Horn Book (Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2005)

These seventeen bilingual poems, in both Spanish and English, celebrate family, friends, and the Latino experience. The collection has a strong social conscience, but a few of the pieces seem like didactic exercises. The stylized illustrations provide a rich palette heavy on blues and green. Alarcón's introductory autobiographical note encourages readers to "keep on dreaming for good!"

School Library Journal (Sun Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2006)

Gr 4-7 This attractive compilation highlights a diverse group of American women who were pioneers in their respective fields. Covering three centuries of history, it offers information on such popular report subjects as Elizabeth Blackwell, Nellie Bly, Helen Keller, and Sacagawea, and lesser-known individuals such as Harriet Quimby, the first American woman to obtain a license to fly; Shirley Muldowney, the first woman inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame; and Sally Priesand, the first ordained female rabbi. A full-page black-and-white portrait or rendering of the subject, important dates, and a quote are included in each entry. The profiles, which contain three pages of concise historical and biographical information, are as inspiring as they are informative. Back matter consists of notes on the quote sources, selected bibliographies for all the subjects, and a brief chronology. This excellent resource is also likely to attract browsers. Rebecca Stine, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT

Voice of Youth Advocates

Although the essays in this book are too brief to be used for intensive research, they are nonetheless engaging introductions to forty of America's most brilliant and courageous women. Each essay is three pages in length and includes a fourth full-page portrait of the woman being introduced. Kimmel has done extensive research for her book, and it is clear that she truly has found a connection with these women and admires them greatly. Her earliest entrant is Phyllis Wheatley, an eighteenth-century poet, and her most contemporary is Shirley Muldowney, who was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2004. The women chosen achieved greatness in a wide range of endeavors, from athletics to the arts to politics. Most of these women faced enormous obstacles in achieving their dreams, mainly because of the cultural conventions imposed by a male-dominated society. Their perseverance is a testament to the tenacity of the human spirit. Students will find these excellent essays useful as an introduction to the women portrayed and as a good jumping off point for further research. They may also enjoy the book simply as a fascinating glimpse into the lives of these remarkable women.-Leslie Carter.