Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World

by Susan Hood, Sophie Blackall (Illustrator), Emily Winfield Martin (Illustrator)

“Each poem and illustration shines with a personality all its own.” —Shelf Awareness (starred review)

“This book has definitely made an impact on my life.” —Kitt Shapiro, daughter of Eartha Kitt

Fresh, accessible, and inspiring, Shaking Things Up introduces fourteen revolutionary young women—each paired with a noteworthy female artist—to the next generation of activists, trailblazers, and rabble-rousers.

From the award-winning author of Ada’s Violin and Lifeboat 12, Susan Hood, this is a poetic and visual celebration of persistent women throughout history.

In this book of poems, you will find Mary Anning, who was just thirteen when she unearthed a prehistoric fossil. You’ll meet Ruby Bridges, the brave six-year-old who helped end segregation in the South. And Maya Lin, who at twenty-one won a competition to create a war memorial, and then had to appear before Congress to defend her right to create.

And those are just a few of the young women included in this book. Readers will also hear about Molly Williams, Annette Kellerman, Nellie Bly, Pura Belpré, Frida Kahlo, Jacqueline and Eileen Nearne, Frances Moore Lappé, Mae Jemison, Angela Zhang, and Malala Yousafzai—all whose stories will enthrall and inspire. This poetry collection was written, illustrated, edited, and designed by women and includes an author’s note, a timeline, and additional resources.

With artwork by award-winning and bestselling artists including Selina Alko, Sophie Blackall, Lisa Brown, Hadley Hooper, Emily Winfield Martin, Oge Mora, Julie Morstad, Sara Palacios, LeUyen Pham, Erin Robinson, Isabel Roxas, Shadra Strickland, and Melissa Sweet.

A 2019 Bank Street Best Book of the Year 

Named to the 2019 Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List

Selected for CCBC Choices Book 2019

Selected as a Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People 2019

Named to the Cuyahoga County Public Library’s 2018 list of Great Books for Kids

2020-2021 South Carolina Picture Book Award Nominee

Genres: Picture Books, Poetry, Biography, Nonfiction, History, Childrens, Feminism

44 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 23, 2018

About the author

Susan Hood is the award-winning author of many books for young readers, including Ada's Violin; Lifeboat 12; The Last Straw: Kids vs. Plastics; Shaking Things Up; Titan and the Wild Boars: The True Cave Rescue of the Thai Soccer Team; and We Are One: How the World Adds Up.

Susan is the recipient of an E. B. White Read-Aloud Picture Book Honor, the Christopher Award, the Américas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, the Golden Kite Award, and the Bank Street Flora Stieglitz Straus Award, given annually for “a distinguished work of nonfiction that serves as an inspiration to young people.”

COMING IN MARCH, 2022!
Susan's newest book is Alias Anna: A True Story of Outwitting the Nazis. Co-authored with Anna's (a.k.a. Zhanna's) son Greg Dawson, this biography in verse celebrates the life-saving power of the arts.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book about 14 women who made history and changed the world a little. We start at the end of the 1700s and work our way up to the very modern. Obviously, there are more than 14 amazing women, but this book chooses 14 women to highlight their accomplishments. There are 14 different illustrators bringing this to life. Susan uses poems and stories to tell their stories. Several of these woman, I have read books about them. Susan gives only the basics of their story and the amazing things they accomplished. They are woman of every race and time and from different countries, but mostly Americans.

I enjoyed this little history and there were several women I hadn't heard of. It did a great job of honoring the fight women have had to be free and independent, but its short on details.

The women in the collection are:
Molly Williams,
Mary Anning
Nellie Bly
Annette Kellerman
Pura Belpre
Frida Kahlo
Jacqueline and Eileen Nearne
Frances Moore Lappe
Ruby Bridges
Mae Jemison
Maya Lin
Angela Zhang
Malala Yousafzai

It's a great collection for a sip of these amazing women who accomplished some big things in their life.

[Bookishrealm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was AMAZING! I was so surprised about how much I didn't know. It focuses on letting little girls know and understand that they can be anything that they want to be and in a serious way. The 14 young women and girls in this book faced adversity, doubters, and even their lives to fight for what they loved most whether that was the opportunity to fly into space or find new inventive ways for cancer research. Each individual highlighted had a short free-verse poem and then their biography was briefly discussed at the bottom of the page. I loved the illustrations that accompanied the text. They were bright vivid and well designed for the intended audience. I also appreciated that the author took time to pull include a quote by each picture that directly related to the person being discussed. I actually learned a lot reading this book and I look forward to reading more books like this. This is definitely one that I plan to share with my daughter when she gets older.

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World is a children's picture book written by Susan Hood and illustrated by Selina Alko, Sophie Blackall, Lisa Brown, Hadley Hooper, Emily Winfield Martin, Oge Mora, Julie Morstad, Sara Palacios, LeUyen Pham, Erin K. Robinson, Isabel Roxas, Shadra Strickland, and Melissa Sweet. It is a collection of fourteen tributes written in simple language of women that changed the world.

Hood's text is rather simplistic, straightforward, informative, and lyrical. Multistanza poems do a fine job of encapsulating each woman's life, and they're bolstered by quotations, supplementary paragraphs, a timeline, and back matter. Backmatter includes an author's note, a timeline, and additional resources. Thirteen illustrators – taking on one tribute each, has done a nice job of encapsulating the tribute and text with many different styles.

The premise of the book is rather straightforward. These encouraging profiles of astronauts, artists, and activists both honor past accomplishments and point toward ways young readers themselves might change the world, too.

The fourteen tributes mentioned are: Mary Anning, Ruby Bridges, Maya Lin, Molly Williams, Annette Kellerman, Nellie Bly, Pura Belpré, Frida Kahlo, Jacqueline and Eileen Nearne, Frances Moore Lappé, Mae Jemison, Angela Zhang, and Malala Yousafzai.

All in all, Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World is wonderful collection of inspirational women who changed the world.

[Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another inspiring biography collection of women who changed the world with a focus on younger rebel girls. There were a few I didn't know about so I was glad to read their stories. Includes a timeline and additional resources.

[Carrie Gelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE this title - so many other books it will lead you to - because you will want to learn more! Beautifully put together - so many of these illustrators are favourites of mine.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Susan Hood joins forces with fourteen woman illustrators in this poetic picture-book examination of the lives of fourteen young women who did extraordinary things. The women profiled include well-known figures like Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, African-American civil rights activist Ruby Bridges, and Pakistani education advocate and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Malala Yousafzai. Other figures - 18th-century firefighter Molly Williams, cancer researcher Angela Zhang, World War II spies Jacqueline and Eileen Nearne - are less well known. All of the women - the others include: Nellie Bly, Annette Kellerman, Pura Belpré, Frances Moore Lappé, Mae Jemison, Maya Lin - are interesting. Each two-page spread here features one of these women, with a poem from Hood and artwork from a different illustrator. The book concludes with an author's note, and a section of source materials and further reading, for each of the fourteen figures discussed...

Compilation biographies featuring women who did groundbreaking things have been quite popular in the last few years, from Chelsea Clinton's She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World and She Persisted Around the World: 13 Women Who Changed History to Vashti Harrison's Little Leaders: Visionary Women Around the World and Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History , and many more besides. Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World is the first I have encountered in poetic form, and the first to features multiple illustrators, as well as multiples subjects. I enjoyed it, and although already familiar with most of the women profiled, did learn some things. The artwork was appealing, and it was quite interesting to see the different styles utilized by the various artists. I think my favorite sections, from a visual perspective, were those done by Julie Morstad and Melissa Sweet. This sort of anthology of mini-biographies can be very useful, I believe, especially for young readers who are not already familiar with most of the women discussed. It will offer an introduction to a variety of life stories, which the child can then pursue in greater detail. Recommended to young biography lovers, and to picture-book readers searching for stories of women who achieved great things, and made a difference in the world.

[Claire Wrobel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was immediately skeptical because literally the first bio page is about Molly Williams, the first woman and first black firefighter, but instead of saying she was enslaved by James Aymar, the author said she was a “servant.” Also, for the bio poem of Ruby Bridges, the repeating line was “Ruby wasn’t sure,” which made it seem like she had no idea what was going on or what role she was playing. I think she was much more mature than the author made her out to be.

[KC · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the back stories, the poems, and all the different illustrations!

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

You want to stand up and cheer. It's as if everything you are taught to believe, everything you feel in your heart, is true. Their accomplishments are an inspiration. Their accomplishments changed and continue to alter conventional thought one woman at a time; bringing hope to other women then and now.

They dared to be different fueled by their knowledge and faith in themselves. Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed The World (Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, January 23, 2018) written by Susan Hood with illustrations by Selina Alko, Sophie Blackall, Lisa Brown, Hadley Hooper, Emily Winfield Martin, Oge Mora, Julie Morstad, Sara Palacios, LeUyen Pham, Erin K. Robinson, Isabel Roxas, Shadra Strickland and Melissa Sweet is a poetic and artistic tribute to young women of distinction. As you read the final poem graced by distinguished artwork, you might, as I did, wonder about a dinner with all these women in attendance. Can you imagine the conversations?


My full recommendation: http://librariansquest.blogspot.com/2...

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful collection of biographies in verse about important women in history. Some of the women are quite well known while others were explorations of lesser known heroines. I love that each biography is illustrated by a different female illustrator to powerful effect. The back matter is quite excellent too!

I would have given this book 5 stars if it was not for the glaring issue with the first biography of Molly Williams. It is stated that Williams was a servant but her status was likely as an enslaved woman. That distinction cannot be simply overlooked. I wondered about it when I read her biography and then read this review by Leila Roy: http://www.bookshelvesofdoom.org/blog.... How do you rate a book that exposes the hidden histories of amazing women but also minimizes (hides/doesn’t discuss?) an important fact about one of the women? I am going with 4 stars for now but may change that if I read more that shifts my perspective.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very female centric book. The book's subjects, editor, and artists are all women and I loved it. I was not expecting the stories about the young women to be poems but it was a pleasant surprise. My favorite poem was "Buried Treasure" about Mary Anning. It's in the shape of the fossil she discovered which was a very cool visual. I added some source materials to my to-read list. I hadn't heard of most these people and was a little interested to read more about a few of them.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't think of very many nonfiction poetry books. This one is pretty awesome. It definitely introduces readers to extraordinary women in a way that is a lot more fun than reading your average nonfiction book. The illustrations are great as well.

[Elizabeth]

I don't tend to love picturebooks told in poetry, but I found these poems engaging (and you can learn more about the poetic styles Hood used on on the HarperCollins website). And there's some text at the bottom of each page providing more information about the woman in question.

And we get 13 different (women!) illustrators, so even though there's a single author, there's a variety of poetic and illustrative styles.

I think only 6 of the 14 women are white. Most are USian, though there's also Frida Kahlo, Malala Yousafzai, and 3 Brits.

Even though I've been reading a lot of picturebook biographies of women these last couple years, there were still some women I had never heard of. Spy sisters Jacqueline and Eileen Nearne where is my movie about them?! (Okay, the notes mention "1947 British docudrama film all about SOE agents set in France after the Liberation, starring Jacqueline Nearne herself! School for Danger, www.wn.com/jacqueline_nearne")

I also appreciated the timeline at the beginning -- placing the 14 women in relation to each other and to certain major historical moments.

Tthe notes at the back assert that the 1908 tongue twister “She sells seashells by the seashore,” by Terry Sullivan, was inspired by Mary Anning (who dug up and sold fossils to provide for her family after her father's death).

The Mae Jemison poem asserts that "A Wrinkle in Time / and Star Trek's Uhura / say women can be scientists, / even rocket scientists." I had heard about the Uhura part, but not the L'Engle part. <3 And this makes me even more delighted about the Ava DuVernay adaptation. (I'm also really intrigued by the poem's assertion that she was scared of the dark and of heights -- given her future as an astronaut.)

I didn't love the use of the term "broken" to refer to Frida Kahlo's experience of polio and the bus accident (and in fact as a title of the poem -- I get using ~simple language for a young audience, but you're not doing disabled folks any favors here), but I did appreciate the way the Maya Lin poem talked about the Vietnam War Memorial (especially after the "carved with heroes' names" line in Joan Holub's This Little Trailblazer: A Girl Power Primer ). I also don't think I'd realized she won this 1,441-entry competition unanimously -- which makes it even more frustrating that after her age, gender, and ethnicity were revealed she had to appear before Congress to defend her vision.

A New Vision

Maya Lin, Architect and Sculptor

In 1981, entry #1026 won
a competition
to build a memorial
to the fallen soldiers of Vietnam--
a controversial twenty-year war
where so many had died.

When Maya Lin's name was revealed,
some were outraged that
someone so young, just twenty-one,
someone Asian American,
someone female
had bested the best architects
to honor men killed in Vietnam
in a war we had not won.

Maya's design
was not perched high on a pedestal
but carved into the ground,
a long walk down
into the earth
and then back out again.

"I imagined taking a knife
and cutting into the earth," she said.
Like war, it would create a wound
that would heal with time but leave a scar.

Maya's design showed not a face or two
but more than 58,000 names--
spelling out, one by one,
just how many were lost;
it was not made
of traditional pure white marble
but black-as-night granite.

Maya Lin knew that,
polished to a high shine,
black granite is a mirror
for those who have come to reflect,
those present who gaze into the past.

After all,
what should a war memorial do?
Unearth memory,
make us cry,
see ourselves,
and then lead us back up
into hope,
into the light.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best known as a recording by Jerry Lee Lewis, this book reminds me of the song "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" by Dave "Curlee" Williams. And in this book, from the early 1730s to 2014, Susan Hood chronicles fourteen girls and women, also states it was hard to narrow the list to only fourteen. Wouldn't it be great to read this to students and have them search for other names to discover and write about?
I wish I could show you every page! While Susan Hood has written "just right" poems that tell each story, each of those stories are illustrated by a different artist, some I recognized from other wonderful picture books, some I did not but they are each unique and clever. This cover and the opening, double-spread title page by Oge Mora shows Ruby Bridges, the youngest who "shook things up". There is a timeline, a full-page illustration and a smaller one accompanying the poems. The poems vary in style and form, alluring in their own right and sometimes connected to the person. For instance, there is a "shape poem" for Mary Anning, words woven into an outlined picture of her "find", a fossil of an ancient sea turtle/ichthyosaur. The blues and greys of England's coast show Mary at her happiest, finding fossils to sell to help her family.
Susan Hood also added a brief one or two line summary of the main part of these stories. Sometimes the actions came from personal need, like the fight for a proper, unencumbered bathing suit helped Annette Kellerman shed her pantaloons for a sleeker swimsuit, forcing "streamlining" so she could swim comfortably. Illustrations by Emily Winfield Martin show a sleek swimmer about to dive in with women in the background only wading in their pantaloons.
One of my favorite stories, among ALL, is about Frances Moore Lappé illustrated by Melissa Sweet, showing a truck hauling the earth with its wealth, food from plants. I have this ground-breaking Diet for A Small Planet that changed the way many eat in the Nineteen-Seventies and on. According to the text, she was only twenty-seven when she wrote "Hunger is human made."
There is an additional author's note and more pages of sources, books, websites, and more! I imagine this book could underlie a marvelous curriculum of learning in many classrooms.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is comprised as a series of short poems, illustration and a brief biography of each of these young women. All of whom changed the world before they were 30. These women are unique and though the book does touch on some names like 6 yr. old civil rights pioneer Ruby Bridges , or Latina artist, Frida Kahlo, Mae Jemison, the First African American Astronaut, or even current education activist, who was 17 years old when she became the youngest recipient of Nobel Peace Prize, Malala Yousafzai....
the book shows off some women other people may not be as familiar with:

-Molly Williams, the 1st Female Firefighter and she was also African American, and there wouldn't be a female firefighter until 1982.

-Mary Anning, the 13 year old who is known for the poem "She sells seashells by the sea shore" but check out her amazing paleontology story

-Nellie Bly, who traveled around the world in 72 Days, and was a prolific investigative journalist
-Annette Kellerman, who shocked the world with the first one-piece bathing suit (scandal!)
-Pura Belpre-First Latina Librarian
-Jacqueline and Eileen Nearne-undercover spy and wireless operator sisters in World War 2
-Frances Moore Lappe, Anti Hunger Activist
-Maya Lin, Architectural Designer of the Vietnam Memorial
-Angela Zhang, the 17 year old inventor who created a cancer-detecting nanoparticle...

These women are amazing, some who are still alive, others who paved the way, despite adversity whether it be for race, social class, or usually and sadly, their sex. These women, their stories and their poems are awesome! Something for every reader to learn from and appreciate.

[Jana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shaking Things Up is the best book. I was crying by the end. I love that it combines poetry and nonfiction, especially because my class just started talking about how diversity of the poetry genre. I am so excited to bring in a book and say, “look, poetry can be nonfiction too!”

My one gripe is this, and I think it is very important but should not color your entire opinion of the book. On page 9 it states that, “Williams was a servant of volunteer firefighter James Aymar.” Now, knowing that this story took place in early 1780, and Williams is black, I just….got a feeling that that was not exactly the relationship she had with Aymar. According to my Google search, sure enough she was actually held as an enslaved person by James Aymar. While I understand wanting to give Wiliams agency over her story, I do not think that this is best practiced by revising U.S. History. I would suggest either changing it to either reflect the truth of the relationship or not acknowledging his name in her story.

That is the one word of this story that is not entirely perfect. And I wish I was better at describing the many ways in which this book absolutely knocks it out of the park. The quotes are amazing. The poems are amazing, the diversity of the verse used is amazing, the illustrations are amazing, and of course, these WOMEN are amazing. I am so happy to have this book to share with my students.

[Katie Zajac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informational
Grades 3rd and up

Shaking Things Up is a wonderful book about 14 young girls who had a lasting impact on the world. Each time you turn the page you are delighted with a wonderful illustration and a powerful in verse story about one of the 14 young girls included in this book.

I would use this in a fourth or fifth grade classroom, and read the book aloud to the class. Then I would assign one girl from the book to each group. They would then have to do a research project on that young woman. After their research they would have to create an inverse writing or poem about their young women with the new information they learned about them, and present it to the class. You could also use this book in a third or fourth grade classroom. I would read the book to the class and then they would have to draw a picture and create an inverse writing or poem about the most influential person in their life.

This is a wow book because the impact it has, but it is done in a non-overwhelming way. This book can be used in so many different ways, and with so many different ages. Its message is so powerful for male and female students, it shows how you can do things you and others never thought possible.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is so much to love in this book: the artistry, the poetry, the women selected, and every single one of those womens’ accomplishments. I love the variety: firefighting, astronaut, investigative journalist, spy, advocate, architect, athlete, librarian & story teller, spies, and research scientist. Some names you’ll recognize but many you will have not heard before.

Wonderfully researched and carefully noted. Plus, there is a timeline and section of sources/additional resources. The story of each woman is told through a brief poem; so much conveyed with so few words. Each woman also is illustrated by one of 13 illustrators who contributed their artistry to the project. This is truly a masterpiece and treasure.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great picture book that introduces extraordinary young women who helped change the world (and who still are). The illustrations are great, but the prose is better! Just a great intro to some truly kick ass women to help inspire a new generation!

[Stay Fetters · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Every choice we make can be a celebration in the world we want."

This celebrates 14 young women who changed the world. A very uplifting and powerful read of women who never backed down and didn’t take no for an answer.

Great read but wish it was in a different format.

[Laura Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness! This book is a dream. Short biographies of several different women who made a difference in the world. Each illustrated by an illustrator at the top of her field. A must read-must own!

[Abigail (Abbe) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love that this book focuses on YOUNG women. This book shows young girls that success is attainable and science is rewarding. The extra bonus was that each girl was illustrated by a different female artist.

[MaryLibrarianOH · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief history of some amazing women who broke down barriers for the next generation.

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for every one. Girl power.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book highlighting 14 amazing women and their accomplishments! Highly recommend!

[Shari (Shira) · Rating 4 out of 5]

You need this book for Women's History Month. Written and illustrated by women, each mini-bio told in verse and motivates the readers to search and find out more about 14 amazing women in the book.

[Noor · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite biography poetry books! Filled with information, inspirational quotes, and poetry.

[Addison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Susan Hood, author of "Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World," wrote a beautiful tribute for each woman represented in this story. Throughout this book, each woman has a beautiful illustration and an inspirational poem. The poems tell the story of the paths the fourteen women blazed through, therefore opening doors open for other women. The styles of the poems vary for each woman, this showed the author's appreciation for their individuality. There were many women represented who I had never heard of, which leads me to how this was a "WOW" book for me. The diversity displayed throughout the book was amazing, it shows the reader that it takes all types of people to create change, not just one. With each poem, the reader can see how women can have many different paths in the world. They can be anything that they want to be, if they are driven. Firefighters, astronauts, scientists, architects, and artists were a few careers that were mentioned with each trailblazer. I feel that this is an important book to have in the classroom as young as kindergarten ages. Now, I don't expect kindergartners to be able to read the poems and fully understand the weight of the words, but teachers could use the illustrations provided to have around the classroom. Having successful women displayed around the classroom at a young age can help inspire young minds. We always see successful men depicted in classrooms, but there are only a few women, if any displayed. These illustrations could continue to be in classrooms all the way through fifth grade. Then first through fifth grade I believe that the poems should be read aloud to the students. This opens the door to conversations and open-dialogue within the classroom. I am currently observing in third grade, so the first activity that I would use as an extension of, "Shaking Things Up," would extend over a period of time. Each week we would read two poems and dive deeper into background information and the style of the poem. Then students would have the opportunity to choose one of the two women and create a poem for that individual. They will include an illustration. I really want to take the time for my students to understand the magnitude of what these women accomplished by breaking the book down to two poems each week. Another activity that I would incorporate would be for students to think of a way that they could create change in the world and create a poem about why they want to make this change. Along with an illustration of them succeeding in creating this change.

It is important for all students to see, hear, and learn about the diversity in change. Each person brings their own set of attributes into the world, and it is our job as educators to help our students realize that they are capable of anything. That is another reason that this is a "WOW" book for me, it shows children how to persevere. "Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations," said Mae Jemison, one of the many incredible women represented in "Shaking Things Up".

[Shaye Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish it hadn’t taken me so long to get my hands on this wonderful nonfiction picture book focusing on Mary Anning, Nellie Bly, Annette Kellerman, Molly Williams, Pura Belpre, Frida Kahlo, Jacqueline and Eileen Nearne, Mae Jemison, Maya Lin, Frances Moore Lappe, Angela Zhang, Ruby Bridges, and Malala Yousafzai! It is written by Susan Hood with illustrations by Selina Alko, Sophie Blackall, Lisa Brown, Hadley Hooper, Emily Winfield Martin, Oge Mora, Julie Morstad, Sara Palacios, LeUyen Pham, Erin K. Robinson, Isabel Roxas, Shadra Strickland and Melissa Sweet. At the very beginning we are provided a timeline (starting in the 1780s) where we can easily see the contributions of each of these 14 amazing women. The combination of poetic text and variety of artwork is a beautiful way to honor each woman. At the very end we find an extensive list of sources, books, websites, and more. It’s an excellent book for any children’s library (or home!).

For more #kidlit, #mglit, and #yalit book reviews, visit The Miller Memo.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shaking Things Up tells the stories of 14 young women who, through their persistence and determination, sparked change in the world and paved the way for the next generation of female trailblazers and activists.

Each character has a two page spread, one with her portrait by a well know artist, the other page with her story told in poetry format by Susan Hood. Each page looks different because the artist is different and the type of poetry is different. There are also a "mini biographies" at the bottom of each page that give additional information on each woman.

There is a nice representation of women here, some famous and some not so famous. There are so many other strong women who didn't make the cut. Hopefully Susan Hood with write additions to this book.