A Time For Courage: The Suffragette Diary of Kathleen Bowen, Washington, D.C. 1917 (Dear America Series) - Hardcover

Lasky, Kathryn

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0590511416 ISBN 13: 9780590511414

Publisher: Scholastic Inc., 2002

Synopsis

As the fight for women's suffrage heats up, Kathleen"Kat" Bowen gets to participate as her mother and her sister, and many others close to her organize and act to win the right to vote.

January 19, 1917
The picket line has been going on for over a week! And people said they would not last a day and the weather still has not broken. What's more is news of the picket is spreading and more and more women are coming from other parts of the district and some from as far away as
Maryland and Virginia. President Wilson felt so sorry for them in the cold that he invited them in for coffee but they refused. They said they would only come in to talk about a federal amendment for the women's right to vote. No coffee! This made me think of Sojourner Truth's words about men who help lift women into carriages and over mud puddles--that of course is the easy part, just like giving them coffee. Giving them the vote is the hard part.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 4-6-Kat Bowen records her days in Washington, DC, in a diary from her mother. A typical 13-year-old from a well-to-do family, she expresses her dreams and hopes as she recounts her thoughts on school, homework, relationships, parties, and her special bond with her cousin Alma. As the early days of 1917 pass, Kat becomes increasingly aware of the political issues that are prevalent, particularly the inevitable involvement of the U.S. in World War I and women's suffrage. Her physician father is quietly supportive of his wife's activism in the movement, while his brother-in-law, Alma's father, demeans it and forbids the women in his family to participate in any way. Kat soon joins her mother sewing banners and bringing hot bricks for warmth on the picket line. Lasky entwines some of the real characters of the day with her fictional figures. She gives a good overview of the harsh treatment these women endured during their picketing and imprisonment and touches on divorce, the plight of African-American citizens in the South, and President Wilson's disinterest in rights for women. Kat is well developed into a young woman whose exposure to the politics and consequences allow her to mature and decide what true liberty and justice for all really means. A historical note and reproductions of photos are appended.
Rita Soltan, Baldwin Public Library, Birmingham, MI
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0590511416
• ISBN 13: 9780590511414
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 222