What would she do? by Kay Woodward

I don't usually comment on the price of books but this book is such good value at only $20.  It is book to dip into and then revisit.  The illustrations are are wonderful and each of the 25 women is given a detailed profile along with a real-life 21st Century problem for the reader to solve.  I did enjoy the quiz at the end which has 8 "multiple-choice questions to find out which fabulous woman you are most like".  I am like Harriet Tubman because "I enjoy helping others."

There are quite a few new books available on this topic but I feel the links to real life problems and the vibrant illustrations make this one a stand out. Eight illustrators contributed to this book.  If you have an art class in High School is would be well worth taking time to check out each of these links.

Andrew Archer from New Zealand
Anna Higgie from UK
Jessica Singh originally from Perth Western Australia
Jonny Wan lives in UK
Kelly Thompson from Melbourne Australia
Pietari Posti lives in Spain
Sofia Bonati lives in UK
Susan Burghart lives in UK

The contents of this book are presented in chronological order from Cleopatra and The Trung Sisters who took action in Vietnam 2000 years ago right through to Malala Yousafzai.  Each woman has a short introduction, a more detailed profile and a "what would ... do? page.  I was particularly fascinated to read about Dame Zaha Mohammed Hadid - Architect, Valentina Tereshkova - Cosmonaut and Elena Cornaro Piscopia - Philosopher.

We have excellent single biography picture books in our school library about some of the other famous women in this book - Rosa Parks, Wangari Muta Maathai, Dr Jane Goodall, Emmeline Pankhurst, Amelia Earhart, Marie Curie and Ada Lovelace.  Hopefully reading What would she do? will inspire students to read further.

Here is a short trailer from the publisher where you can see some of the art.