ALA Booklist (Thu Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2011)

Set in 1896 and based on the story of young Bessie Pond and her efforts to win California women the vote, this is an excellent introduction to the women's movement in general and Susan B. Anthony in particular, who dedicated her life to the fight for women's suffrage. Bessie doesn't like being told by her brothers that girls can't do things. Fortunately, she's about to meet Susan B. Anthony, who agrees with her. Soon Bessie is going to rallies, writing letters, and marching with Aunt Susan. Along with Bessie, readers are introduced to her friend, Rita, who serves as a foil (My papa says ladies shouldn't speak in public). Rita joins the fight, though, and is eventually pulled away from a parade by her father. Anthony, too, serves as a mouthpiece as she explains to Susan why girls can't go to school and how voting rights will help women. Readers may be surprised when in the end women lose the California suffrage vote, but Bessie is not discouraged.

Horn Book (Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2012)

It's 1896, and young Bessie (who is based on a real child) meets legendary suffragist Susan B. Anthony, who convinces her to participate in an upcoming suffrage rally. The wooden dialogue is unconvincing, but the historical revelations (girls and women who rode bikes used to be considered unladylike) and gouache paintings are successful at conveying setting.

Kirkus Reviews

Through the voice of 10-year-old Bessie in 1896 in Berkeley, Calif., readers glimpse a moment in the very long fight for women's suffrage in the United States. Bessie is irritated that she cannot go hiking with her brothers and her father, because it is thought too strenuous for girls. Instead, she helps her mother prepare for a tea honoring the great suffragist Susan B. Anthony, whom everyone calls Aunt Susan. Bessie thrills to her speech at the Golden Gate Auditorium and marches for the vote with her mother, although men scream at them and boys pelt them with eggs. Women lose that California referendum, but Bessie teaches her mother to ride a bicycle, and her father takes her hiking at last. Schuett's rich gouache paintings have the texture and heft of oils, and she captures the beauty of the suffragists' white dresses and gold and purple ribbons, as well as the women's strength and determination. The story is based on that of Bessie Keith Pond, who came from a family of suffragists. A series of short boxed notes about Bessie, California suffrage, Susan B. Anthony and endpapers decorated with excellent newspaper clippings, posters, postcards and photographs round out this work for young readers not ready for Ann Bausum's stunning With Courage and Cloth (2004). An inspiring and revelatory tale. (timeline, bibliography) (Picture book. 6-9)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

This earnest story springs from the life of Bessie Keith Pond, who was 10 years old in 1896 when Susan B. Anthony visited Berkeley, Calif., to rouse women to work for the passage of a state referendum that would give them voting rights. When Bessie complains that girls aren-t allowed to do everything that boys are, Anthony invites her to a rally, asserting, -Women-s votes can help change the world.- While Murphy-s (The Children of Alcatraz) prose creates a strong sense of the injustices of the period, it can occasionally feel melodramatic. When Bessie tours a factory and one young female worker wonders aloud if she can go to school if women win the vote, Bessie says, -I couldn-t imagine not learning how to read and write. I leaned against the wall and tried to catch my breath.- The referendum doesn-t pass, underscoring the idea that freedoms aren-t won overnight; back matter (which includes biographical sketches of Anthony and Pond) provides a concise history of the suffragist movement. Rendered in thick, forceful strokes, Schuett-s (Liberty-s Voice) gouache paintings easily convey Bessie-s energy and Anthony-s conviction. Ages 6-10. (Oct.)

School Library Journal (Thu Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)

Gr 1-5 This story takes place in San Francisco in 1896 and is told from the point of view of a young girl named Bessie as her mother hosts a tea with the famous suffragist as the guest of honor. Already influenced and irritated by the many things her brothers get to do that she cannot, Bessie is inspired by Anthony's words and joins the movement by marching, making signs, and talking to her best friend whose domineering father makes all decisions about family life. Bessie's supportive father and activist mother help her deal with her disappointments by balancing them with opportunities for making a difference. Schuett's somewhat impressionistic gouache paintings effectively capture the time and place and convey the emotionally charged tenor of the campaign. The endnotes, accompanied by photographs, provide factual material about the real Bessie Keith Pond, Anthony, and the suffrage movement, especially in California. Maggie Chase, Boise State University, ID