We Are Explorers: Extraordinary Women Who Discovered the World

by Kari Herbert

Join fourteen incredible female explorers on their journeys around the world, and learn about the life-changing discoveries they made against all odds. Women have always explored the globe, but their stories aren’t always well-known. In We Are Explorers , fourteen intrepid women and their incredible adventures finally get their due. These fearless explorers trekked across deserts in search of the source of the Nile, crept through jungles to discover rare butterflies, journeyed into the Arctic, and so much more. From the famed travels of Sacagawea to the lesser-known achievements of pioneers in aviation, botany, and mountain climbing, this book dives deep into the lives of women who changed the world. They hailed from places as varied as the United States, Japan, Germany, and New Zealand, but all of them followed their curiosity far from home― astronaut Mae Jemison traveled into space! Critically praised author and illustrator Kari Herbert, herself the daughter of a celebrated polar explorer, brings these adventurers to life with an engaging narrative style and richly painted portraits. Readers will love stepping into the shoes of those who hiked, sailed, and flew to places few people―male or female―had been before. We Are Explorers is the perfect inspiration for any child who dreams of travel and adventure. Illustrated in color throughout

Genres: History, Childrens, Travel, Biography

144 pages, Hardcover

Published March 16, 2021

Reviews

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

I continue to make my way (slowly) through The Great Explorers; and while the people described therein are indeed that, the book also includes very few female adventurers. So when this book popped up on our library's website, it looked like a quick and easy way to address that oversight.

The book is written by Kari Herbert, daughter of Wally Herbert who (as I learned in Great Explorers) was a polar explorer and outstanding artist himself, as well as the man now widely recognized as the first to walk to the North Pole, (on the 60th anniversary of Robert Peary's disputed expedition). As I read through both these books, I was again struck by how many explorers were also accomplished artists (kind of a "duh!" observation, as this was an important skill in pre-photography days), and so I re-borrowed the excellent Explorers' Sketchbooks: The Art of Discovery & Adventure so that I could match up many of the folks in both these books with their artwork - only to realize that Kari Herbert is also the author of Sketchbook. Small world…or at least narrow field of interest.

Anyway - Herbert filles chronologically presents over a dozen extraordinary - if somewhat overlooked - female explorers, mainly (and I assume intentionally) avoiding such "A-listers" as Sally Ride, Amelia Earhart and Gertrude Bell in favor of such lesser-known - if equally accomplished - names as Mae Jemison, Jean Batten and Freya Stark; (okay, I have heard of her - at least in passing - as well as Sacagawea and Alexandra David-Neel, but the rest were all new to me).

So yeah, great book - whether as a motivational tool for young girls seeking role models outside the realm of entertainment and reality TV, or a source of new knowledge to old farts like me, (and hopefully many others in between).

[Rainbow Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re looking for a biography collection for Women’s History Month, I would highly recommend We Are Explorers by Keri Herbert.

Though women have been exploring the world for thousands of years, their stories have often gone untold. This biography collection gives a voice to fourteen of these remarkable women; women such as Sacagawea, Josephine Peary, and Junko Tabei.

From plant hunters to investigative journalists, these women traveled through deserts, jungles, and even space. Each biography opens with a great descriptive introduction, putting you in the shoes of the explorer. I appreciate the way the biographies read almost like a narrative, keeping the reader engaged in each explorer’s account.

I loved the diverse collection of women covered. I have read a few similar biographies and found them to be VERY white-centered. I was also glad to see the prejudices held by European and colonial travelers directly addressed in some of these biographies. These direct conversations are so necessary when discussing historic figures and are too frequently overlooked.

Each profile is paired with a portrait by Kari Herbert, as well as photographs and paintings from their time period, giving the reader a look into each woman’s life.

The back matter contains a map, highlighting all the different explorations, as well as a glossary for some of the scientific terms found throughout the text.

Kari Herbert is an author, illustrator, speaker, and daughter of polar explorer Sir Wally Herbert. Kari is the author of six books about exploration and women’s history. To learn more about her and her work, please visit her website at kariherbert.com.

I would like to thank Thames and Hudson for providing me with a review copy of We Are Explorers. I am so grateful to be able to share the stories of these inspiring explorers.

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[Erin Buhr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the latest in a series of books about incredible women. I loved the variety and diversity of artists included in WE ARE ARTISTS and this is equally irresistible. These are 14 stories about women who explored, pushed boundaries and went on adventures. They are bite sized stories, just a few pages long each. My favorite parts are the photographs and paintings that have been used to illustrate the book. This is one of my go-to collections to choose stories to share with my students for social studies, cultural studies, Women's History month and more.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went into this only knowing about 4/14 women featured. It was a nice introductory primer to their accomplishments and expanded my reading list as I want to learn more about some of these amazing women of history.

[Craig Froman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book! The stories of so many amazing women explorers, most of whom I had never heard of. It is a good read, and a good volume to have in your library to get you inspired.

[Layna Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat interesting. I also learned a little more about the women that did amazing things.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Real exploration is not about people conquering nature or boasting about their achievements- it is about knowledge."

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, the curious fourth-grade student that I was many decades ago would have loved this book! I can recall asking my teacher why there were so few women featured in texts we read, and those that were featured seemed to simply be helping me or sewing flags. If I'd had this book, I'd have felt empowered and excited, emotions that will no doubt surge through the veins of today's youngsters as they learn about 14 women explorers. While I pride myself on my knowledge of women's history, I was only familiar with 8 of these. The book is organized chronologically, beginning with the contributions to ecology of artist Maria Merian in the seventeenth century, and concluding with astronaut Mae Jemison's flights in space, the first African-American to do so. To its credit, the book features a wide variety of explorers, including those who traveled through the desert, around the world, and into the world's ocean depths. Lovely full-page colored paintings of each explorer complemented by another page with sketches of essential tools of the trade give readers some insight into what each woman carried on her adventures. Each biography is introduced with an exciting vignette that takes readers into a pivotal moment in the woman's life before delving into what the explorer is noted for and/or approach to life and pithy quotes. Back matter includes a glossary of relevant terms, thumbnail sketches of each woman with birth and death years, references, and a map depicting the places that were explored. As fond as I am of stories about aviator Amelia Earhart, I was excited to be introduced to Jean Batten whose feats in the air were as impressive if not more so than the more famous Earhart. This collective biography would have many uses during Women's History Month, as a resource for biography papers, and as inspiration for girls who dream of breaking barriers and living life to the fullest. It's clear that I had a blast being immersed in these stories.