is a smattering of racial and ethnic tokenism at work, but I choose to view it as merely an attempt to speak of at least one woman from each group as promotion of multiculturalism (of depth) rather than tokenism (for appearances only).

All in all, this book is an excellent tool for teaching young women about the valuable contributions their sisters before them made, and what they too can hope to accomplish. Highly recommended.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cool account of womyn throughout history, December 2, 1999

By A Customer

Very interesting with cool facts about womyn (he he). Not a whole lot of info about individual people, but still fun, facinating, and nicly designed. I highly recommend it to anyone (mostly but not limited to, girls) at basically any age. Makes a great present to a 8-14 year old girl (I should know:) ).

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, not Encyclopedia!, October 27, 1998

By A Customer

This book is an excellent light hearted resource for girls and women alike. It exposes the reader to a nice well rounded look at some interesting female figures in the past. The extent of information given is a bit limited but opens the door for further exploration into strong women.