Amelia Bloomer Project

The loop . . . the spiral dive . . . the dip of death . . . Ruth Law did it all. And in 1916 when she made up her mind to fly from Chicago to New York City in an out-of-date biplane, there was no use trying to stop her. I was drawn immediately to this fearless woman who followed her dreams with such determination and purpose. I loved how Ruth immersed herself fully in flying, mastering the mechanics of her plane. She sent an important message to all women: “The sky was my limit and the horizon my sphere. It’s any woman’s sphere if she has nerve and courage and faith in herself. She’s got to have faith in herself.” I know Ruth Law would be thrilled that Fearless Flyer was chosen for the Amelia Bloomer List—a list of books that inspire our girls to dream big and steer their own course!

When I first read about and met the “Shark Lady” Eugenie Clark, I was immediately struck by her open-mindedness and curiosity, qualities she possessed even as a young girl. In the 1930s very little was known about sharks, and most people saw them as vicious, blood-thirsty killers. But when nine-year-old Genie looked into the shark tank, she saw sleek, graceful fish gliding through the water. She longed to be inside the tank . . . on the bottom of the ocean . . . swimming with sharks. Driven by a deep fascination for sharks, she overcame gender barriers and worked tirelessly to uncover the truth about sharks—to replace fear with facts. Genie showed the world that sharks and women were "magnificent and misunderstood." And she reminded us never to judge based on stereotypes or appearance. I can’t think of a more suitable honor for Swimming with Sharks than being selected for the Amelia Bloomer List!

Like many 'nice' girls, I grew up believing I needed to get permission for everything. But for Mercy, there is no getting permission because to be a Chinese girl at the turn of the century America was the lowest of the low. She had to just take.

I am truly honored that my book, Ada Lovelace: Poet of Science, was included in the 2017 Amelia Bloomer Top Ten list. Writing books that empower girls has always been important to me, from Rumpelstiltskin’s Daughter to biographies of Cleopatra, Queen Elizabeth I, and Joan of Arc. I found Ada Lovelace’s story especially inspiring. Born in 1815, she grew up at a time when very little was expected of girls. Wealthy families schooled their daughters at home. They learned to dance and play an instrument, to draw, sew, and speak a little French. Ada was lucky in this regard—her mother gave her a world-class scientific education. But the primary reason for exposing her to math and science was to suppress Ada’s imagination (so she wouldn’t grow up to be “mad” like her father, the poet Lord Byron). And though Ada was a remarkable student, her mother said a scientific career was out of the question. What Ada needed was a husband. And yet, she persevered. She set her mind on helping the inventor Charles Babbage with his new Analytical Engine, a design for the first fully programmable, digital, all-purpose computer. Feeling that her math skills weren’t quite good enough, she hired a tutor and continued her studies till she achieved her goal—while also raising three children and running a household. When Ada was ready, she demonstrated how the Analytical Engine would work by writing and publishing the first computer program. And despite her mother’s best efforts, Ada’s imagination flourished. It gave her the vision to see, a hundred years before the dawn of the digital age, the vast potential of computers that we are familiar with today. I hope Ada’s story will inspire young readers to rise above conventional expectation and blaze new trails for the future.

Did you know that one of our most beloved poets was once afraid to use her voice? Maya Angelou’s journey from a young girl scared into silence to a famous writer whose voice still echoes through history is as remarkable as it is inspiring. A child with voracious intelligence and resilience, a woman unstoppably talented and driven, a sage whose meaningful words lifted a nation, Maya blasted through boundaries her whole life, pursued her passions in the order she chose and left a seismic mark on the world. This was and is a radical idea for a woman. I’m thrilled that her story is included on this list of game-changing literature because, as Maya shows us, we all hold the potential to change the game.

Writing in the 1890s as Nellie Bly, pioneer journalist Elizabeth Jane “Pink” Cochran exposed fraud, corruption, and social injustice wherever she found it. By age twenty-four, she was a globe-trotting star reporter for Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World, but first—and here’s what inspired me to write about her—she had to learn to turn disadvantage to her advantage. The deck was stacked against Pink from her hardscrabble beginnings, and it was no accident that one of her first articles challenged Pennsylvania’s unfair marriage laws: Nellie picked up her reporting skills while helping her struggling single mother support the family. Later, when no Manhattan paper would hire her, the penniless reporter devised a way to land an audience with male editors and publishers, the “Gods of Gotham” who ran the city’s newspapers. She turned up on Park Row not (this time) as a job applicant but as a freelance correspondent with a question: was it even possible for a woman to succeed as a writer in New York? Stubborn persistence got Nellie in the door of the World, but daring kept her there. “Could I pass a week in the insane ward at Blackwell’s Island? I said I could and I would. And I did.” She not only got herself committed, convincing police and medical staff that she was insane, she endured ten days of rancid food, ice-cold baths, and enforced isolation to get her “item” and help her “mentally wrecked sisters” in the asylum. Her expose shocked the nation and led to major reforms. “If you want to do it,” she challenged her readers, “you can do it. The question is, do you want to do it?” I enjoyed recasting that question for young readers today, and think Nellie would be as proud as I am to find her story on the Amelia Bloomer list.

The Amelia Bloomer List could be subtitled, 'Nevertheless, They Persisted.' I'm proud to see MISS MARY REPORTING listed alongside so many other books featuring strong, relentless women.

Growing up and throughout my career I have benefited from the smart, hard working women who went before me and opened doors.  Their struggles were real and it could not have been easy. Thank you, ALA for honoring those women and encouraging young readers to read their stories.  Harriet Colfax would be thrilled by her inclusion on this year’s Amelia Bloomer list, as am I!

I loved to illustrate the story of Kate Warne, a story that few people know, even if she has been so important and revolutionary for all the women of that time. Through her sagacity Kate has shown that women can have the same employment rights of men, and especially they have some excellent qualities which not everybody has, including a high capacity of observation and a large inventiveness. She continues to be a current model of inspiration and a symbol that should change the mind of all those who unfortunately still do not recognize the importance of women in history and also nowadays. It has been an honor for me to illustrate this book! Thanks Kate, in the name of all the women of yesterday and today."

I love science because it’s fair: The laws of physics don’t discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, or national origin.

I’m honored to have my book included on the Amelia Bloomer List.  In this political environment, where reproductive rights are under attack, it’s important to look at these issues through the lens of history.  Men and women have always found ways to control their reproduction, from early history's methods for family planning, such as herbal concoctions and birth control devices, to 20th Century pioneer Margaret Sanger, the introduction of the Pill in the 1960s, the Roe v. Wade decision of the 1970s, to contemporary legal and societal battlegrounds worldwide.  Thousands of pregnant women and girls worldwide die each year, particularly in developing countries, in violation of human rights. Unfortunately, the attention surrounding abortion has overshadowed what it means to be in favor of reproductive rights, as most reproductive health care involves cancer screenings, pregnancy prevention and care, and family planning—services mostly unrelated to abortion. I hope librarians and educators will continue to highlight debate about these issues and spur critical discussion among young people everywhere.

What an honor for Rani Patel In Full Effect to be included on the 2017 Amelia Bloomer Project list! I am grateful that Rani’s story is being seen as one of female empowerment. In writing Rani, it was important for me to show how chronic sexual abuse can damage every part of girl’s development, starting with actual brain development. This in turn can manifest as a tendency for the girl to think and feel negatively, engage in self-destructive and impulsive behaviors, and unconsciously recreate only toxic relationships similar to that with the abuser while avoiding female relationships. I think it’s essential for people to understand that if a girl is displaying these symptoms of trauma, she is not “slutty” or “asking for it” or simply “naive.” She may not have had a chance to develop into her own person. The trauma she suffered has left her viewing herself as only an object for the abuser. An object without a voice that remains stuck in negative patterns. But there is hope for her, as Rani shows us. First, she must gain insight into the negative thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and relationship patterns. Next she has to practice at reworking those thoughts and feelings to more positive ones and making healthy behavioral and relationship choices. This can take years of practice. Some of the most helpful things to move the healing process along are ensuring a safety, fostering and nurturing strong female relationships, and becoming aware and learning to voice true thoughts and feelings. Rani began her healing by mending her relationship with her mother and using rap as a springboard to find her own true voice.

From the moment that I decided to make The Lie Tree’s heroine a young female would-be scientist in the Victorian era, I knew that I couldn’t sidestep the question of gender. At that time, a girl with such aspirations would face discouragement, rejection, and obstacles at every turn. It felt wrong to tiptoe around this, and I didn’t want to handle it in a cheery, lightweight fashion, either.  Making rebellion look easy would have trivialized the achievements of those women who did manage to defy society. It would also be unjust to all those who did not or could not. Rebellion is hard. It takes huge amounts of energy, doggedness, and self-belief, and it has consequences. Even overcoming the social conditioning that stops us rebelling can be difficult. We all internalize everything we have been taught. We do not wish to hurt or disappoint those we love, respect and trust. It is easier to doubt ourselves than it is to doubt everybody else around us. Even a quiet rebellion takes a heroic effort of will. The Lie Tree is many things—a Gothic murder mystery, a fantasy tale, and a story of science and religion. However, it’s also a thank you letter to all those forgotten women and girls who strove against an unfair system in bold or subtle ways, who were not rewarded or remembered for it, but who helped to make our own lives immeasurably better.

I am truly honored that WILD SWANS has been selected for the Amelia Bloomer List. As a YA reader and a DCPL librarian, it's been my favorite list for years - and having one of my books on it is an author dream come true! Highlighting feminist books seems especially important right now, when women's autonomy is being threatened. I hope that all of my books empower today's girls to think critically about their places in the world, and to resist anyone who tries to limit their boundless possibilities.

I’m grateful that Dorothea’s Eyes was chosen for the Amelia Bloomer List. Dorothea Lange’s coming of age story combines a humble family background, a physical disability due to polio and a struggle to be accepted as a woman photographer. Lange is a feminist hero because she turned all those challenges into art, some of the most famous photographs in history. But Dorothea became a superhero when she chose to use her art to promote social justice for people suffering through the Great Depression and the Japanese Internment. It was honor to tell her story for young people

I was drawn to Edith Houghton’s life story by an almost gravitational pull. She wasn’t your typical biography subject—not the first to do anything, not a name well known. But her determination and tenacity to find a way to play baseball in a world not supportive of women in sports appealed to me immensely. Though I never met Edith in person, I had the pleasure of listening to interviews and reading newspaper reports and it was very clear to me that she didn’t understand what the big deal was. She just wanted to play ball. A baseball historian told me Edith would have loved knowing that a book about her was named to the Amelia Bloomer List. I think that’s true. And as the author of the book, I cannot think of an honor that could make me any prouder.