Women’s History Month 2006

Women: Builders of Communities and Dreams

Adult Books | Children’s Books | Videos| Websites

Adult Books

America’s Women: Four Hundred Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines
By Gail Collins Nonfiction 301.412 Co
Drawing from diaries and journals, in addition to research, this book tells an energetic and enthralling tale of the changes in American women’s lives, and the ensuing transformation to society, from the 1580s to present.

Appetite for Life: The Biography of Julia Child
By Noel Riley Fitch Nonfiction 641.5 CHILD,J Fi
A biography of the famous chef and teacher, “a woman modern before her time,” and an analysis of the forces that drove this extraordinary woman.

Bridge Across Jordan
By Amelia Boynton Robinson Black Life Biography B Robinson, Ro
The story of the life of a woman who was fundamental to the civil rights movement, especially the voter rights movement in Selma, Alabama.

Flat-Footed Truths: Telling Black Women’s Lives
By Patricia Bell-Scott Black Life Nonfiction 301.412 FL
An exploration of the lives and works of twenty-seven black women authors and artists, all told by way of stories, essays, interviews, and photographs.

Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation
By Cokie Roberts Nonfiction 973.3 Ro
Chronicles the contributions of women who influenced the Founding Fathers of the United States from 1740 to 1797.

Joyous Greetings: The First International Women’s Movement, 1830-1860
By Bonnie S. Anderson Nonfiction 301.412 An
Professor Anderson (history professor at Brooklyn College) makes the case that the Industrial Revolution in Western Europe and the United States fostered the international women’s rights movement.

A Kind of Grace: The Autobiography of the World’s Greatest Female Athlete
By Jackie Joyner-Kersee Black Life Nonfiction 796.42 Joyner-Kersee,J Jo
Jackie Joyner-Kersee has overcome poverty, illness, racial discrimination, and female discrimination to become a world-record holder and achieve victory on and off the field.

A Map of Hope: Women’s Writings on Human Rights: An International Literary Anthology
Edited by Marjorie Agosin Nonfiction 808.8 Ma
77 literary pieces by women writers about human rights, suffering, cruelty, and injustice around the world.

Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions
By Gloria Steinem Nonfiction 301.412 St
In this famous collection of essays, feminist Steinem explores women’s experiences, relationships, and work. She focuses on the transformative power of the feminist movement.

Pioneer Women: Voices from the Kansas Frontier
By Joanna L. Stratton Nonfiction 301.412 St
Based on the autobiographical manuscripts of hundreds of pioneer women, this volume celebrates the lives of women on a new frontier. Read about their day-to-day industriousness and dramatic heroism.

The Red Rose Girls: An Uncommon Story of Art and Love
By Alice A. Carter Nonfiction 759.1 Ca
The story of three women artists in the early twentieth century, and the family, life, and art, they created together.

Sojourner Truth: A Life, a Symbol
By Nell Irvin Painter Black Life Biography B TRUTH,S Pa
The story of an ex-slave, abolitionist, preacher, and singer who became the legendary symbol of strong black women.

Standing Alone in Mecca: an American Women’s Struggle for the Soul of Islam
By Asra Q. Nomani Nonfiction 297.3 No
A former Wall Street Journal reporter, a single mother, and a practicing Muslim, Ms. Nomani writes about her experience performing her pilgrimage to Mecca, or hajj, in 2003.

Who Cooked the Last Supper?: the Women’s History of the World
By Rosalind Miles Nonfiction 301.412 Mi
With a wry wit and sharp sense of humor, Miles discusses women’s contributions to civilization from the dawn of time to the present.

Women in Pants: Mainly Maidens, Cowgirls, and Other Renegades
By Catherine Smith Nonfiction 301.412 Sm
An intriguing collection of photographs of women wearing pants, from the birth of photography in the mid-1800s till the mid-1900s.

Women Volunteering: The Pleasure, Pain, and Politics of Unpaid Work from 1830 to the Present
By Wendy Kaminer Nonfiction 360.973 Ka
An exploration of the links between volunteering, feminism, and family life, and an explanation of how volunteering gave rise to the nineteenth-century feminist movement.

Women’s Rights
Edited by Jennifer Curry Nonfiction 323.3 Wo
This book focuses on some of the current issues that are of fundamental significance to the struggle for women’s rights worldwide. The chapters include: Women in the public sphere; Women’s health care and mortality; Violence against women; Sex trafficking and prostitution; Muslim women and the East-West divide; and The Christian right and reproductive rights.

Back to Top

Children’s Books

A is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Women
By Lynne Cheney Children’s Nonfiction J301.412 Gl
An alphabetic book of American women in history, packed full of facts, illustrations, poems, and quotes.

Dare to Dream: Coretta Scott King and the Civil Rights Movement
By Angela Shelf Medearis Children’s Biography B KING, C Me
Read about the life and legacy of Coretta Scott King, who continued the civil rights work of her husband, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Every Girl Tells a Story: A Celebration of Girls Speaking Their Minds
By Carolyn Jones in collaboration with Girl Scouts of the USA Children’s Nonfiction J301.412 Jo
A volume of short essays by over 50 teen girls, describing their lives, sharing their dreams, and offering their hopes.

Failure is Impossible!: The History of American Women’s Rights
By Martha E. Kendall Young Adult Nonfiction 301.412 Ke
Traces the history of the women’s suffrage and women’s rights movements in America, covering such topics as women’s rights to own property, vote, and hold a job, equal protection under the law, child custody and reproductive rights.

Heroines: Great Women Through the Ages
By Rebecca Hazell Children’s Nonfiction J920 Ha
Describes and illustrates the lives of extraordinary women from all over the world and throughout history.

Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters
By Andrea Davis Pinkney Children’s Nonfiction J920 Pi
Stories, quotes, and illustrations celebrate ten women who played essential roles in the abolitionist and civil rights movements.

33 Things Every Girl Should Know About Women’s History: From Suffragettes to Skirt Lengths to the ERA
By Tonya Bolden Young Adult Nonfiction 301.412 Th
A collection of stories and essays that depicts the progress of women’s rights and women’s history, and offers glimpses into the lives of dozens of American women over the centuries.

Women in Peace & War, 1900-1945
By Fiona Macdonald Children’s Nonfiction 301.412 Ma
During the wars of the early 20th Century, legions of women became more active in business, politics, and other spheres outside of the home as men went off to war, only to be pushed back into the home as returning GIs took over the workforce. Macdonald traces women’s progress in America, England and Europe and their fight for equality.

Back to Top

Videos

One Woman, One Vote (American Experience Television Program)
VT 324.73 On
A documentary covering 70 years of the battle for women’s suffrage. Narrated by Susan Sarandon.

A Room of One’s Own
VT 823.09 Woolf,C Ro
A recreation of Virginia Woolf’s lecture to college women about independence, talent, freedom, and the communion of women and men.

The Vagina Monologues
VT 814 En
Writer and performer Eve Ensler explores the history and perceptions of women’s sexuality through these monologues that range from cute to funny to shocking.

Websites

American Association of University Women
http://www.aauw.org/
“ Promoting education and equity for women and girls”, this site provides leadership resources for women on campus, information about scholarships and other financial resources, and results of research studies about women and education.

First Ladies
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/firstladies
Biographies of all American first ladies, including their daily lives in the White House, and their many social, political, and personal accomplishments.

National Women’s History Project
http://www.nwhp.org/
Learn all about Women’s History Month and the 2006 honorees. Read women’s history news, and follow links to learning resources and events around the country.

Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000
http://womhist.binghamton.edu/
A collection of essays and papers about specific social movements and the roles of women and women’s organizations.

Women for Women International
http://www.womenforwomen.org
An organization of women that works to provide emotional and financial support to women living in war-torn and post-conflict environments, as they work to move from victims to survivors to active citizens.

Back to Top