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missflyer 's review for:
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, Volume 1: 100 Tales of Extraordinary Women
by Francesca Cavallo, Elena Favilli, Rebel Girls
Each of the 100 women and girls in this book gets one page of text dedicated to them, and one full-page illustration depicting them by one of about 60 artists. The authors have done an excellent job selecting a diverse range of women from all around the world and from many time periods, so that each turn of the page introduces you to someone from a different place, a different time, and a different discipline. From activists and boxers to paleontologists and warriors and everything in between, there is a rebel woman or girl from just about every background imaginable, from before the Common Era to women and girls born barely twenty years ago or less. These are women and girls who are making or who made a difference by being themselves, by pursuing their dreams and not letting anyone stop them from doing what they want to do, what they feel is right, no matter what. These are women who don’t know the meaning of “can’t” and turn every “no” into a “yes”.
As each woman gets one page of text, it makes it very easy to read aloud even for young kids with shorter attention spans. The authors have distilled the stories of each of these women to the essential, keeping it real while also bringing in some “once upon a time”s. I noticed two tones present: one was more here are the facts and what was done/said, the other tone worked in a little more direct preaching/moralizing (in a good way) in a line or two. I assume these are the different tones of the two authors, the journalist Elena Favilli and the (children’s) writer Francesca Cavallo.
There is a lot to get out of this book, not only from the stories, but also from the quotes in the stories and accompanying each story on the illustrated page. One that I noted and especially liked was the following:
But Fadumo has no doubts: “My mother always told me, ‘You hold all life’s possibilities in the palm of your hands.’ And that’s true.” – page 54
All in all, this book is even better than I had hoped for (and I had high hopes for it!), and I am really glad there is a second edition. The only thing I would have liked to see in this, and maybe it’s in the second one, is a bibliography or list of further reading at the back, a mix of books accessible to kids and adults, for further reading about these amazing women.
Typos:
She slept in hostels, ate vegetables and rice because [she] could not afford meat, … -- page 128 – add the [she]
The teacher was so impressed that [he/she] started to give Millo lessons every day. – page 144 – add [he] or [she]
As each woman gets one page of text, it makes it very easy to read aloud even for young kids with shorter attention spans. The authors have distilled the stories of each of these women to the essential, keeping it real while also bringing in some “once upon a time”s. I noticed two tones present: one was more here are the facts and what was done/said, the other tone worked in a little more direct preaching/moralizing (in a good way) in a line or two. I assume these are the different tones of the two authors, the journalist Elena Favilli and the (children’s) writer Francesca Cavallo.
There is a lot to get out of this book, not only from the stories, but also from the quotes in the stories and accompanying each story on the illustrated page. One that I noted and especially liked was the following:
But Fadumo has no doubts: “My mother always told me, ‘You hold all life’s possibilities in the palm of your hands.’ And that’s true.” – page 54
All in all, this book is even better than I had hoped for (and I had high hopes for it!), and I am really glad there is a second edition. The only thing I would have liked to see in this, and maybe it’s in the second one, is a bibliography or list of further reading at the back, a mix of books accessible to kids and adults, for further reading about these amazing women.
Typos:
She slept in hostels, ate vegetables and rice because [she] could not afford meat, … -- page 128 – add the [she]
The teacher was so impressed that [he/she] started to give Millo lessons every day. – page 144 – add [he] or [she]