Remember the Ladies: 100 Great American Women – A Picture Book About Clara Barton, Harriet Tubman, and Equality for Children

by Cheryl Harness

In a 1776 letter cautioning her husband to "remember the ladies," Abigail Adams made one of the earliest pleas for women's rights in America. How could she have known, in the years to follow, just how many strong and independent women would step forward to forge new paths in their fight for equality?

From Clara Barton and Harriet Tubman to the less well-known but equally important Belva Lockwood and Maya Ying Lin, Remember the Ladies spans the centuries to provide an engaging look at one hundred outstanding women who have helped shape our great nation.

Contents:
Virginia Dare
Pocahontas --
Priscilla Mullins Alden --
Anne Dudley Bradstreet --
Phillis Wheatley --
Mercy Otis Warren --
Abigail Adams --
Betsy Ross --
Sybil Ludington --
Margaret Corbin --
Deborah Sampson --
Sacagawea --
"Mother Ann" Lee --
Emma Hart Willard --
Dolley Madison --
Sarah Grimke --
Abigail Scott Duniway --
Elizabeth Cady Stanton --
Lucretia Mott --
Amelia Bloomer --
Elizabeth Blackwell --
Susan B. Anthony --
Harriet Tubman --
Sarah Emma Edmonds --
Belle Boyd --
Clara Barton --
Victoria Woodhull --
Louisa May Alcott --
Sarah Winnemucca --
Sarah J.B. Hale --
Emily Dickinson --
Annie Oakley --
Calamity Jane --
Nellie Bly --
Belva Lockwood --
Mary Cassatt --
Lucy Stone --
Carry Nation --
Helen Keller --
Jane Addams --
Mary Harris Jones --
Harriet Quimby --
Isadora Duncan --
Madame C.J. Walker --
Mary Pickford --
Juliette Gordon Low --
Margaret Sanger --
Ida Bell Wells-Barnett --
Elizabeth Gurley Flynn --
Alice Paul --
Carrie Chapman Catt --
Annie Smith Peck --
Gertrude Ederle --
Clara Bow --
Annie Jump Cannon --
Frances Perkins --
Mary McLeod Bethune --
Marian Anderson --
Laura Ingalls Wilder --
Shirley Temple --
Amelia Earhart --
Jacqueline Cochran --
Eleanor Roosevelt --
Katherine Dunham. Babe Didrikson Zaharias --
Georgia O'Keeffe --
Margaret Bourke-White --
Rosa Parks --
Margaret Mead --
Lucille Ball --
Maria Tallchief --
Wilma Rudolph --
Jacquelin Kennedy (Onassis) --
Sylvia Earle --
Rachel Carson --
Betty Friedan --
Shirley Chisolm --
Jeannette Rankin --
Dian Fossey --
Joan Ganz Cooney --
Julia Child --
Gloria Steinem --
Barbara Jordan --
Sarah Caldwell --
Barbara Walters --
Katharine Graham --
Billie Jean King --
Maya Ying Lin --
Grace Hopper --
Sandra Day O'Connor --
Antonia Novello --
Sally Ride --
Oprah Winfrey --
Martha Stewart --
Maya Angelou --
Madeleine Albright --
Toni Morrison --
Jody Williams --
Julie Taymor --
Ruth Simmons --

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Picture Books, American History, Womens, Childrens

100 pages, Paperback

First published February 6, 2001

About the author

Author and illustrator. Worked variously as a student teacher, waitress, short-order cook, portrait artist, and needlework designer. Greeting-card artist for Hallmark Cards and Current. Presenter at schools.

Reviews

[RaspberryRoses]

this was an odd book to read. the organization was confusing, and i found a lot of the bios to be woefully short. but i do think the concept of this book is strong - the idea of tracing influential women through american history in chronological order. and the very end of the book did make me feel emotional, when the author asked us to consider how these historical women would feel about modern advancements.

also, it speaks of the changes in culture, but it was pretty wild to see abortion and birth control mentioned frankly in a childrens book! they are really major parts of womens history in the US, but they're often overlooked.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Text to World Connection

This book lists 100 women who helped America grow from colony to country. The books describes women of many ethnicities, native americans, slaves, and first ladies.
It was published in 2001 so I would like to see an updated edition with Michelle Obama added. It has very detailed illustrations and is a great book for students in the older grades to see what contributions women and girls made to help create the United States of America. Women fought for freedom, and the right to vote, civil rights and much more.
The women's march on January 21st shows that women still care about this country and will continue to fight against corruption, racism, bigotry and misogyny.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this now in celebration of Women's History Month. 

This book starts out with a paragraph on the famous statues of women that make it seem to newcomers that the US highly values women. The Columbia statue atop the Capitol in Washington DC and the Statue of Liberty. She wrote that maybe men worshipped the ideal of a woman like a goddess but, like Carrie Chapman Catt wrote in the early 20th century, they "governed her as though she were an idiot." Women were mostly unable to go to college, own property, work in a profession of their choice, and vote. Most of the story of the US has been about the Founding Fathers, the Sons of Liberty, and the uniformed men who fought and governed. 

I really liked how it was broken up into sections that were written vertically along the left-hand page. Like the New World, Colonial World, Revolution, Civil War, Turn of the Century, the Great War, Roaring Twenties, etc. It helped you to know what stage the country was in and better understand the lives of the women. 

I found organization to be the problem. At times I couldn't tell what order the paragraphs went in and they were hard to follow. Each woman was numbered but I'd have to look back and see which number I left off because I couldn't remember. And sometimes the numbers were hard to see because they were integrated into the illustration and sort of disguised. 

I found the women's bios to be so lacking. I know she had to keep it short and couldn't share their whole life story, but some only contained like one sentence on what they did, and that's it! No detail, no explanation, nothing! It was so lacking. Also, some women's bios contained the names of other women who had done similar things at this time, or not even similar things but the author just put their names in there. It would confuse me and I'd look back up at the name of the featured woman and realize the other woman/women weren't her and wonder why they were included. It took away the honor and recognition of the woman in question and brought the focus to other women we didn't even know. So, really, there were more than 100 because she kept mentioning other women throughout.

Another big problem I had was her attempt at segueing to the next woman. At some point she started trying to tie the last one into the next one, and I found it so awkward and badly done. The transitions were clumsy. For example, "And after 1969, people could look up at the moon and imagine folks walking there. When people went inside, they could make something pretty good for supper, if they'd been watching jolly, brilliant chef Julia Child." 

Many of these I had heard of before, but so many were new to me and it was really cool to learn all of the ways women have had an impact on the history of the country that I've never heard of. The biggest shocks were that a woman ran for the presidency in 1872 (I couldn't believe I had never heard of that anywhere!) and a black woman ran for it in 1972. Here I thought Hillary Clinton was the first woman to do so. I didn't know that Emily Dickinson wasn't well-known until after her death because she was too shy. That was a powerful lesson to me on letting shyness control me, and shows if you don't put your work out there you won't have success.

I loved hearing about the women during the revolution who took on men's roles and rode around warning of the redcoats attacking or disguising themselves as men and fighting in battle. Those are my favorite kinds of stories. I was so glad that Laura Ingalls Wilder made an appearance.

I liked the illustrations. They weren't really detailed but just enough to get the ideas across. My favorite page was the one that showed North America with all of the different Native American tribes with their ways of life and ships on the sea.

It was a neat idea that she sat Abigail Adams down at a computer with other women standing behind her and speculated on what she would have thought of the modern inventions and women today. She's the one who said "Remember the ladies." I liked the note from the author talking about how hard it was to select just 100 and that it was personal to choose and discard women. She invited us to make a list of our own 100 and get an idea of our America. She grew up reading Laura Ingalls Wilder's and Maud Hart Lovelace's books.

[Rah · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been amazing to read about the progress women made during America's history in order to get the rights they actually have .. i wanna read about every woman mentionned in the book,coz each one is speacial in her own way, thought i guess there's a lot of missing important women .. i liked Gloria Steinem so much, the idea of the tennis match between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King ,
i discovered and liked the memorial designed by Maya ying Lin to the veterans of the vietnam war ,
i guess i'll read it again

[Bookbag_Betty · Rating 4 out of 5]

We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident That All Men And Woman Are Created Equal.

The Waves Have Rolled Upon Me, The Billows Are Repeatedly Broken Over Me, Yet I Am Not Sunk Down.

I Desire You Would Remember The Ladies

In Every Human Breast, God Has Implanted A Principle Which We Call Love of Freedom; It Is Impatient Of Oppression, And Pants For Deliverance.

When We Honor Our Flag We Honor What We Stand For As A Nation -- Freedom, Equality, Justice, and Hope.

Let Me! I Can Ride As Well As Any Man.

I'll Show The British There Is Plenty Of Fight Left In Us Patriots.

Why Can I Not Fight For My Country Too?

COLONIAL WORLD

Phillis Wheatley
Massachusetts

Mercy Otis Warren
Massachusetts
The Waves Have Rolled Upon Me, The Billows Are Repeatedly Broken Over Me, Yet I Am Not Sunk Down.

Abigail Adams
Massachusetts
I Desire You Would Remember The Ladies

REVOLUTION

Betsy Ross
Pennsylvania

Sybil Ludington
Connecticut
Let Me! I Can Ride As Well As Any Man.

Margaret Corbin
Pennsylvania
I'll Show The British There Is Plenty Of Fight Left In Us Patriots.

Deborah Sampson
Massachusetts
Why Can I Not Fight For My Country Too?

TRAVELED TO // Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut
MET ALONG THE WAY // Columbia: Goddess Of America, Phillis Wheatley, Mercy Otis Warren, Abigail Adams, betsy Ross, Sybil Ludington, Margaret Corbin, Deborah Sampson,

[Addison Spence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Collective Biography
Awards: None
Ages: 8-11 years old
A. This is a partial biography of 100 women that were influential in America. They are organized by a timeline of when they were important, and are grouped together accordingly. This book gives a short detailed response about each of the women and the important strides they made in their lifetime.
B. This is an authentic biography that has not been fictionalized. Due to the short paragraph each women has in the book, everything listed in a non-fictionalized true fact. I know this because there is no story line for each women, rather just a couple sentences of their accomplishments listed.
C. Who is the most influential women in the entire book?
What women do you think should be added to this book since time has passed??=

[Caroline Dailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genre: Biography - Collective Biography
Awards: N/A
Grades: 2-4
A. This is a partial biography on 100 influential women in America. It gives short little blurbs about each of the women and the influential moments that they have created in their lifetimes.
B. This is an authentic biography because it sticks to the facts of their life and it is not a narrative that makes up parts of their life.
C. Why have I never heard of most of these women?
Who is the most influential woman in this book?

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the format and illustrations! I love seeing the evolution of women’s rights in this way! It may be a little overly feminist for some conservatives like myself but I can I tell the author tried to be thoughtful and fair, which I appreciated. Overall, I look forward to reading it again with my daughter sometime.

[Kat Cornell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Collective Biography
Awards: none
Audience: ages 4-8
A. This book is a complete partial biography because it tells the story of not just one women but of a hundred different woman who helped shape America. It doesn't give lengthy descriptions of their whole life but gives short meaningful descriptions.
B. This is an authentic biography because the book is well documented and the information is accurate about the women lives.
C. How was Clara Barton able to teach herself to be a nurse?
After reading about Belva Lockwood, do you think she was scared to argue with the Supreme Court because a woman had never done so?

[Sheila Dailie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting to see the choices. The author challenges the reader to make their own list of 100. She divided the book by decade.

[Annie Lott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Collective Biography
Awards: None.
Audience: 2nd-4th grade.

A) This is a partial biography with small segments of each of 100 American women's lives shared.
B) It is an authentic text with many facts about each women and the life of women during historical times. It is not fictionalized because it doesn't present a creative, fictional story. Rather, it presents factual information about these women's lives.
C) Why should these women be important to me? Why are most of the women White?

[Meltha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has some very good attributes, but it also has some flaws as well. First off, Harness makes intelligent choices about the women profiled here. Of course there are going to be disagreements over who gets included (Virginia Dare? Shirley Temple? Carrie Nation?) and who didn't (a thinner list, honestly, but there are some missing, most notably women who get a brief mention in someone else's mini-bio, like Molly Pitcher or Geraldine Ferraro). Still, the choices she makes are generally very good ones (thank you for Alcott, Cooney, and Anderson in particular). The illustrations are also very engaging, and they give some life to some historical characters whose faces usually remain maddeningly unknown.

The problems of the book stem from two issues. One it couldn't help at all, and that is that it is now almost 14 years out of date. Many women like Hillary Clinton, Kathryn Bigelow, and yes, possibly Sarah Palin, are not included since they were not at this level yet. So a supplement would be needed, but that's easily fixed. Also, many of these women have died since the book's publication (10), so dates of death need to be provided for several of them (and by the way, holy cow, a LOT of these women, even born in the 1800s, passed the 90-year mark).

The other issue is that the biographies of the 100 women are really, really brief, in some cases a single sentence. This is basically a list of women who did interesting, important, or otherwise noteworthy things, but do not expect great detail. It's a jumping off point, not a final destination, and again, that's fine, but treat it as a first step instead of the whole trip.

The supplemental materials are good, including websites, suggested books, and notes, as well as a list of the 100 women. I rather wish a book had been suggested for each of the women profiled, honestly, though. It's an engaging book and should incite children's curiosity, but materials need to be ready to go more into the lives of these women.

Also, Emily Dickinson was a good deal more than just a shy poet. Just sayin'. She rocked.

[Savanah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Level: 7.2 (Lexile: 1130)
Interest Level: 4-7th grade
Genre: general nonfiction / biography
Main Characters: 100 great American women
Setting: NA
Point of View: Cherly Harness (author)

This nonfiction book gives the readers some really great information about the women in the United States that had a hand in making history. The author sets up the theme of the book by telling the reader some history about Washington, D.C. and how it wasn’t just men that made the U.S. the country that it is today. The pages are organized by time period starting with the earliest times such as the “New World” in the 15th century introducing Europeans as well as Native Americans. Other times are “Turn of the Century” and “Let There Be Progress!” in which the author tells about women in history such as Jane Addams and Helen Keller. The author ends the book with “Turn of the Millennium” in which she writes about Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou who happen to be two of my favorite writers. The illustrations in this book equally portray the importance of knowing these women that have helped to write history in the United States.

This is a fantastic book, and I would definitely use this book in my classroom. I have been thinking about people in history that have really influenced African-Americans. This is a great book for me to get ideas about which women I would like to research further and possibly teach about for Black History Month or even in my day to day curriculum as the students I work with are all African-American. I also have a lot more girls in my class than boys so it is equally important to reach my female students by showing how many different cultures have worked together to make this country it is today.

[The Reading Countess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superb brief biographies from the dawn of our country's beginnings until present, Harness' note at the end struck me more than the strength of these ladies. For, as I closed the book, I wondered where Hillary Clinton or Geraldine Ferraro was among these movers and shakers. Bothered by the snub, I turned to the note in the back, and there it was. The fact is, there are many more women than these one hundred listed. Harness encourages the reader to make their own list. And lastly, she acknowledges her own mother, "...the red-haired, beauty-loving mom, who died thinking she was a failure."

And that's really the tragedy. Who is to say whose life should be heralded? Whose life should be chronicled in a book of 100 Great American Women? Don't we all know women, "un"famous, who can be counted as great?

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The information and illustrations were excellent. I had a few iffy moments, but reading the book in stages really helped. And the books in the bibliography and recommended reading list at the end look worthy of even more exploration of these great women.

[Tanya Windham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scan US History highlighting Women. Really good!

[Helenasum · Rating 4 out of 5]

about women that had an impact. not enough informatoion on them though.

[Calliope Bookish · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was actually a re-re-read, but I still love this book and its artwork is incredible!

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short (a paragraph) descriptions of 100 great ladies in American history.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful history lesson.

[Moriah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Remember The Ladies by Norma Johnston is about the life of Elizabeth Cady Stanton who was the president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association and was a leader in the early women’s rights movement. I enjoyed reading this book but found the author’s writing a little “boring”, which made it difficult for me to want to finish “it”, even though women’s rights is a topic that I am passionate about. Amelia Bloomer, who invented bloomers, was a character in the book that spoke to me because she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind and was known to be hot-headed.I can relate to her. Although I knew that a long time ago women were not considered equal to men, I was surprised to learn what rights women had or that they had no rights at all in most cases. This book inspired me because the characters did not let these setbacks stop them from doing everything they could to make themselves be seen as equal to men. I wouldn’t change the ending of Remember The Ladies because it tells us how the women in this book helped change the law so that the 19th Amendment finally gave all women the right to vote. In my opinion, we are still fighting to be seen as equal in many ways. Overall, I’m giving this book “3.5 stars”. Although I enjoyed reading the true events of the women’s rights movement, the author’s writing style was uninteresting in some parts causing me to want to quit reading multiple times.