All by Herself - Hardcover

Paul, Ann Whitford

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0152014772 ISBN 13: 9780152014773

Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books, 1999

Synopsis

Amelia Earhart, Golda Meir, Pocahontas, Rachel Carson, Wanda Gág, Wilma Rudolph, and other determined young women--both famous and less familiar--took risks and made sacrifices to do brave things. Each of these inspiring poems proves that every girl, no matter who she is or where she lives, is capable of making a difference.

About this title

About the Authors

Ann Whitford Paul was a social worker before becoming a writer. Kirkus Reviews called her text for Mańana Iguana “clever” and said it is “an excellent chance for young readers ... to learn some Spanish vocabulary.” Ann Whitford Paul writes poetry, picture books, and easy readers for children. Some of the picture books she wrote are "The Seasons Sewn: A Year in Patchwork," "All by Herself," and "Eight Hands Round: A Patchwork Alphabet." She lives in southern California.

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Reviews

Grade 4-6-This handsome gallery of girls features 14 episodes of heroism conveyed in poetry and oil paintings. Ida Lewis's daring rescue of men foundering in a stormy sea and Wanda G g's late night drawing of greeting cards to support her impoverished family are among the brave ventures, each set on double-spread view. Some of the subjects-Sacajawea, Amelia Earhart, Pocahontas-are nearly legendary. Others are well known-Maria Mitchell, Wilma Rudolph, Rachel Carson. Harriet Hanson of the Lowell Mills and Frances Ward of the Westward Movement are less widely recognized though certainly heroic in their time. "Jabbed by splinters, ripped by nails,/she crawled along the planks-across a span, five hundred feet" is a partial description of Kate Shelley's dramatic rescue of two men after a train crash. Nearly a page each in length, the narrative verses are uneven in rhyme, meter, and vitality. The broadly sketched paintings vividly render key moments of each girl's story, whether it's of bold action or more subdued, personal achievement. Concluding notes, titled "About the Girls," offer a short picture glossary with portraits and brief accounts of the major adult accomplishments of each young woman. Teachers and librarians will find many opportunities here for making connections with other books, introducing curriculum units, or sparking discussion.
Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Paul (The Seasons Sewn) surfs through history, emerging with an assortment of 14 plucky young heroines--some famous, some not--to commemorate in verse. In "Ida Lewis," one of the strongest poems, the poet's use of repetition and rhythm mimics the pounding of the waves from which the 16-year-old daughter of a lighthouse keeper single-handedly rescues four men whose boat has capsized. Other poems highlight such galvanizing girlhood incidents as Amelia Earhart rocketing off the toolshed roof in a homemade roller coaster she fashioned from a wooden crate; more contemplative poems reflect cerebral heroines such as nature writer Rachel Carson and educator/activist Mary Jane McLeod (later Bethune). From Wilma Rudolph, who discarded a painful leg brace and went on to win three gold medals at the 1960 Olympics, to fourth-grader Golda Mabovitch (later known as Golda Meir), who encouraged her classmates to donate money for books for poor children, the poems describe telling moments from these inspiring lives. A few poems may be difficult to decode without a context, but an afterword fleshes out the historical details. Paul keeps the flow lively by employing a range of poetic styles, including free verse and rhyming couplets, while the broad, energetic brush strokes and intense hues of Steirnagle's (Billy Lazroe and the King of the Sea) oil portraits reflect the fierce determination of his subjects. An intriguing hybrid of history, poetry and art, this book may well prod readers to find out more about these strong role models. Ages 6-9. (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Prose poems celebrate the feats of young heroines, some of them famous, and some not as well-known. Paul (Hello Toes! Hello Feet!, 1998, etc.) recounts moments in the lives of women such as Rachel Carson, Amelia Earhart, and Wilma Rudolph; these moments don't necessarily reflect what made them famous as much as they are pivotal events in their youth that influenced the direction of their lives. For Earhart, it was sliding down the roof of the tool shed in a home-made roller coaster: ``It's like flying!'' For Rudolph, it was the struggle to learn to walk without her foot brace. Other women, such as Violet Sheehy, who rescued her family from a fire in Hinckley, Minnesota, or Harriet Hanson, a union supporter in the fabric mills of Massachusetts, are celebrated for their brave decisions made under extreme duress. Steirnagle's sweeping paintings powerfully exude the strength of character exhibited by these young women. A commemorative book, that honors both quiet and noisy acts of heroism. (Picture book/poetry. 6-9) -- Copyright Š1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0152014772
• ISBN 13: 9780152014773
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Steirnagle Michael
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 40