A Take-Charge Girl Blazes a Trail to Congress: The Story of Jeannette Rankin

A yes vote for this title’s inclusion on children’s bookshelves.

This lively biography showcases one tireless activist, Jeannette Rankin from Montana, who became the first U.S. congresswoman in 1916 and whose fight for all women to have the right to vote was key in ratifying the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. Rankin's story is made relatable to young readers through Woelfle's focus on how 'take-charge' she was, starting as a child...The section on Rankin's campaign for Congress, in which she crisscrossed 6,000 miles of Montana by train and horse, is riveting. The illustrations, done in colored pencils and acrylic inks, jauntily convey period detail.

"Take-charge girl" Jeannette Rankin (1880-1973) inspires in this lively, quote-filled picture book about her journey to become the first U.S. congresswoman. Early scenes of Rankin's Montana upbringing highlight her can-do attitude, leading into descriptions of her later charitable work in San Francisco and New York City, where the hardships she witnesses galvanize her to campaign for women's suffrage and to run for office. Woefle narrates with a conversational tone that makes Rankin feel accessible ("But what if... Montana elected a CONGRESSWOMAN?!"). Rankin exudes confidence in quaint acrylic ink and colored pencil artwork that portrays doll-like figures with various skin tones, though the text does not address racial disparities around the right to vote. A concluding scene of the politician striding to the Capitol accentuates the boundless energy stressed by text: "But she wasn't there for smiles and handshakes./ She had work to do!" An author's note, timeline, bibliography included. Ages 7-10. (Feb.)

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Woelfle wisely begins the narrative in Rankin's youth, then leads into her suffragist activism and her political career...The text as a whole grounds Rankin's ambitions in her determination to advocate for children, and such framing will likely make the book more accessible to young readers, as will the energetic illustrations. Gibbon's acrylic ink and colored pencil pictures have a homespun, folk-art quality to them, offering readers depictions of Rankin's early life...A yes vote for this title's inclusion on children's bookshelves. -Kirkus