What do you think?
Rate this book
Lives
Lives of Extraordinary Women: Rulers, Rebels ~ and What the Neighbors Thought
Not all governments have been run by men. Lives of Extraordinary Women turns the spotlight on women who have wielded power, revealing their feats--and flaws--for all the world to see. Here you'll find twenty of the most influential women in history: queens, warriors, prime ministers, first ladies, revolutionary leaders. Some are revered. Others are notorious. What were they really like?
In this grand addition to their highly praised series, Kathleen Krull and Kathryn Hewitt celebrate some of the world's most noteworthy women, ranging from the famous to those whose stories have rarely been told.
Features twenty extraordinary women, including:
Cleopatra
Joan of Arc
Elizabeth I
Harriet Tubman
Eleanor Roosevelt
Eva Perón
In this grand addition to their highly praised series, Kathleen Krull and Kathryn Hewitt celebrate some of the world's most noteworthy women, ranging from the famous to those whose stories have rarely been told.
Features twenty extraordinary women, including:
Cleopatra
Joan of Arc
Elizabeth I
Harriet Tubman
Eleanor Roosevelt
Eva Perón
96 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2000
53 people are currently reading
536 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
March 12, 2021
short nonfiction with facts some known and unknown about twenty historical women figures
April 23, 2012
The lives of the 20 women discussed in this book were indeed extraordinary. Each entry is kept brief enough that it can be read in a single sitting, but not so brief as to leave the reader wondering, “Wait. Who was that lady again?” The book is formatted chronologically, which makes the progression logical and easy to follow.
The illustrations also help readers absorb additional information about the text. Illustrations by Kathryn Hewitt include many beautiful full-page drawings that have the subject along with many significant items from her life. There are also smaller drawings within the text that illustrate specific events being discussed. For example, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine’s entry beings with a full page illustration of her riding a horse across the European continent, holding a book in an outstretched hand. In her time it was rare for a woman to be able to read, ride a horse, or be a capable ruler. A few pages into the article the text is interrupted with a small illustration of a jester’s hat and tools. This is right after a paragraph discussing how Eleanor had moved herself out of her husband’s castle and set up her own court which included many musicians, jugglers and artists.
In the introduction Kathleen Krull states clearly that although many of the women she wrote about in this collection would make excellent role models, many of them may not. All of them were strong and significant in their time. Even the biographies of women of questionable morality are still appropriate for older elementary students. Queen Nzingha kept a harem of young men around, but Krull does not go into the nitty-gritty details.
At the end of each entry is a section called “Ever After.” This section consists of a few bullet point facts generally about how their actions affected history. These parts are not as narrative in nature as the early parts of the text, but are extremely informative. They cover any important details that were not included otherwise. Many of them are about how the actions of the subject continue to influence the world today. An example of which is Elizabeth I’s love of poetry who, despite her personal challenge of creating it herself, allowed many great works to be created under her reign. Artists who, under a different ruler would have had their talent crushed, were allowed to blossom and have their work shared by all.
This is not a collection of only ancient historical women. Many of the later subjects are still living. Several are still fighting for their causes and suffering hardships because of it. Aung San Suu Kyi, at the time this book was written, was still under house arrest because of her fight for democracy in the Burmese government.
This would be a great book for older elementary students up through middle school. Even high school students could find value within these pages. Teachers could use the book in its entirety, but could also use select passages to augment other lessons. Many different countries and time periods are covered, so it should be fairly simple to find an appropriate entry for a variety of topics. If being used for a research assignment a bibliography of the resources the author found most useful is included in the back.
The biographies in this book include: Cleopatra, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Joan of Arc, Isabella I, Elizabeth I, Nzingha, Catherine the Great, Marie Antoinette, Victoria, Harriet Tubman, Tz’u-hsi, Gertrude Bell, Jeannette Rankin, Eleanor Roosevelt, Golda Meir, Indira Gandhi, Eva Perón, Wilma Mankiller, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Rigoberta Menchú.
The illustrations also help readers absorb additional information about the text. Illustrations by Kathryn Hewitt include many beautiful full-page drawings that have the subject along with many significant items from her life. There are also smaller drawings within the text that illustrate specific events being discussed. For example, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine’s entry beings with a full page illustration of her riding a horse across the European continent, holding a book in an outstretched hand. In her time it was rare for a woman to be able to read, ride a horse, or be a capable ruler. A few pages into the article the text is interrupted with a small illustration of a jester’s hat and tools. This is right after a paragraph discussing how Eleanor had moved herself out of her husband’s castle and set up her own court which included many musicians, jugglers and artists.
In the introduction Kathleen Krull states clearly that although many of the women she wrote about in this collection would make excellent role models, many of them may not. All of them were strong and significant in their time. Even the biographies of women of questionable morality are still appropriate for older elementary students. Queen Nzingha kept a harem of young men around, but Krull does not go into the nitty-gritty details.
At the end of each entry is a section called “Ever After.” This section consists of a few bullet point facts generally about how their actions affected history. These parts are not as narrative in nature as the early parts of the text, but are extremely informative. They cover any important details that were not included otherwise. Many of them are about how the actions of the subject continue to influence the world today. An example of which is Elizabeth I’s love of poetry who, despite her personal challenge of creating it herself, allowed many great works to be created under her reign. Artists who, under a different ruler would have had their talent crushed, were allowed to blossom and have their work shared by all.
This is not a collection of only ancient historical women. Many of the later subjects are still living. Several are still fighting for their causes and suffering hardships because of it. Aung San Suu Kyi, at the time this book was written, was still under house arrest because of her fight for democracy in the Burmese government.
This would be a great book for older elementary students up through middle school. Even high school students could find value within these pages. Teachers could use the book in its entirety, but could also use select passages to augment other lessons. Many different countries and time periods are covered, so it should be fairly simple to find an appropriate entry for a variety of topics. If being used for a research assignment a bibliography of the resources the author found most useful is included in the back.
The biographies in this book include: Cleopatra, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Joan of Arc, Isabella I, Elizabeth I, Nzingha, Catherine the Great, Marie Antoinette, Victoria, Harriet Tubman, Tz’u-hsi, Gertrude Bell, Jeannette Rankin, Eleanor Roosevelt, Golda Meir, Indira Gandhi, Eva Perón, Wilma Mankiller, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Rigoberta Menchú.
November 4, 2024
Short (like, 3 - 5 page) biographies of prominent women in history - my kids loved this one and we all learned from it.
July 3, 2011
In the introduction to her book, Krull states that her subjects' personalities could sometimes seem “larger than life.” This is then reflected by Hewitt's illustrations of dis-proportioned women whose heads and bodies dwarf their surroundings, giving the images a rather cartoonish, unrealistic perspective which fails to reflect the serious nature of the work. While the ambition of the book – to present stories of women triumphing over adverse conditions, attitudes, beliefs, and customs in a light which portrayed them as flawed humans rather than either good or bad – is laudable, Krull includes a ridiculous, inordinate amount of superfluous details such as what these influential women wore and the food they preferred. Additionally, though she provides her audience with a list of further reading material, the information in the text is without references, and the author fails to establish her authority as a reliable source of knowledge.
April 18, 2020
Krull, Kathleen. Lives of Extraordinary Women: Rulers, Rebels (and What the Neighbors Thought). (2000). Illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt. Award-winning children’s author, Krull, was notable for her biographies. In Lives of Extraordinary Women, biographies of twenty women are chronologically explained in this book who have shown great political powers. These women include queens, prime ministers, government officials, revolutionary leaders, warriors, Indian Chiefs, First Ladies and others who have been in positions of power. Biographies of such women include Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, Nzingha, Marie Antoinette, Harriet Tubman, Tzu-Hsi, Indira Gandhi, Eva Peron, and Rigoberta Menchu. These extraordinary women biographies are included because of their adversities and triumphs, their larger-than-life personality and accomplishments. The focus of this collection of biographies is on the women’s daring and brave deeds, yet not all of these women are role models, where some are good and some are bad. They are included because they are an inspiration to women throughout history.
Illustrations are done in watercolor as well as colored pencil on watercolor paper. As an introduction to each women’s biography, their picture is drawn with a bobblehead style, with the oversized head compared to the body. The background and details around the women depict the setting and the importance of their position, power, status or event. Introductions include a larger font for the name, the timestamp, subtitles, and a snippet of the importance of the women’s role makes the relevance to the character illustrations. The illustrations and the text make a good connection for a children’s nonfiction biography. Target audience: grades 4-6.
Illustrations are done in watercolor as well as colored pencil on watercolor paper. As an introduction to each women’s biography, their picture is drawn with a bobblehead style, with the oversized head compared to the body. The background and details around the women depict the setting and the importance of their position, power, status or event. Introductions include a larger font for the name, the timestamp, subtitles, and a snippet of the importance of the women’s role makes the relevance to the character illustrations. The illustrations and the text make a good connection for a children’s nonfiction biography. Target audience: grades 4-6.
September 6, 2024
misses the forest for the trees.
read for my civ 6 history challenge: Eleanor of Aquitaine
read for my civ 6 history challenge: Eleanor of Aquitaine
March 18, 2021
Krull turns her talents yet once again to lives of
extraordinary people, this time the lives of extraordinary women.
She examines such well known women as Eleanor Roosevelt and Queen
Elizabeth I along with less well known women such as Rigoberta Menchu
and Nzingha. Each chapter is filled with fascinating details about
the women.
extraordinary people, this time the lives of extraordinary women.
She examines such well known women as Eleanor Roosevelt and Queen
Elizabeth I along with less well known women such as Rigoberta Menchu
and Nzingha. Each chapter is filled with fascinating details about
the women.
August 15, 2018
This is a really neat book examining the lives of various outstanding women including birth and death dates and what they did. The women covered include:
Cleopatra (ruler of Egypt, lover of Caesar and Marc Antony, spoke 8 languages.)
Eleanor of Aquitaine: The Queen of France, literate (an unusual thing for women at the time) divorced the king, married the guy that would become Henry II of England.
Joan of Arc: The young girl who said God spoke to her she led French troops to victories over the British, dressed as a man, burned at the stake when she was only 19.
Isabella I: Founded the first military hospital in Europe, helped Columbus. This was the time of the Inquisition.
Elizabeth I: Spoke 9 languages, studied history, theology and music. Queen of England.
Nzinga: West African Queen.
Catherine the Great: Ruler of Russia, reduced religious persecution and enlarged Russia's boundaries.
Marie Antoinette: Queen of France, fashionista, helped poor, upset the rich and the poor both. Ended up losing her head.
Queen Victoria: Queen of England, 7 attempts on her life, anti-racism. Against women voting. After the death of her husband was into seances.
Harriet Tubman: Black slave who escaped and managed to lead around 300 more slaves from the South to safety.
Tz 'u-hir: Chinese Empiress.
Gertrude Bell:Explorer, spoke 7 languages, helped found Iraq.
Jeanette Rankin: First women elected to Congress, supported women's voting rights. Only against the U.S. entering World War I.
Eleanor Roosevelt: Didn't divorce FDR even though he cheated on her. Against the mistreatment of Japanese Americas at the start of the war. Definitely anti-racist (helped get the Tuskegee Airmen going). Had an effect on political appointments.
Golda Meir: Worked on getting Israel to be a separate nation. Prime Minister.
Indira Gandhi: Prime Minister of India, well educated,.
Eva Peron: Wife of Argentina's ruler Juan Peron. Got women the right to vote. Died at an early age.
Willma Mankiller: Chief of Cherokee nation, women's advocate.
Aung San Suu Kil: Won 1991 Novel Peace Prize, kept under house arrest by military.
Rigoberta Menchu: Had to flee Guatemala military. A Mayan. Won 1992 Nobel Peace Prize. Outspoken human rights activist.
More detail is given about each of the women.
Cleopatra (ruler of Egypt, lover of Caesar and Marc Antony, spoke 8 languages.)
Eleanor of Aquitaine: The Queen of France, literate (an unusual thing for women at the time) divorced the king, married the guy that would become Henry II of England.
Joan of Arc: The young girl who said God spoke to her she led French troops to victories over the British, dressed as a man, burned at the stake when she was only 19.
Isabella I: Founded the first military hospital in Europe, helped Columbus. This was the time of the Inquisition.
Elizabeth I: Spoke 9 languages, studied history, theology and music. Queen of England.
Nzinga: West African Queen.
Catherine the Great: Ruler of Russia, reduced religious persecution and enlarged Russia's boundaries.
Marie Antoinette: Queen of France, fashionista, helped poor, upset the rich and the poor both. Ended up losing her head.
Queen Victoria: Queen of England, 7 attempts on her life, anti-racism. Against women voting. After the death of her husband was into seances.
Harriet Tubman: Black slave who escaped and managed to lead around 300 more slaves from the South to safety.
Tz 'u-hir: Chinese Empiress.
Gertrude Bell:Explorer, spoke 7 languages, helped found Iraq.
Jeanette Rankin: First women elected to Congress, supported women's voting rights. Only against the U.S. entering World War I.
Eleanor Roosevelt: Didn't divorce FDR even though he cheated on her. Against the mistreatment of Japanese Americas at the start of the war. Definitely anti-racist (helped get the Tuskegee Airmen going). Had an effect on political appointments.
Golda Meir: Worked on getting Israel to be a separate nation. Prime Minister.
Indira Gandhi: Prime Minister of India, well educated,.
Eva Peron: Wife of Argentina's ruler Juan Peron. Got women the right to vote. Died at an early age.
Willma Mankiller: Chief of Cherokee nation, women's advocate.
Aung San Suu Kil: Won 1991 Novel Peace Prize, kept under house arrest by military.
Rigoberta Menchu: Had to flee Guatemala military. A Mayan. Won 1992 Nobel Peace Prize. Outspoken human rights activist.
More detail is given about each of the women.
Read
November 7, 2025کتاب سال 88 چاپ شده و آن موقع نوشتن از زندگی زنان برای نوجوانان اصلاً مد نبوده و مثل این روزها نبود که خیلی زیاد زندگینامه ببینیم. کتاب در قطع بزرگ چاپ شده و به جز تصاویر که سیاه و سفید هستند (که فکر میکنم در نسخۀ اصلی رنگی بودند) واقعاً کیفیت خوبی دارد؛ چه از نظر صفحهبندی و چه از نظر ترجمه. یعنی توانسته آن لحن خودمانی در کتاب باشد که گیر نیفتی و حس باحالی از خواندنش داشته باشی. کتاب بیشتر از اینکه یک منبع علمی باشد به قول خودش فضولی در زندگی زنانی است که به شکلی در جهان تاثیرگذار بودند و جالبتر اینکه خود کتاب اشاره میکند که لزوماً همهشان هم آدمهای خوبی نبودند. تصاویر کتاب بانمک است و یک حسی از کاریکاتور دارد. زندگینامهها هم اصلاً روند کلاسیک ندارد و بیشتر شبیه خواندن برهههایی از زندگی آن آدم است که خیلی مختصر و مفید نوشته شده است.
May 9, 2017
It was interesting to see the different great women who was in power and what they achieve throughout their lives. There are some women in the book that I never heard of and was really surprised when I read about them. This books is really good for children to read and to see how different women did something amazing or beyond anyone's expectation.
January 21, 2019
A brief book giving quick introductions to 20 extraordinary ladies. Some of these ladies I didn’t know, such as Jeannette Rankin who was the only woman to give women the right to vote and stated if she could live her life over she’d be nastier. She was my favorite story, but they are all good ones. Just wish there was more information included.
March 8, 2022
I listened to this short audible book and found it to be very informative. Easy to understand and enjoyable to listen to. Some of the women featured were Eleanor Roosevelt, Golda Meir, Marie Curie, Harriett Tubman and Cleopatra among many others. Though geared to school-age children, I would recommend to all those interested in learning more about extraordinary women in history.
June 27, 2023
An OK book with facts on 20 women from history. Dated at this point, having been published almost 25 years ago, and also sometimes glosses over less savoury bits of the women’s stories (but it’s intended for kids, so makes sense why she’d do that). Still, it sometimes has you questioning why she decided to pick the people she did.
August 5, 2023
I came across this book at a garage sale and out of all the books I own this is the one I have displayed on my top shelf for everyone to see! I love everything about this book and I’ll never stop recommending it to all ages. Such an empowering and beautiful historical book with pictures and loads of information.
October 29, 2018
I've loved this book since I was a kid! It also inspired my recent blog post on Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress: https://wp.me/pafNQ7-1h
Entertainingly written, with fun illustrations about these bad-ass women!
Entertainingly written, with fun illustrations about these bad-ass women!
March 14, 2020
It was nice to take my time reading this book. I had (embarrassingly) never heard of several of the women who were featured. I also love the author’s gentle approach to sharing the tougher parts of the lives of these women.
November 23, 2021
I like the way the author showed the positive and the negatives about the woman featured here and why it matters to the way history played out. I would recommend this to anyone interested in reading about female leaders.
August 6, 2022
Mini stories to tempt readers into delving into reading more about some amazing women in history! I have to admit I even I learned about some women I didn’t know about and learned something’s about some women I do!
July 21, 2018
Definitely a good book but I want more information! Doesn’t feel like there was enough. Granted, it’s a children’s book.
November 15, 2018
Short bios on some amazing women.
March 12, 2019
I did not find this totally accurate, and once the discrepancies continued to mount I lost interest. The drawings were cute.
June 11, 2019
I found the tone to be rather condescending. The individual entries are overly simplistic and frequently focus more on trivialities than accomplishments.
August 7, 2019
I liked learning more about history in the first part, but the whole second part was completely uninteresting and I'm probably not going to remember any of it.
July 15, 2020
A good introduction for youngsters. A bit dated. Not particularly nuanced.
August 12, 2020
An overview of a bunch of different women. A good launching point to learn about further women.
January 5, 2021
NF- Biography
July 10, 2023
Just a little taste about twenty women who made a difference in our world. Could spark interest in learning more about any of them.
September 14, 2023
Great book. Kathleen Krull is an amazing author and the Kathryn Hewitt's illustrations are magnificent.
October 2, 2025
A kid-friendly look at extraordinary women through the centuries and around the world.
April 29, 2019
Genre: Biography
Awards: None
Audience: 5th-8th Grade
A. This is a collective biography and each person's biography is only partial.
B. This is a fictionalized biography and I know this because there are no documents that are from the people being written about. Also, the story is based partly on fact and then enhanced by the author's imagination.
C. Why did they only do women? What do they really look like?
Awards: None
Audience: 5th-8th Grade
A. This is a collective biography and each person's biography is only partial.
B. This is a fictionalized biography and I know this because there are no documents that are from the people being written about. Also, the story is based partly on fact and then enhanced by the author's imagination.
C. Why did they only do women? What do they really look like?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews