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I Am a Royal Rulebreaker: Women Who Shaped History
The NOT-SO boring biographies of the queens and princesses who shattered royal conventions and empowered generations of girls just like you.
Forget wilting wallflowers and doting daughters - the royal women in this unapologetic history book for kids 9-12 rocked the world with their skills, smarts, and confident attitude. Strap in for the true stories of willful women who defied expectations, changed the course of history, and were sometimes just downright badass!
From fearless fighters who rallied spectacular armies to no-nonsense negotiators who fought for independence, each woman in this book - from English queens to Byzantine empresses and African leaders - turned norms on their head and smashed gender stereotypes.
Written by cultural historian, Dr. Fern Riddell, and brought to life with fresh, zingy illustrations by Taylor Dolan, this is history with a punk rock twist. Fun, relatable, and totally inspiring.
Get ready History with Royal biographies get a modern, energetic update, highlighting the specific ways women throughout the ages defied conventions.Global A truly diverse collection of women in history books for kids, featuring fierce females from all around the world.Bold, Bright Badass illustrations reimagine historical queens as you’ve never seen them before.Educational & A creative approach to learning about real historical figures, making their stories relatable to young readers’ lives today.
Perfect for children aged 9–12, this is a must-have addition to any young feminist’s bookshelf - or for anyone who loves books about strong women.
Forget wilting wallflowers and doting daughters - the royal women in this unapologetic history book for kids 9-12 rocked the world with their skills, smarts, and confident attitude. Strap in for the true stories of willful women who defied expectations, changed the course of history, and were sometimes just downright badass!
From fearless fighters who rallied spectacular armies to no-nonsense negotiators who fought for independence, each woman in this book - from English queens to Byzantine empresses and African leaders - turned norms on their head and smashed gender stereotypes.
Written by cultural historian, Dr. Fern Riddell, and brought to life with fresh, zingy illustrations by Taylor Dolan, this is history with a punk rock twist. Fun, relatable, and totally inspiring.
Get ready History with Royal biographies get a modern, energetic update, highlighting the specific ways women throughout the ages defied conventions.Global A truly diverse collection of women in history books for kids, featuring fierce females from all around the world.Bold, Bright Badass illustrations reimagine historical queens as you’ve never seen them before.Educational & A creative approach to learning about real historical figures, making their stories relatable to young readers’ lives today.
Perfect for children aged 9–12, this is a must-have addition to any young feminist’s bookshelf - or for anyone who loves books about strong women.
82 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 28, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you so much to DK Children’s Books and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.
No matter how many of these types of books I read about empowering women of history, I always meet new ones women that I’d never heard of and manage learn so many new things, including about ones that I actually thought I knew a fair amount about before reading.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the way it was laid out was so simple but incredibly effective, with big illustrations of each of the women, the writing done in topical sections about the women, the illustrations of something to do with each one, it was so incredibly well laid out and designed.
I loved meeting these women, it’s so eye opening seeing the things these women did in era’s that basically told women to shut up and sit down. None of these women did that and I’m all here for that. I loved gaining new facts about each of them and it was such a variety too, each having lived in a different country, era, way of ruling, and the ways in which they ruled was incredible to read about.
A perfect educational book for young readers, I absolutely recommend this book. You’ll learn literally so much and have a great time learning about them all, so many powerful independent and strong willed women who didn’t let anyone dictate what they did or didn’t do.
No matter how many of these types of books I read about empowering women of history, I always meet new ones women that I’d never heard of and manage learn so many new things, including about ones that I actually thought I knew a fair amount about before reading.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the way it was laid out was so simple but incredibly effective, with big illustrations of each of the women, the writing done in topical sections about the women, the illustrations of something to do with each one, it was so incredibly well laid out and designed.
I loved meeting these women, it’s so eye opening seeing the things these women did in era’s that basically told women to shut up and sit down. None of these women did that and I’m all here for that. I loved gaining new facts about each of them and it was such a variety too, each having lived in a different country, era, way of ruling, and the ways in which they ruled was incredible to read about.
A perfect educational book for young readers, I absolutely recommend this book. You’ll learn literally so much and have a great time learning about them all, so many powerful independent and strong willed women who didn’t let anyone dictate what they did or didn’t do.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I Am a Royal Rulebreaker: Women Who Shaped History by Fern Riddell and illustrated by Taylor Dolan is an engaging and accessible nonfiction book that introduces children to inspiring royal women from across history. It focuses on queens and leaders who challenged expectations, broke the rules, and made a lasting impact on the world. With bright, eye-catching illustrations and short, easy-to-digest profiles, it’s a great choice for upper primary-aged children, especially those who enjoy history, strong female role models, or dipping in and out of factual books independently. What I particularly liked was that it doesn't look like a typical history book - which my daughter has little interest in right now. The bold colour palette and the very 'arty' feel of the book meant it really grabbed her attention and she didn't even realise she was learning about history! I received an eARC.
May 30, 2026
Fascinating mini-biographies of queens, princesses, regents, and others, from ancient to modern times. There were Queen Victoria and Elizabeth I, of course, but most of these people were new to me. I think my favorite was the Queen of Tonga: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C4%81...
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews