Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation
Cokie Roberts, the American journalist and political commentator, adapts her 2007 book, Ladies of Liberty, for children in this non-fiction picture book of the same name. Roberts highlights unsung, yet influential women (writers, educators, reformers) from 1796 – 1828, emphasizing the importance of primary sources like letters, records, journals, and books in documenting their work and ideas well before the dawn of the women suffrage movement. The illustrator, Diane Goode, uses sepia-toned, quilled brushstrokes to mirror the distinctive handwriting style most likely used by the women in this collection. Ten ladies are featured on two-page spreads: Lucy Terry Prince (creator of first known poem by an African American), Judith Sargent Murray (women’s rights writer), Isabella Graham (educator, philanthropist), Sacagawea (Shosone explorer), Martha Jefferson Randolph (daughter of Thomas Jefferson), Elizabeth Bayley Seton (founder of the first order of American nuns), Louise D’Avezac Livingston, Rebecca Gratz (Jewish philanthropist), Elizabeth Kortright Monroe (First Lady), and Louisa Catherine Adams (First Lady), but other women also keep these 10 in excellent company in bite-sized biographies throughout that mention ladies like Hannah Foster and Lucretia Mott. This is a browsing collection that may inspire readers to do more research on any one of these fascinating women. Grades 2-5.
You can check out Ladies of Liberty at your local library or request it for home delivery by clicking on the title below:
