Parents need to know that “She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World,” a picture book by Chelsea Clinton (“It’s Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired & Get Going!”) and illustrated by Alexandra Boiger (“Tallulah’s Tutu”), is a compilation of 13 short inspirational profiles of American women who persisted despite obstacles or negative societal expectations. It includes iconic figures like Harriet Tubman, as well as relatively unsung women like garment industry labor organizer Clara Lemlich. Clinton includes women of various races, from different eras, and a wide span of professional fields, as well as one woman with a disability (Helen Keller). The profiles, which are warmed up considerably by the lovely, affecting art, encourage girls to “remember these women. They persisted and so should you.”

WHAT’S THE STORY?

“She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World” profiles American women who broke new ground. Some excelled in professional fields not previously open to women or women of their backgrounds, while others championed civil rights. The book introduces some lesser-sung figures kids might not be familiar with, for instance Maria Tallchief, a Native American who was an early Balanchine ballerina, and 15-year-old Claudette Colvin, who refused to give up her seat on the bus before Rosa Parks did. The book opens with young kids wandering through an art gallery looking at portraits, which slyly includes one of the author’s mother, Hillary Clinton. Each profile incorporates the phrase “she persisted,” and includes an inspirational quote from the woman herself. Fields include civil rights and labor, sports, science and medicine, the arts, journalism, politics, and law.

IS IT ANY GOOD?

These short profiles of 13 brave, accomplished women capitalize on the current feminist rallying cry “She persisted” and are bite-sized fare for the young. Chelsea Clinton’s choices of women for “She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World” are a fresh mix, some iconic and others not often profiled, such as Native American ballerina Maria Tallchief and Dr.Virginia Apgar. We wish the women’s stories were a bit more information rich, with more telling, personal details to make them come alive. It goes a long way, for instance, when we read that “Oprah Winfrey’s grandmother expected Oprah to follow in her footsteps and become a maid.” We can almost hear those conversations and feel the weight of that crushing expectation. But other profiles feel more generic, for instance some women persisted despite the fact that “not everyone agreed” or “few people thought” they could.

Alexandra Boiger’s warm, appealing illustration is outstanding and provides engaging human detail. She often includes kids in the art, sometimes depicting the women as kids themselves, and finds many ways to humanize the text. When labor leader Clara Lemlich thought “the factory’s conditions made women into machines,” we see rows of mono-tinted garment workers bent over dreary, crowded worktables. Since some of the figures profiled (Ruby Bridges, Harriet Tubman, Sonia Sotomayor) have other picture books written about them, this book can serve as an excellent introduction, whetting kids’ appetites for more.

RATING AND CONTENT

Recommended for ages 4 and older

Quality: 4 out of 5

Educational value: 4 out of 5

Positive messages: 5 out of 5

Positive role models: 5 out of 5

Violence and scariness: 0 out of 5

Language: 0 out of 5

BOOK DETAILS

Author: Chelsea Clinton

Illustrator: Alexandra Boiger

Genre: Picture Book

Publisher: Philomel

Publication date: May 30, 2017

Number of pages: 32

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