Adventurous Women: Eight True Stories About Women Who Made a Difference

by Penny Colman

The adventures of eight inspiring women of the twentieth century.

Mary Gibson Henry risked her life following her passion for new botanical species. During the Civil War, Katharine Wormeley worked aboard hospital ships and helped to save the lives of many sick and wounded soldiers. With a promise and a dollar and a half, Mary McLeod Bethune opened a school for African American girls in Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1904, at a time when schools were segregated.

Award-winning author Penny Colman offers a compelling collection of true stories about eight women who were bold enough to confront obstacles and take risks in the pursuit of their goals. This is a book that celebrates the intelligence, fortitude, and courage of women.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Womens, Feminism

192 pages, Hardcover

First published March 7, 2006

About the author

Penny Colman is the author of award-winning biographies and social histories. Her intriguing topics range from Rosie the Riveter: Women Working on the Home Front in World War II to Corpses, Coffins, and Crypts: A History of Burial. A popular speaker, Penny has appeared on television and radio, including National Public Radio, and on Book TV, C-Span2.
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She has been honored by the New Jersey State Legislature for her books and public appearances that have “contributed to the advancement of women.” The New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs presented her with the New Jersey Women of Achievement Award.

A graduate of The University of Michigan and The Johns Hopkins University, Penny has taught nonfiction literature and creative writing at various colleges and universities, including Teachers College, Columbia University and Queens College, The City University of New York, where she was a Distinguished Lecturer.

Reviews

[Rhollers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Penny Coleman used extensive research to write historical essays on women who stepped outside of the normal expectations for women during their times and strove to make a positive impact on American history. Coleman states her reason for writing the book was not to push men’s accomplishments out of historical records but to add women into their rightful place. Coleman embellishes history by providing records of facts; deeds accomplished by women that have been overlooked for many years.
Most of the women did not achieve fame. However, many attained successes that impact our lives today. For example, Alice Hamilton led research that initiated laws protecting workers from unhealthy working conditions. Mary Bethune started a school for young African-American girls, the first in history eventually leading to equal education for all African-Americans.
I chose this text to integrate into my unit on success in part to add further diversity in the form of gender but mostly because I believe it is important for everyone to understand that strong, intelligent, women have worked successfully against the odds to improve circumstances for all Americans throughout history.

[Jarvis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this book because it was very informative. Penny Colman gives a very informational and factual
presentation of all of the women in the book, he tells their life story and what they have accomplished. He informs us on how these women changed the world, made it better and gave the future plenty of information.

[Sonja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book; I was only familiar with one of these eight incredible women, shame on me.

[LB · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting but a little dry didn't finish

[Victoria Roberts]

This book is great for adding more women's history to reading. It's also a great resource for biographic story for anyone who like that kind of reading.

[Melody Lien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Penn Coleman writes a beautiful novel about the lives of eight women in the 19th century. Her objective was to tell a story about women in history and to do this she did extensive research on the historical time period. The eight women are; Louise, who explores the artic, Mary, botanist, Juana, Spanish landowner, Alice, medical researcher, Mary, educator, Katherine, Civil War nurse, and Peggy, a reporter. All of these women show strength despite their occupations, ethnic backgrounds. She speaks about women who may not be famous but who have done great things to impact our lives today. The book goes into detail about how these eight women went against gender stereotypes and limitations put on women, of their time, in order to be noteworthy in their professions. Because of this I fell in love with her book and her talent for writing a page turning story that has true historical facts. Not only that but it was refreshing to read a story that talks about strong women who impact a society and stand as courageous and smart figures. I would love to teach this book in a middle school class room because I think it would help young girls to understand that they can do great things in their lives, just as many women before them have. I also think it would be an awesome addition to my Unit Plan because it would support my theme of breaking societal limitations.

[Alyssa Becker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adventurous Women: Eight True Stories About Women Who Made a Difference; written by Penny Colman; Copyright 2006, 186 pg.
*Nonfiction #2: Collective Biography*

Through this collection of biographies we learn about 8 successful, brave women. These biographies include those of Luise Boyd, an Arctic Explorer; Mary Gibson Henry, a plant hunter; Juana Briones, a business head; Alice Hamilton, a detective; Mary McLeod Bethune, an educator; Katharine Wormeley, a superintendent; Biddy Mason, a firefighter; and Peggy Hull, a reporter. While some of these women's careers may seem simple, the way they pursue their dreams and passion and help others along the way is inspiring.

Reading these stories will reinstate a sense of pride in young women across the world. Showing their brave attempts in many fields and experiences, these women will be role models to young girls everywhere and their stories will stir passion in all readers, no matter the gender or age. I would recommend this book for older readers, possibly 5th-8th grade to read on their own because of the content. However this book would also be a good book to choose a woman to study or include in a research project. There is useful and inspiring information in these pages for all ages.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The nonfiction book Adventurous Women: Eight Stories about Women Who Made a Difference is a fascinating and inspirational collection of stories, essays, and letters that unfold the lives of eight notable women. Penny Colman makes the stories of these early Americans come alive again with skillful prose and intriguing facts. Her addition of photographs, artistic renderings, diary entries, maps, and documents adds another dimension to the text and makes the nonfiction experience much more enjoyable. Every reader will close this book with new knowledge and a deeper understanding of what life was like for women in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. We all know of the tremendous social constraints placed on women one-hundred years ago, and this book will open young adult eyes to a world of resistance they never knew existed. I would certainly bring this text into my classroom; especially as a supplement to American literature of the same time period—Edith Wharton or Emily Dickinson, for example. Colman has also written many other encouraging nonfiction pieces on women’s history.

[Sarah Dobson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Penny Colman insightfully tells the stories of eight women who defied societal norms and achieved unprecedented success during the 20th century. This nonfictional book includes the accomplishments of a diverse group of women including: Louise Boyd, an Arctic explorer; Mary Gibson Henry, a botanist; Juana Briones, an entrepreneur and matriarch; Alice Hamilton, a scientist and toxicologist; Mary McLeod Bethune, an educator and humanitarian; Katharine Wormeley, a Civil War superintendent; Biddy Mason, a former slave, midwife, landowner, and church founder; and Peggy Hull, a journalist. Colman incorporates a variety of texts into the biographies, including diary entries, maps, photographs, various documents, etc.

While nonfiction biographies tend to be a little dry, the quality information and storytelling in this book outweighs its almost textbook-like nature. It is concise and easy to read, perfect for young readers. It is an excellent tool for discussing the various ways women can advance society and the loss of productivity that occurs when they are inhibited.

[Abbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colman’s biographies are of these eight women are written in essay style. The women came from different backgrounds geographically, financially, and racially, but they are all 19th century pioneers. All of the women broke barriers and stereotypes of what a woman should be. The subjects include women who traveled far and wide into dangerous situations: Louise Boyd, Mary Gibson Henry, and Peggy Hull. Some of the women fought for their own rights and the rights of others: Alice Hamilton and Mary McLeod Bethune. Most of the women just did what they could to make a better life for themselves and their community. This book includes chronologies, source notes, bibliography, webliography, and index.

[Rachelle Lambert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This presents students with new heroes. Furthermore, it can allow to students to see that heroes are not necessarily those bigger-than-life figures, but rather we have heroes in our everyday life that don’t necessarily get the glory they deserve. Although I loved the content of this book, I believe its tone is too dry for a young adult literature novel. The book can be helpful for activities such as projects and biographies, but I wouldn’t categorize it as a Young Adult Literature novel as I am not convinced that it deals with issues young adults face every day... I rated it 3 stars!

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about these incredible women. I found it to be very inspirational and it was nice to read stories about the differences these women made. The book is a collection of essays, letters and stories that reveal fascinating stories of remarkable woman, some that I had not even heard of before I read this book. The book is full of pictures, artwork, journal entries that create a scrapbook feeling. I really enjoyed reading this and it gave me new a new insight into the incredible differences women have made in the world.

[Todd Kruse · Rating 3 out of 5]

While written for a younger (than me) audience I still enjoyed learning about these women. I read it so I could share it with our 10 year old daughter (content approved by me though the short Civil War letters about battle casualties should be noted - not gruesome just reality).

The story of Biddy Mason - a former slave who could not read or write but who became a community icon in California is a reminder to all of us to count the time and talents we have been granted in our lives.

[Carey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just the kind of inspiration I needed. Clara started this book and I got so interested that I read it too. Very interesting in a light and factual way. From Louis Boyd's arctic exploratory adventures to Juana Briones' strength in land ownership in early Northern CA years, I loved reading about these strong, courageous, smart women.

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives a fairly good look at eight adventurous women's lives. I especially enjoyed reading about Alice Hamilton, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Katherine Wormeley. It was inspiring to read about all that these women accomplished, especially with the obstacles they faced.

[Ameya Warde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable, quick read about some amazing women that ive never heard of before!