Women Warriors: Myths and Legends of Heroic Women

by Marianna Mayer, Julek Heller (Illustrator)

From days of old, they have intrigued people all over the world: brave, defiant warrior women who stir imaginations, rouse passions, and often inspire thousands of followers. These fierce and fearless spirits are goddesses, queens, and peasants; they are children, young women, and adults in the winter of their years. From the story of Britain's proud queen Boadicea to that of the Sioux warrior Winyan Ohitika, Marianna Mayer re-creates twelve thrilling tales of war and bravery, bitterness and triumph. Twenty-four full-color illustrations and a map, bibliography, and annotated index are included in this striking anthology for all ages.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Mythology, Womens, Childrens, Picture Books

80 pages, Hardcover

First published September 29, 1999

About the author

Marianna Mayer is a children's book author and artist recognized for her beautifully written retellings of classic folk and fairy tales. Born in New York City, she began her artistic training early and studied at the Art Students League after a year of college. Her first book was published at the age of nineteen. Mayer has authored several acclaimed works, including Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave, Pegasus, and The Twelve Dancing Princesses, often collaborating with renowned illustrators such as Kinuko Y. Craft and Michael Hague. She was previously married to illustrator Mercer Mayer.

Reviews

[Debbie W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, about twelve lesser-known women warriors throughout history from various cultures, is written as a tribute to their courage. They were skillful, fierce, strong in mind and body - some were even pretty badass!

I appreciated that this book contained:
1. an "Introduction" explaining how and why these particular women were chosen;
2. the "Note About Pronunciation" was extremely helpful! This page also explained various spelling variations that may be found elsewhere;
3. a world map indicating where each warrior lived (plus others not written about in detail but are included in the "Index");
4. sections about Amazon, Celtic, Native American and other women warriors from around the world;
5. a "Selected Bibliography";
6. an "Index" (which also acts as a glossary); and,
7. full-color watercolor illustrations of each warrior woman.

My overall thoughts:
1. this book was laid out thoughtfully and was extremely well-researched;
2. the reading level is suitable for upper-middle-school kids and older; and,
3. some text and illustrations may be disturbing for some readers.

All of the chosen women warrior stories are quite fascinating, but my favorites were "Gwendolen: First Warrior Queen of Britain" and "Aliquipiso: The Girl Who Saved Her Tribe". I recommend this book for readers interested in legends of courageous women!

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am all for showing that there is good reason to support gender equality. Perhaps there is something to gain from examining the “myths and legends of heroic women” such as Scathach, Boadicea, and Aliquipiso.

The truth is that there isn’t much known about many of these women, even those who really lived (rather than those who were imaginative creations). That may reduce what adults can do to support and/or encourage someone who is interested in any of these brief sketches.
The illustrations are in keeping with the inspirational theme…for those about 10 years and up. As for me, I am more inspired by characters like V. I. Warshawsky; ones that can counter-punch while their brains are fully engaged in resolving situations.

My GR friend, Debbie, makes a strong case for a higher rating
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Whole And · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible sellection of uncommon stories about Women Warriors around the world. Theses are real to the feel strong women that endure, overcome and often battle to achieve unthinkable acts. An important telling of what women are truly capable of - planting seeds of greatness and strength in the minds of young women.

[Beverly J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book. I particularly enjoyed the tale of Mella from Zimbabwe. The young friend of the python.

[Liaken · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were a couple of very good stories in this book, but the artwork and the blood-thirsty nature of the majority of the stories didn't work. The women look like men in the paintings, both physically and in posture. The book was a good idea, but it didn't quite work.

[M Cornell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful art and refreshing global scope, but various strange adaptation choices and historical misinformation in the cliche-to-boring prose leave a lot to be desired. Stories don't situate readers in the societal gender contexts of these heroines, sometimes even creating modern-reading sexism instead (when perfectly suitable premodern sexism could be explored). These choices, along with the stilted dialog and strange, often misleading notes, result in flat presentations of both gender and history. Coupled with the usual "positive" gender essentialism typical to these kinds of texts from the 80s/90s, its mostly just hailing to a particular time in publication - probably one that doesn't need to be returned to.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief summaries of some remarkable women in history.

[Jenny Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not quite what I was hoping for and a little stiff in the delivery, but reading about some lesser-known heroines was kinda fun at times.

[Sam Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Still not loving it, but less for inaccuracies than style of retelling.

Unlike previous commenters, I'm totally unbothered by the bloody stories or the non-Christian values (like vengeance). Furthermore, I think a book LIKE this ought to be on any feminist mythlover's shelf. If you like Andrew Lang, you really have no grounds for objection on the values front, anyway.

That said, there's no one story in there that really impresses me. I like the paintings (and don't find the lack of girlishness distressing), but they don't blow me away either. I think I ought to revisit this one in a few years.

[Sarah Roberts · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. It brought to light some myths and legends I wasn't aware of, so that makes it a good starting point for research, but the writing was lackluster and boring. I liked the illustrations and didn't notice the women looking like men as one reviewer put it. It just seemed to me that the artwork in general was very gritty.