Rabble Rousers: Twenty American Women Who Made a Difference

by Cheryl Harness

Just in time for Women's History Month, here are short, spirited profiles of twenty women who impacted life in America by speaking out against injustice and fighting for social improvements. The folksy, friendly narrative introduces such fascinating figures as Sojourner Truth, abolitionist preacher; Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, a Civil War physician; Margaret Sanger, birth control pioneer; and Doris Haddock, a ninety-two-year-old champion of campaign-finance reform. The book spans over two hundred years of American history and includes time lines for such important social movements as abolition, woman suffrage, labor, and civil rights. Readers inspired by these fiery women can use the civil action tips and resources in the back of the book to do some of their own rabble-rousing.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History, Feminism, Womens

64 pages, Hardcover

First published January 27, 2003

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

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The profiles in this book are well-written, and the illustrations are lovely. However, I am kind of disturbed that a book with so many profiles of abolitionists and believers in racial equality would also feature Margaret Sanger, who was quite vocal about her belief that white, non-disabled people are genetically superior. I don't want my children to think she's a hero- all the other women profiled in this book fit that label.

[Maureen Tully · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of mini-bios of incredible women who made a difference, along with great timelines of the the Abolition Movement, Women's Movement, the Labor Movement, and the Civil Rights Movement. Highly inspiring and informative for the intended audience of middle school students, but great information for all ages.

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love books like this that ignite a readers passion to learn more. Who wouldn't want to find out more about all 20 of these remarkable woman who made history and we all owe a huge debt of gratitude to? This is a perfect book to have in elementary/middle school library and classrooms, hopefully with other reads available on the featured makers of history.

[Jennifer Elbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not a big fan of YA books, but bought this illustrated book for an 11-year old and read it first. I really enjoyed it - there were several women I wasn't familiar with and I learned more about all twenty. I appreciated the timelines Harness included, too.

[RavenNoir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read back in 2008...

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Great for kids & adults alike to inform, educate & inspire.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would have been a great book If the author had not included Margaret Sanger. For that reason, I’ll not be having my girls read this book.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book for young readers all about 20 women who made a difference in this country they’re white women , black women but no Asian American women

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m embarrassed to say that I knew something about just 10 of the 20 women in this book. But now I know a bit about them all and value my educational opportunities and freedom to vote. Thank you.

[Delicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: nonfiction, biography, picture book
Topic: 20 famous women who made a difference; 20 female heroes
Theme: determination, women’s rights, abolition, Civil Rights movement, labor movements
Illustrations: The illustrations are mostly sketches, revealing hints of the historical time period the woman discussed live in.
Reading Level: Fluent
Use: independent reading; research material

Thoughts:

Rabble Rousers is the stories of twenty famous women throughout American history. All twenty were/became American citizens and all twenty made a notable difference in American history. Each woman has a two page spread that focuses on her primary achievement. Intermingled are four different timelines featuring the four most common struggles in the biographies: Civil Rights, labor, abolition, and women's rights. The appendixes at the end of the book feature ways to get involved, contact information for key people, and lists of books for further reading.

The book is clearly for fluent readers. The pages are mostly small text without supportive illustrations. Many of the words used are less common vocabulary words, words with multiple syllables and difficult definitions.

Rabble Rousers would not be my favored choice for a read aloud. Small sections of the book could be read aloud during lessons featuring the person, but it would not make for a good sit-down and read from start to finish read aloud. It would be a good book for independent reading or for use in a small, classroom research library.

[Kiara Aytch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is sort of a nonfiction reference book about twenty different women who helped shape America. It features women from many different aspects and major events throughout American history. Some of the events talked about in the book include: The abolition movement, Women’s movement, Labor movement and Suffrage and Civil rights. Although each women’s involvement is only included on two pages it does a good job of explaining who they are, their cause and what they accomplished (sometimes). There are a variety of women represented throughout this book and I feel like kids would get a good representation of different stories, struggles and views from many different perspectives. This reference book is sort of in the layout of a chapter book that is intended for children in grades first through third grade. This is history piece of literature. According to the checklist this book covers all aspects of illustrations, five out of seven in the story section and eight out of eight in cultural considerations. This relates to my topic because it is women’s rights and women activist.

[Cori Edgerton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since I currently have a display at the library dedicated to Women's Equality Day (August 26th) this book caught my eye. First of all, the illustrations are wonderful with short descriptive phrases of what each of the women accomplished. And lastly, this book discusses a wide rage of issues that women have worked on achieving through out the years such as abolition, suffrage, temperance, equal pay, birth control, education, and profession. Overall, "Rabble Rousers" is a great resource for kids, especially girls, to learn and understand the hardship and discrimination women have faced and how a few special women paved the road towards equality.

[Tracy Holland · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an inspiring book for girls. This collection of short biographers highlights the spirit, determination, and gumption of famous American Women. The author has included well known and not so well known women who worked to change history for future women. Most fighting for the rights of women, these brave women helped gain rights for women from the start of our country, through the 1960s. Very informative.

[Moorhead Public Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

These women were called unladylike, crazy and dangerous, but they had one goal in mind...reform. From Amy Lee to Doris Haddock, these women sought to improve education, voting, labor, civil rights, and so much more. For to them, everyone deserved a chance at "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

booktalk, j nonfiction

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty dry, but the women in the book are total badasses. It even has a chapter on Fannie Lou Hamer, which is the reason I picked up the book in the first place.