That surname is familiar, isn’t it? I wonder if she’s related to…she is?? Yes! Kate Pankhurst is a distant relation of suffragette Emmaline Pankhurst, who appears in this collection of stories of women who made history.
The book’s design and fun, vibrant illustrations are a delight. Double page spreads are devoted to thirteen women and we learn about their backgrounds, their inspiration and their achievements. Many of the great women you may already know well, such as Marie Curie, Anne Frank and Amelia Earhart, but the book presents lesser known figures from history such as Mary Seacole and the charmingly nicknamed Agent Fifi, a British spy during World War 2.
Readers will be sure to learn something new from this book. For instance, did you know that Marie Curie liked to sleep with a glowing jar of radium beside her bed? Or that Mary Anning was one of the world’s first palaeontologists and discovered the first known skeleton of an ichthyosaur?
The thirteen women in the book are diverse in both their backgrounds and their achievements are in a wide range of fields such as science, civil rights, literature, art, fashion, business and sport. Young readers are sure to find a Fantastically Great Woman that speaks to them.
Miss 11 had already read several biographies of Amelia Earhart, but after reading Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World, will be seeking out more detailed biographies of some of the other inspiring women next!
Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World was written and illustrated by Kate Pankhurst and published by Bloomsbury.
Further reading
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier – a fictionalised account of the life of Mary Anning
The Who Was series (by a range of authors) includes biographies of Amelia Earhart, Rosa Parks and Sacagawea and are published by Penguin Random House.
Post Book Activity
Our school held Dress as ‘Someone You’d Admire Day’ recently, a dress up day and chance to raise funds for the Canberra Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Mr 7 dressed as Matt Kelly (a member of the kids’ comedy duo The Listies), Mr 9 dress as his favourite illustrator, Aaron Blabey and Miss 11 was suffragette Emmaline Pankhurst (having been inspired by the book).
The boys’ costumes wore regular clothes but for Miss 11 we made a sash in the suffragette colours of green, purple and white, and put it together with a hat, skirt and blouse. She certainly stood out amongst the You-Tube stars, Batmen and footballers!
Who is your hero and how would you dress as them?