In light of today’s special nature I have 2 great books to tell you about…

A Woman for President: the story of Victoria Woodhull by Kathleen Krull and Madam President by Catherine Thimmesh with illustrations by Douglas B. Jones. I admire the work of Kathleen Krull, she writes about the most interesting topics and really makes them accessible to young people (I am especially a fan of her recent book The Book of Rock Stars). I wish this book, or any book about Victoria Woodhull was around when I had to do biography reports in school! This title belongs in every public and school library as does Madam President, which provides snippets of information about a variety of women in politics.

I love the format of this book which follows a young girl’s dream of becoming president…her friends and family suggest other, more realistic options such as marrying a president, or serving in the House or Senate. The book profiles some powerful first ladies, women from the suffrage movement, important women firsts in US politics, and also female world leaders. Did you know that America ranks 52nd regarding women in worldwide governing bodies…that’s tied with Slovakia? And that over the course of our country’s history only 2% of the 12,000 people who have served in Congress have been women?

These books brings to light the many ways in which women have been neglected in US government, Thimmesh makes no qualms about her book’s purpose here, but she also remains amazingly unbiased and non-partisan. In addition to sources and an index there is a great timeline that fills in some gaps, giving readers a little more of a taste of women in politics. I also love the illustrations. The retro style is very appealing and perfectly captures the spirit and strength of all the women profiled.

Happy Voting!