The day was designed to inspire women and celebrate their achievements, so in assembly on Friday I had fun talking about women and their achievements. Of course I took a children's book as a focus, Seven Chinese Sisters, and it is one where the women have special skills, but as it came about because of the wonderful story The Seven Chinese Brothers, it was a good choice to highlight that girls can do anything as well or better than boys!
Then in the library we made a display of biographies about successful, pioneering women who achieved despite the odds stacked against them. Among others we used:
• Me and Momma and Big John by Mara Rockliff is a good story to show girls and boys that women can do anything they want to, even a job that appears to be 'male'.
• Fossil Girl by Catherine Brighton, and Stone Girl Bone Girl by Laurence Anholt, both are the story of Mary Anning who was the first person to find dinosaur bones in England.
• Mrs Harkness and the Panda by Alicia Potter and Melissa Sweet which tells about how in 1934 Ruth Harkness continued the work that her husband started, went on an expedition in China and brought a panda to America.
• Marvellous Mattie by Emily Arnold McCully which tells the story of inventor Margaret Knight.
• Girls Think of Everything by Catherine Thimmesh and Melissa Sweet which highlights many female inventors.
• Rachel by Amy Ehrlich and Rachel Carson and the Book That Changed the World by Lawrie Lawlor tell of pioneering environmentalist, Rachel Carson.
• Life in the Ocean by Claire A. Nivola tells of the life of oceanographer Sylvia Earle.
Also in your library there will be picture books about other wonderful women such as Rosa Parks, Madame Curie, Annie Sullivan, Florence Nightingale, Jane Goodall and Wangari Maathai, some of whom I have written of before in this blog. See pinterest page for more biographies.
I don't know that book but I love Grace Lin. I'll have to check it out!
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