Hello and welcome to our online lending library. Please take time to browse all of the sections as some items fit under more than one category. If you have any questions about the resources or our policy for lending please feel free to call 207.861.8131 or email info@hardygirlshealthywomen.org.
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Library Topics
Bachel, Beverly K. What Do You Really Want? How to Set a Goal and Go for It
Would you like to start a new habit or break an old one? Make the team? Make new friends? Get better grades? Get a summer job? Travel? Go to college? Change the world for the better? Is there something else you really want? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you have a goal. If you don't know how to reach it, or you think you need help, this book is for you.
Brashich, Audrey D. All Made Up: A Girls Guide to Seeing Through Celebrity Hype...and Celebrating Real Beauty
Ever wonder why some women are more celebrated by the media than others? Or why it seems like most pop stars, models, and starlets all have the same look? If so, then this is the book for you! Dive in and find out why the definitions of beauty and success set by celebrities are so powerful--and how to reclaim star power for yourself.
Claybaugh, Winn. Be Nice (Or Else!)
In a world where you have to be computer literate, business savvy, a master negotiator, and dressed for success, you also must be nice. Winn Claybaugh believes learning how to be nice is the most important skill one must obtain: When you start being nice, everyone wins!
Cooper,Kathy(MSW), & Marianne Vandawalker, M.Ed. Guidance Rocks!
This book is filled with over 190 pages of reproducible guidance games and activities for use in small group counseling and classroom guidance. These unique, highly motivational materials will help you cover the topics of conflict resolution, character education, social skills and study skills in a fun and non-threatening way. Included are creative games, art, music, puzzles, and drama activities that challenge students to develop positive skills to be successful students and responsible citizens. The lessons are based on active involvement, hands-on activities, and high interest subjects.
Dee, Catherine. The Girls' Book of Success.
This book signifies every success story that serves as an inspiration to all teenagers. It helps adolescents battle their fears and finally guides them on the road to confidence. By listing stories and providing quotes about success, teens who read the book, can identify themselves with the people they read about and aspire to become like them.
Gravelle, Karen & Jennifer. The Period Book: Everything You Don’t Want to Ask (But Need to Know)
The Period Books: Everything You Don't Want To Ask (But Need To Know) is a reassuring must-read for every girl about to have her period and every parent wishing to prepare a daughter for this important milestone. While a first period can be an unsettling experience, girls can feel confident about this new stage of their lives if they know what to expect. With clarity and sensitivity, Karen Gravelle and her teenage niece, Jennifer Gravelle, explore the physical, emotional, and social aspects of menstruation. In a supportive and practical voice, they provide answers to the questions girls have about their period and related topics, such as pimples, mood swings, and increasing social pressures. Debbie Palen's illustrations provide a touch of humor, and encourage girls to consider the changes their bodies are undergoing as an exciting adventure. (2 copies available)
Green, Karen and Tristan Taormino, (editors). A Girl's Guide to Taking Over the World
In the last decade, there has been an explosion in the production of 'zines. On the forefront of this cut-and-paste revolution have been those 'zines made specifically by and for young women. The words and images that have come to define many young women's lives have long been overlooked and under appreciated. A Girl's Guide to Taking Over the World exists because these voices refuse to be silenced.
HRSA. My Bright Future: Physical Activity and Healthy Eating for Young Women
Do you want to be strong, fit, and have more energy? By eating well and being active, you can! This booklet can show young women living in rural areas how to build a healthy body, inside and out.
HRSA. My Bright Future: Physical Activity and Healthy Eating for Adult Women
Healthy eating and physical activity can make you feel better now and may contribute to a healthier life. This booklet shows women living in rural areas how to make a few simple changes for a bright future.
Levy, Barrie. In Love and In Danger: A Teen's Guide to Breaking Free of Abusive Relationship.
Citing sobering statistics about teen abuse by peers, a guide for young adults on how to manage abusive dating relationships offers insight into the causes and consequences of physical and psychological abuse as well as dating violence, in a reference that counsels both victims and abusers on how to find help.
Lewis, Barbara A. The Kid’s Guide to Social Action
This resource includes: real stories about real kids who are making a difference as home and around the world, step-by-step guides to social action “power skills,” ideas for working with government, real social action tools, and an up-to-date resource guide with addresses, phone numbers, and Websites for other social action groups.
Loulan, JoAnn and Bonnie Worthen. Period. A Girl's Guide.
A Girl's Guide by JoAnn Loulan and Bonnie Worthen, first published in 1979 and newly revised and updated, thoroughly covers questions about puberty and menstruation. The authors emphasize the positive (e.g., "Being comfortable with your own body is important") and use diagrams to familiarize readers with the inner workings of their bodies, including what happens during menstruation. A question-and-answer format in the last three chapters allows girls to locate easily the information they seek.
Macauinta, Courtney and Andrea Vanderpluym. Respect: A Girl's Guide to Getting Respect and Dealing When Your Line is Crossed.
Authors Macavinta and Vander Pluym provide talking points for discussion and personal introspection on topics ranging from friends to family to the opposite sex to body image and self-image. The book is not a guide about what to think or do, but a template for drafting one's own guidelines and ethos. The authors continually recommend that young readers keep a journal and use specific topics and questions as launching points for making entries in the journal.
Monson-Burton, Marianne. Girls Know Best 2: Tips On Life and Fun Stuff To Do.
Girls Know Best 2 is a celebration of your power--girl power! The book salutes your unique opinions and experience, ages 7-15, from all over the country, were picked from our "Girl Writer Contest" because of their great ideas. These amazing girls have written chapters giving advice on things like shyness, the Internet, making money, and slumber parties. They've also written chapters with fun activities like how to analyze your dreams, redecorate your room, and even the best way to survive grounding! Everything you need to know from the people who really know the answers--girls just like you!
Monson-Burton, Marianne. Girls Know Best 3: Your Words, Your World.
Both girls and critics have embraced this series of advice-giving books that encourage girls to explore their creativity and follow their dreams. Girls Know Best 3 continues the fun with chapters on being an only child, standing up for oneself, making a difference, livening up dreaded school subjects, reading for enjoyment, and relieving boredom.
New Moon. Friendship: Stories, Poems, Interviews, Advice
Friends: they’re a big part of your life, and most of the time they’re great, but sometimes difficult situations can arise. This book is here to help you with the ups and downs of friendship. Filled with quizzes, ideas for gifts, questions and answers from real girls, and straightforward information, this collection will inspire you to enjoy the friends you have and to forge new friendships.
New Moon. Money.
Grade 4-8-Created by 9 girls ranging from ages 10 to 14 (the New Moon Books Girls Editorial Board), this book features advice about how to earn money and includes basic information about currency and how to spend and invest wisely. The text is supplemented by interviews with women and girls who have created business opportunities based on their interests as well as by stories and poems written by adolescent girls. Throughout, young women are encouraged to follow their dreams and take control of their financial futures through entrepreneurial opportunities such as pet care, baking or cleaning services, craft sales, etc. The final chapter lists numerous print and electronic resources for more information.
New Moon. Sports: Choosing the Right Sport for You
Ever wonder what it would be like to learn to surf, or what it feels like to be the only woman playing on the Harlem Globetrotters? The New Moon Books Girls Editorial Board has scoured the world to find out about all sorts of different sports and the girls who are doing them. This book is filled with information on why sports are good for girls, the benefits of competition, a brief history of women in sports, and information about keeping your body healthy.
New Moon. Writing: Tips on Improving Your Writing and How to Express Yourself!
Is there a writer inside you struggling to get out? Do you want to do more than just write in your journal? Know what a tanka is? Curious about writing your own ‘zine but aren’t sure where to get started? This book is filled with ideas on how to get started and how to use words to express your ideas.
Rimm, Sylvia. See Jane Win for Girls: A Smart Girls Guide to Success –
Have you ever seen successful omen and wondered, “How did they get to be that way? What did they do when they were kids? How did they feel? What kinds of experiences did they have? How did they become so confidant, capable, and strong?” Dr. Sylvia Rimm had the same questions and decided to get answers. She and her daughters surveyed more than 1000 successful women, and compiled a resource to help young girls shape their future.
Roehm, Michelle. Girls Know Best: Advice for Girls from Girls on Just About Everything.
The result of a "Girl Writer Contest" publicized in dozens of magazines and newspapers and designed to nurture the creativity and daring of girls six to 16, this book contains the fresh, honest, one-to-one writings of 38 winners from throughout North America.
Romanek, Trudee. The Technology Book for Girls and Other Advanced Beings
Gr 3-6-Focusing specifically on the fun aspects, this book succeeds at showing how relevant science and technology are in the world in which we live, and tries to entice girls to explore the many possibilities in the field. Beginning at home with the television remote, the smoke detector, automatic doors, and automatic hand dryers, the author explains the intricate details of how these items actually work and the science involved. Further information covers lasers at the library checkout desk; in CD players and holograms; and those involved in manufacturing, medicine, space exploration, fiber optics, and many other related topics. The book is carefully organized, progressing through everyday items as they appear in readers' lives. Each chapter begins with a dialogue between a student and her friend or relative about the topic. More in-depth explanation follows, with a suggested activity. Sidebars introduce women who have interesting related careers. Attractive drawings, diagrams, and pictures add appeal. An index and a page of ideas for science-fair projects conclude the book. A good choice to show girls how exciting the world of technology can be.
Schlosser, Eric. Chew On This: Everything You Don't Want to Know about Fast Food
Grade 7 Up. Useful for health classes and nutrition units, it will also be an eye-opener for general readers who regularly indulge at the Golden Arches. An adaptation of Schlosser's Fast Food Nation (Houghton, 2001), Chew on This covers the history of the fast-food industry and delves into the agribusiness and animal husbandry methods that support it. From the 37-day life of the pre-McNugget chicken to the appallingly inhumane conditions of slaughterhouses and meatpacking plants, the author lays out the gruesome details behind the tasty burgers and sandwiches. Equally disturbing is his revelation of the way that the fast-food giants have studied childhood behavior and geared their commercials and free toy inclusions to hook the youngest consumers.
Stark, Heather, MPA and Emilee Watturs, MPA, editors. Why Doesn't She Just Leave?: Real Women, Real Stories. A New Perspective on Domestic Violence.
For some victims of domestic abuse, she doesn't leave for overwhelming economic, social or legal reasons, as explained in this powerful anthology. Written by domestic abuse survivors themselves, it provides an insider's look into the powerful grip of tyranny
Torres, Laura. Friendship Bracelets.
The ultimate friendship bracelet book, with directions for designs ranging from simple to simply amazing. The back cover doubles as a clipboard (clip included) so bracelets can be made directly beside their instructions. Comes with supplies to make at least one bracelet for each of your 12 closest friends.
Wallace, Mary. Art for the Heart: Creative Art Expression for You and Your Friends
An art activity book designed for young women ages 9 to 12. Art Therapist Mary Wallace shows how anyone can be an artist. Through a series of projects, girls will explore and celebrate one of the most incredible creations in the universe -- themselves!
Weston, Carol. GirlTalk: All the Stuff Your Sister Never Told You: No Soapboxes, No Sermons, No Nonsense
From bra shopping to babysitting, from making close friends to making great grades, Girltalk has all the answers Upbeat and up-to-date, honest and hip, Girltalk is an "indispensable guide" (Working Mother) for girls ages eleven to eighteen. This Fourth Edition is the ultimate preteen and teen source for advice on: Body: looking and feeling your best Friendship: you don't like everybody -- why should everybody like you? Love: falling in, falling out Sex: what you should know before saying yes Family: making the best of your nest Education: getting through school, getting into college Money: making it, saving it, spending it Smoking, Drinking, and Drugs: advice without lectures Quizzes: getting to know yourself
Wilson, Stacy. The Hockey Book for Girls
Although there are several titles about women's hockey for older readers and adults, this is one of the few for this age group. Wilson, a former captain of Canada's Olympic Women's Hockey Team, offers a broad introduction to the sport, touching on the game's positions, rules, strategies, and off-ice training. She also includes spotlights and interviews with star players. With brief, scattered text and energizing color photos, this is probably best for young girls who are new to the game and want an overview rather than in-depth coverage.
Wyatt, Valerie. The Science Book for Girls and Other Intelligent Beings
Studies show that many girls' natural interest in science falls off during the preteen years. In an effort to keep girls tuned in to science, this book demonstrates that science is fun--and that it's for girls. It gives girls a positive and non-threatening look at science and science careers--although there's nothing stopping "other intelligent begins" from taking a peek, too! Full color.
Wyatt, Valerie. The Math Book for Girls and Other Beings Who Count
Using lively, conversational prose, abundant humor, and Nora ("Natural Observation Research Activator," a sort of fairy godmother in a lab coat), Wyatt presents some of math's more entertaining and practical sides. Concepts such as proportion, area, and tessellation are conveyed through text, cheerful art, and diverse activities, including problems and such intriguing crafts as graphing pizza-topping requests. The material is well organized and accessible, with sidebars quoting.
Asetoyer, Charon M.A. (editor). Indigenous Women's Health Book, Within the Sacred Circle. .
The Native American Women's Health Education Resource Center presents this book to encourage Native women to take charge of their own health, and to offer all women a comprehensive new vision of health care choices and information.
Benson, Lorri Antosz and Taryn Leigh Benson. Distorted.
In an epidemic culture of disordered eating, this is the first book to provide both sides of the story: alternating mother-daughter perspectives on one teens battle with anorexia and bulimia, examining the nitty-gritty relationship dynamics and the many manipulative nuances that personify this misunderstood disease.
Berry, Dawn Bradley. The Domestic Violence Sourcebook
A comprehensive, compassionate look at domestic violence--including historical, psychological, social, familial, and legal issues--this well-organized, accessible book offers the most current information available on prevention and recovery, along with practical steps for escaping a violent domestic situation.
Bordo, Susan. Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture and the Body
In this provocative book, Susan Bordo untangles the myths, ideologies, and pathologies of the modern female body. Bordo explores our tortured fascination with food, hunger, desire, and control, and its effects on women's lives.
The Boston Women’s Health Book Collective. Our Bodies, Ourselves: A New Edition For a New Era With more than four million copies sold, Our Bodies, Ourselves is the classic resource that women of all ages can turn to for information about every aspect of their well-being.Completely revised for the first time in a decade, these pages give women everything they need for making key decisions about their health from definitive information from today's leading experts to personal stories from other women just like them. Together with its companion website (www.ourbodiesourselves.org), Our Bodies, Ourselves is a one-stop resource for women of all generations. Plus: The rearranged food pyramid, a chapter about sexual orientation and gender identity, advice for making safer sex more fun, the latest on breast-feeding, support for women experiencing pregnancy loss, and a section devoted to getting the best care in today's complicated health care system.
The Boston Women’s Health Book Collective. Our Bodies, Ourselves For the New Century
Our Bodies, Ourselves for the New Century reflects the vital health concerns of women of diverse ages, ethnic and racial backgrounds, and sexual orientations. In these pages, women will find new information, resources (including web sites!), and personal support for the decisions that will shape their health -- and their lives -- from living a healthy life, to relationships and sexuality, to child-bearing, growing older, dealing with the medical system, and organizing for change. This is a book for women of all generations to use, to rely on, and to share with others.
The Boston Women’s Health Book Collective. Our Bodies, Ourselves: Pregnancy and Birth
For years Our Bodies, Ourselves
has provided readers with indispensable information on women's health and sexuality. Now we have brought the same knowledge and perspective to our new book on childbirth.By drawing on the most accurate research, the personal experiences of many individual women, and the advice of midwives, physicians, and other health care providers, Our Bodies, Ourselves: Pregnancy and Birth will help you navigate the many choices you face during this exciting and challenging time.
Brumberg, Joan Jacobs. The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls
A hundred years ago, women were lacing themselves into corsets and teaching their daughters to do the same. The ideal of the day, however, was inner beauty: a focus on good deeds and a pure heart. Today American women have more social choices and personal freedom than ever before. But fifty-three percent of our girls are dissatisfied with their bodies by the age of thirteen, and many begin a pattern of weight obsession and dieting as early as eight or nine. Why? In The Body Project, historian Joan Jacobs Brumberg answers this question, drawing on diary excerpts and media images from 1830 to the present. Tracing girls' attitudes toward topics ranging from breast size and menstruation to hair, clothing, and cosmetics, she exposes the shift from the Victorian concern with inner beauty to our modern focus on outward appearance--in particular, the desire to be model-thin and sexy. Compassionate, insightful, and gracefully written, The Body Project explores the gains and losses adolescent girls have inherited since they shed the corset and the ideal of virginity for a new world of sexual freedom and consumerism--a world in which the body is their primary project.
Chapkis, Wendy. Beauty Secrets: Women and the Politics of Appearance
This book explores the links between appearance and sexuality, and looks at how race, class and economics help shape images of beauty. Included are interviews with and photographs of women who share their own ‘beauty secrets’.
Costin, Carolyn. The Eating Disorder Sourcebook: A Comprehensive Guide to the Causes, Treatments, and Prevention of Eating Disorders
This new edition provides the most up-to-date information on the possible underlying causes of eating disorders and their treatments, as well as information on recognizing disordered eating patterns in yourself or a loved one. A complete overview of treatment options, including group therapy, one-on-one counseling, the uses of medication, and inpatient treatment, is provided, along with a thorough listing of treatment centers and other resources around the country.
Dipion, Vicki Edgson and Ian Marter Dipion. The Food Doctor: Healing Foods for Mind and Body.
Now fully revised and updated, this edition of the ever-popular guide to eating well has all the latest research, new and inspiring recipes, and an entire chapter on eating for one’s individual metabolic body type and lifestyle. Written by two nutritionists, the pages are packed with nutrition advice, case studies, and food cures. Find simple foods with amazing healing properties; check out the definitive list of the top 100 foods for health, vitality and happiness.
Doress, Paula Brown, Diana Laskin Siegal, The Midlife, Older Women Book Project. Ourselves, Growing Older
Following in the ground-breaking tradition of Our Bodies, Ourselves, Paula B. Doress-Worters and Diana Laskin Siegel address the needs of the growing number of women over the age of forty. This new and revised edition of the best-selling Ourselves, Growing Older includes new chapters on menopause and reform of the medical care system as well as extensive updates on housing issues, HIV/AIDS, cosmetic surgery, and breast cancer.
Fraser, Laura. Losing it: False Hopes and Fat Profits in the Diet Industry
A reformed dieter and a former bulimic, Laura Fraser traces our fixation with thinness to the images that began appearing a hundred years ago in magazines like Ladies Home Journal and Cosmopolitan. Fraser chronicles the corresponding growth of a $50 billion a year industry that provides false hope in exchange for cash. In this meticulously researched journey through Dietland, Fraser gives the inside scoop on diet drugs, including the controversial phen/fen, diet gurus Richard Simmons, Susan Powter, and Dean Ornish, commercial weight loss centers, including Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers, and weight loss products like thigh creams and diet cookies
Gaesser, Glenn. Big Fat Lies: The Truth About Your Weight and Your Health
In this authoritative, easy-to-read book, Glenn Gaesser, an exercise physiologist, challenges the conventional wisdom that excess body fat poses a danger to health. He explains that it is the fat in your diet — not your weight — that is harmful, and presents scientific evidence of the benefits of body fat. In addition, Gaesser presents a “20/20 program” for achieving optimal health and metabolic fitness through 20 minutes of daily moderate exercise and a complex-carbohydrate eating plan. This edition includes a new introduction and updated research. “Challenges the common beliefs that ‘thin is best’ and ‘weight loss improves health.
Goodman, W. Charisse. The Invisible Woman: Confronting Weight Prejudice in America
This intelligent, political, feminist treatise explores the all-pervasive prejudice against fat women. It is about shattering the stereotypes, raising awareness about harassment, and asserting the truth that no one has the right to discriminate against anyone based on their size! Goodman exposes our culture’s widely accepted hatred of fat women, from the "health police" who feel that it is their right to approach and criticize strangers about their weight, health, or appearance, to the mass media who perpetuate inappropriate standards of beauty. The Invisible Woman also discusses weight obsession, false assumptions about diet and exercise, the fear and loathing of fat women as sexual beings, disturbing similarities between the aesthetic ideals of the Nazis and America’s quiet extermination of heavy women, and an open letter to men who think fat women are ugly.
Gottlieb, Lori. Stick Figure: A Diary of My Former Self
From the diaries she kept as an 11-year-old, the author's wry, perceptive account of her near-fatal struggle with anorexia nervosa is told with an unguarded openness not seen since Susanna Kaysen's "Girl Interrupted". Martin Scorsese's company, Carpo Productions, has purchased movie rights to Gottlieb's journal.
Jarrell, Donna and Sukrungruang Ira. What Are You Looking At?: The First Fat Fiction Anthology.
Jarrell and Sukrungruang offer an eclectic anthology of thirty stories and poems that foregrounds fat bodies. This collection is particularly refreshing given the recent backlash against fat acceptance, which has resulted in the discontinuation of fat-centric magazines, the closing of plus-size clothing stores, and popular culture's continuing love affair with ever-smaller actors and models.
Kater, Kathy. Real Kids Come in All Sizes: 10 Essential Lessons to Build Your Child's Self Esteem.
At a time when they should feel secure in their body’s growth, too many American children become anxious about size and weight and begin to eat in ways that contribute to the very problems they hope to avoid. Obesity, negative body image, and eating disorders are extremely difficult to reverse once established, and can be devastating to the self-esteem of developing bodies and egos.Long overdue, Real Kids Come in All Sizes challenges the toxic myths that promote body-image and weight concerns in our culture.
Maine, Margo, PhD. and Joe Kelly. The Body Myth: Adult Women and the Pressure to be Perfect.
In the relatively short history of eating and body image disorders treatment, the overwhelming majority of patients have been teenage girls and young women. But now, clinical psychologists like Dr. Margo Maine are treating increasing numbers of women in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and beyond suffering from disordered eating or the preoccupation with achieving a perfect body.This unique, jargon-free guide helps women and their loved ones understand these obsessions, what lies behind them, and how to overcome them!
Manheim, Camryn. Wake Up, I’m Fat!
This memoir is by turns funny ("If Barbie were a real woman, she'd have to walk on all fours due to her proportions") and excruciating. It helps that the material was honed in a one-woman show that sold out at New York's big-deal Public Theater, but the subject matter was strange and interesting in the first place. Manheim could not possibly be a less likely candidate for artistic and commercial success on TV. Born Debi Manheim in Peoria, the very metaphor for mainstream culture, Manheim re-created herself as a dozen earringed California biker chick, a Renaissance Faire wench, a protester who helped drive the Miss California Pageant out of Santa Cruz, and one of 28 actors in America accepted at NYU's exclusive graduate school. In her book, Manheim gets even with her cruel, fat-bashing teachers; credits the director who gave her, her first ingénue lead role (Tony Kushner, who cast her in Fen); and tells how the same temper that got her booted from school and arrested also won her the TV role that made her name.
Molnar, Judy. You Don't Have to be Thin to Win.
One of the best and practical books on fitness and health. This book is the recommended book by DietBuddies. 'You Don't Have to Be Thin to Win' is Judy's special recipe for health and fitness. She shows you everything from how to buy sneakers and how to find a way to move that works for your body and your time constraints to how to get through a grocery store and come out with foods that will make you a winner. And Judy is inspiring: Even if you feel that getting your body in shape is impossible, her story and many of the poignant success stories from her work will get you off the couch and moving. It will make a great gift for those struggling to stay healthy.
Moore, Judith. Fat Girl: A True Story.
A nonfiction She's Come Undone, Fat Girl is a powerfully honest and compulsively readable memoir of obsession with food, and with one's body, penned by a Guggenheim and NEA award-winning writer.For any woman who has ever had a love/hate relationship with food and with how she looks; for anyone who has knowingly or unconsciously used food to try to fill the hole in his heart or soothe the craggy edges of his psyche, Fat Girl is a brilliantly rendered, angst-filled coming-of-age story of gain and loss. From the lush descriptions of food that call to mind the writings of M. F. K. Fisher at her finest, to the heartbreaking accounts of Moore's deep longing for a family and a sense of belonging and love, Fat Girl stuns and shocks, saddens and tickles.
Nichter, Mimi. Fat Talk:What Girls and their Parents Say About Dieting.
Anthropologist Mimi Nichter spent three years interviewing middle school and high school girls--lower-middle to middle class, white, black, and Latina--about their feelings concerning appearance, their eating habits, and dieting. In Fat Talk, she tells us what the girls told her, and explores the influence of peers, family, and the media on girls' sense of self.
Pamplona-Roger M.D., George. Encyclopedia of Foods and Their Healing Power.
This is a modern and concise encyclopedia that presents the latest research on food science, nutrition, and dietetics. With almost 700 foods from 5 continents described and around 300 recipes, the information contained in this encyclopedia is based on the latest research centers of Europe, America, and other continents. 1,278 pages in three volumes, hardcover.
Richardson, Brenda Lane and Elane Rehr. 101 Ways to Help Your Daughter Love Her Body.
Journalist Richardson and clinical psychologist Rehr, both mothers of teenage girls, closely examine the experience of girls today, and offer suggestions for counteracting the media, fashion trends, the lure of Barbie and other cultural input that may negatively impact a girl's confidence and self-image.
Thompson, Becky. A Hunger so Wide and So Deep: A Multiracial View of Women's Eating Problems
2 A readable account based on interviews with 18 White, Latina, and African American women aged 19-46 in which the author found that in one-third to two-thirds of the cases, eating disorders were linked to emotional or, more particularly, sexual abuse. Such women are seeking control over their lives, Thompson argues, and food is the most accessible tool. She also examines the healing process, detailing these women's experiences with Alcoholics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous and individual counseling.
Wann, Marilyn. Fat!So?:Because You Don't Have to Apologize for Your Size!
In this hilarious and eye-opening book, fat and proud activist/zinester Marilyn Wann takes on America's biggest fear--worse than the fear of public speaking or nuclear weapons--the fear of fat.
Weitz, Rose. Rapunzel’s Daughters: What Women’s Hair Tells Us About Women's Lives.
For any woman -- or man, for that matter -- who has ever had a bad hair day, Rapunzel’s Daughters is a must-read. Author Rose Weitz, a professor of Sociology and Women’s Studies, has written a fascinating and intriguing book about hair and its power to define a woman’s identity and create a cultural statement far beyond even what fashion and makeup can achieve.
Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women.
In a country where the average woman is 5-foot-4 and weighs 140 pounds, movies, advertisements, and MTV saturate our lives with unrealistic images of beauty. The tall, nearly emaciated mannequins that push the latest miracle cosmetic make even the most confident woman question her appearance. Feminist Naomi Wolf argues that women's insecurities are heightened by these images, and then exploited by the diet, cosmetic, and plastic surgery industries. Every day new products are introduced to "correct" inherently female "flaws," drawing women into an obsessive and hopeless cycle built around the attempt to reach an impossible standard of beauty. Wolf rejects the standard and embraces the naturally distinct beauty of all women.
Yancey, Diane. STDs What You Don't Know Can Hurt You
The average teenager's understanding and knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) is probably quite inadequate. Diane Yancey begins with case studies of actual teens (using fictitious names) who have contracted or are about to contract STDs. These students' stories are woven through the chapters of the book as each disease is discussed adding a human touch to the medical discussion.
Faludi, Susan. Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man
In Stiffed, the author turns her attention to the masculinity crisis plaguing our culture at the end of the '90s, an era of massive layoffs, "Angry White Male" politics, and Million Man marches. As much as the culture wants to proclaim that men are made miserable--or brutal or violent or irresponsible--by their inner nature and their hormones, Faludi finds that even in the world they supposedly own and run, men are at the mercy of cultural forces that disfigure their lives and destroy their chance at happiness. As traditional masculinity continues to collapse, the once-valued male attributes of craft, loyalty, and social utility are no longer honored, much less rewarded. Faludi's journey through the modern masculine landscape takes her into the lives of individual men whose accounts reveal the heart of the male dilemma. Stiffed brings us into the world of industrial workers, sports fans, combat veterans, evangelical husbands, militiamen, astronauts, and troubled "bad" boys--whose sense that they've lost their skills, jobs, civic roles, wives, teams, and a secure future is only one symptom of a larger and historic betrayal.
Kivel, Paul. Boys Will Be Men: Raising Our Sons for Courage, Caring and Community
Paul Kivel has done it again with this excellent, pragmatic piece on how to challenge the forces that harm young men (and young women) in schools and families. As a professor of school and family counseling, I am always searching for pragmatic, effective, down-to-earth resources that will assist students, parents, counselors, teachers, and all others concerned about our youth. Kivel brings his substantial experience as an anti-oppression educator and activist from his work with the Oakland Men's Center into his latest work.
Nikkah, John. Our Boys Speak: Adolescent Boys Write About Their Inner Lives
Convinced that boys, like girls, need to air their emotional lives, psychologist Nikkah offers a collection of essays, journal entries, stories, and poems written by young men ages 12 to 18. Heartfelt entries grouped into sections on relationships with family and friends ("Our Inner Circle"), outside influences ("Our World"), and inner struggles ("Our Selves") reveal the turmoil that male teens often mask with nonchalance and bravado. Friendships forged and forgotten, families pulled together and torn apart, threats of violence faced or avoided--all are thoughtfully examined in these revealing accounts. The young writers are painfully honest and generous in sharing those uncomfortable moments so much a part of growing up. Nikkah's brief chapter introductions add perspective and make the collection flow more smoothly. Teachers, parents, and teens themselves will find these writings eye-opening.
Pittman, Frank. Man Enough: Fathers, Sons and the Search for Masculinity
Combining case studies, examples from literature and films, and personal vignettes, a family therapist considers male childhood with no caring father or male role model and offers ways for adult males to overcome this loss.
Pollack, William. Real Boys' Voices
In his groundbreaking bestseller, Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood, Dr. William Pollack delved into the issues that today's boys face, from violence to the limiting notion that boys don't cry. In his follow-up book, Real Boys' Voices, Pollack, a clinical psychologist and assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, lets readers get close to his source--the boys themselves, ages 10 to 20, from all around the country. The voices he presents are searingly authentic and eager to be heard. Pollack's basic premise is simple: Despite what society might tell us, boys want to talk. Furthermore, they have a lot to say on a wide variety of topics, including gender issues, friendship, sex, fear of violence, and relationships with their mothers and fathers.
Abrams, Rhonda. The Successful Business Plan: Secrets and Strategies
This resource provides a step-by-step process for creating a successful business, including: expert advice, worksheets, tips on impressing funders, sample business plan guides, tips for your type of business, the Abrams Method of flow-through financials, and winning tips for competitors.
Attard, Janet. Business Know-How: An Operational Guide for Home-Based and Micro-Sized Businesses with Limited Budgets
Business Know-How is a comprehensive guide to small and home business success. It tells you the strategies that owners of homebased and small businesses like yours are using today.
Drew, Bonnie and Noel. Fast Cash for Kids
Parents want kids to learn about responsibility – and kids want to make their own money. Now, Fast Cash for Kids promises to provide the answers and motivation to turn eager wage earners into young entrepreneurs. This is the ideal book for any young businessperson who wants to get his or her business started in the right direction. It’s also a great guide for parents and teachers who want to encourage entrepreneurship in their children and students.
Girl Scouts of the USA. CentsAbility
This resource was compiled by the Girls Scouts of the USA as a financial literacy guide for girls. CentsAbility was developed to help Junior and Cadette Girl Scouts learn and implement key concepts and skills related to personal money management. As they explore the relationship between lifestyle and occupational choices and imagine themselves as young adults, they’ll learn the all-important balancing act between income and expenses as they create and balance their budgets. This resource’s group activities and individual projects offer opportunities to help girls develop and use their fiscal muscles.
Girl Scouts of the USA. Got Money?
This guide is one of the many books in the Studio 2B Focus series. Got Money? focuses on saving and investing money.
Godfrey, Joline. No More Frogs to Kiss: 99 Ways to Give Economic Power to Girls
This resource shows how to help girls discover the self-respect that comes only from developing our own talents and finding our own independence - and to do it before the fog of "happily ever after" descends. A great book for parents, teachers, sisters, brothers, and friends of girls everywhere!
Godfrey, Neale S. Neale S. Godfrey’s Ultimate Kid’s Money Book
In this comprehensive guide, renowned financial expert Neale S. Godfrey reveals everything you need to know about money, including how to earn it, save it, spend it, and share it. She also explains such topics as credit, checks, and electronic banking – and relates them all to a young reader’s world.
Harden, Sarah. Dollar Diva: Business Plan Guide.
Henricks, Mark. Business Plans Made Easy
Whether you're just starting out or already running a business, a business plan can be the most important factor in your success. In this enjoyable, easy-to-read guide, Mark Henricks shares with you proven techniques, hints and tips for easily creating results-getting business plans that match your exact needs.
Independent Means, Inc. Exploring Entrepreneurship
This kit includes: Product in a Box, a six session curriculum, a copy of the Hot Company board game, the Biz Word and Biz Buzz Activity Cards and the Women Who Dare video. With these tools, young women will discover how to make a job, not just take a job!
Independent Means, Inc. Biz Buzz.
Biz Buzz introduces the principles, language and key concepts of business through participation and imagination. This new series of eight activities will help you create a fun and effective learning experience. Ages 13 and up.
Jones, Vada Lee. Kids Can Make Money Too!
This resource teaches kids how to earn and save money, open and use a checking account, finance and advertise a business, have fun without spending money, and recognize success.
Kay, Ellie. Money Doesn't Grow on Trees
Ellie Kay, "savings queen" and the mother of five, provides down-to-earth, practical ways to teach kids how to handle money wisely. Her signature humor and creative, helpful advice, along with tips from other parents, make this an easy-to-follow guide for parents of pre-schoolers through teens.
Reber, Deborah. In Their Shoes: Extraordinary Women Describe Their Amazing Careers.
This fun, accessible book should appeal to teens who are exploring career possibilities. Each chapter contains an interview with its subject, for example, Nancy Pearl, librarian, as well as sidebars and lists on what to do now to prepare, what the person's day is like, and a time line of how her career took shape over the years. Concrete details about the women's current lives and about how they attained their goals are included. The variety of careers is impressive, ranging from forensic scientist and sheriff to social worker and actionista woman who is part motivational speaker, part writer, and part actress.
Trahey, Jane. Women and Power.
Wood, Heather. 101 Marvelous Money Making Ideas for Kids
This book is the self-starter’s guide to discovering and marketing your skills so you can get the job you want. Whether you’re an artist or an athlete, a clown or a computer-nut, you’ll discover a way to put your talents to work and pocket the results.
Adler, David A. Our Golda: The Story of Golda Mier.
A biography of the Israeli prime minister and world leader, emphasizing her early childhood and youth in Russia and America.
Ajmera, Maya and Anna Rhesa Versola. Children from Australia to Zimbabwe: A Photographic Journey Around the World.
Meet children all over the world and learn about their home countries in this unique alphabet book. Young readers will be thrilled to discover what games children play in Nigeria, what houses look like in Turkey, and what people's favorite sport is in Russia. Newly revised with updated facts and population figures, this is one trip you won't want to miss!
Atkins, Jeannine. Girls Who Looked Under Rocks: The Lives of Six Pioneering Naturalists.
The six women portrayed in this book--Maria Merian (b.1647), Anna Comstock (b.1854), Frances Hamerstrom (b.1907), Rachel Carson (b.1907), Miriam Rothschild (b.1908) and Jane Goodall (b.1934--all grew up to become award-winning scientists, writers and artists, as comfortable with a pen as with a magnifying glass. Often they were discouraged from getting dirty, much less pursuing careers in science. But they all became renowned scientists, frequently the only women in their fields. They overcame opposition and found ways to pass on their vision of how all lives in nature are beautifully connected.
Campbell, Ann. Queenie Farmer Had Fifteen Daughters.
On the very day Queenie Farmer gives birth to fifteen daughters, her beloved prize herd of cows runs off with her husband in chase. Her life is never dull, and Queenie rises to each task with her own particular flair.Ann Campbell's delightfully original tall tale weaves together a down-home family story with early math concepts and an introduction to the days of the week. Holly Meade's gentle hand and buoyant compositions highlight the bold, independent spirit of Queenie--and each of her beloved girls.
Chapman, Linda. My Secret Unicorn: The Magic Spell.
Have you ever longed for a pony? Lauren Foster has. And when her family moves to the country, her dream finally comes true. But when she reads a story about a perfectly ordinary pony who turns into a snow-white unicorn, she starts to look at her own pony, Twilight, and to wonder, maybe . . . Just maybe . . .?
Christensen, Bonnie. The Daring Nellie Bly: America's Star Reporter.
From the award-winning picture book biographer of Woody Guthrie comes the inspirational story of Nellie Bly. Born in 1864, during a time in which options were extremely limited for women, Nellie defied all expectations and became a famous newspaper correspondent. Her daring exploits included committing herself to an infamous insane asylum in New York City to expose the terrible conditions there and becoming the first American war correspondent of either sex to report on the front lines of Austria during World War I. In 1889, Nellie completed her most publicized stunt, her world-famous trip around the world in just 72 days, beating the record of Jules Vernes’ fictional hero in Around the World in 80 Days.
Cleary, Beverly. Ramona and Her Father.
Ramona Quimby, a spunky second grader, finds that her life changes when her father unexpectedly loses his job. Ramona becomes determined to make her worried father, overworked mother, and moody older sister a happy family again. When her plan to earn a million dollars making television commercials fails miserably, Ramona decides to save her father's life by getting him to quit smoking. Mr. Quimby becomes even crankier! Yet, he shows his love for Ramona by sharing insights into what makes a happy family. That Christmas, Ramona, filled with joy and pride, realizes that she has everything she really wants.
Cooney, Barbara. Miss Rumphius.
As a child Great-aunt Alice Rumphius resolved that when she grew up she would go to faraway places, live by the sea in her old age, and do something to make the world more beautiful--and she does all those things, the last being the most difficult of all.
Coyle, Carmela LaVigna. Princesses Rule! Three Not-So-Typical Princess Stories
Including the stories Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?, Do Princesses Really Kiss Frogs?, and Do Princesses Scrape Their Knees?, these girls are active and curious, and learn valuable lessons along the way.
Curtis, Jamie Lee and Laura Cornell. I’m Gonna Like Me: Letting Off a Little Self-Esteem
Through alternating points of view, a girl’s and a boy’s, Jamie Lee Curtis’ triumphant text and Laura Cornell’s lively artwork show kids that the key to feeling good is liking yourself because you are you.
Davidson, Margret. Helen Keller's Teacher.
Anne Sullivan, Helen Keller's friend and life-long teacher, was an exceptional woman in her own right. This biography begins when 12-year-old Anne and her brother are forced to live in the city's poorhouse. Her brother dies shortly after they arrive, and this event is only the first of many tragedies that will touch Anne in her life. Nevertheless, she continues to persevere and becomes an inspirational woman.
dePaola, Tomie. Oliver Button Is A Sissy
A little boy must come to terms with being teased and ostracized because he'd rather read books, paint pictures and tap-dance than participate in sports.
Dorris, Michael. Morning Girl.
Morning Girl is the story of a Taino girl and her brother, told in alternating first-person chapters from each of their perspectives. The setting is Hispaniola, near the time of Columbus' first landing. Michael Dorris, who received the Scott O'Dell Award for historical fiction for this book, has presented a fictionalized recreation of what life may have been like for Taino children before Columbus arrived.
Elwin, Rosamund and Michele Paulse. Asha's Mums.
Asha, an African-Canadian girl whose lesbian mums become an issue for the teacher and the curiosity of classmates, responds with clarity and assuredness that having two mums is no big deal - they are a family.
Fizthugh, Louise. Harriet The Spy.
Harriet M. Welsch is a spy. In her notebook, she writes down everything she knows about everyone, even her classmates and her best friends. Then Harriet loses track of her notebook, and it ends up in the wrong hands. Before she can stop them, her friends have read the always truthful, sometimes awful things she's written about each of them. Will Harriet find a way to put her life and her friendships back together?
Frith, Margaret. Frida Kahlo: The Artist Who Painted Herself
This is the story of a girl who writes a report on the artist Frida Kahlo.
Gormley, Beatrice. Amelia Earhart: Young Aviator.
What early influences shaped Amelia Earhart's extraordinary career? How did she grow up to become the woman whose very name means adventure and independence? And what about the mystery of her fatal last flight? Beatrice Gormley answers these questions in the fascinating and inspiring story of Amelia Earhart's life.
Hahn, Micheal T. Ann Story: Vermont's Herione of Independence
Biography of the Vermonter who was known as the "Mother of the Green Mountain Boys" and who was one of the few women whose contributions to the Patriot cause were documented.
Hample, Stuart and Eric Marshall. Children's Letters to God.
Here is the unassuming little book that charmed its way up the bestseller lists and now has over 1.2 million copies in print. This third edition of CHILDREN-S LETTERS TO GOD reveals again the surprising pleasures and provocations of what happens when kids decide to send a letter off to their maker. Whether posing a question, begging a favor, or expressing doubt or joy, these letters are notable for their refreshing directness, unexpected humor, and startling clarity of thought. It-s like seeing the world through a child-s bright eyes, eyes untouched by cynicism, eyes brimming with innocence, wonder, and curiosity.Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club.
Henckes, Kevin. Sheila Rae, The Brave.Sheila Rae is not afraid of anything. She walks backwards with her eyes closed, steps on every crack, growls and stray dogs, and bares her teeth at stray cats. But when Sheila Rae becomes lost on the way home from school, it is her "scaredy cat" sister, Louise, who shows her a thing or two about bravery and sibling love.
Hillman, Elizabeth. Min-Yo and The Moon Dragon.
All over China, the people notice that the moon seems bigger, brighter, and closer to the earth. The ancient cobweb staircase between the earth and the moon is loose and droopy now. Is the moon slowly falling toward earth as wise men say? Only little Min-Yo, the lightest person in China, can make the dangerous journey to find the dragon and solve the mystery of the moon's fall.
King, Sarah E. Maya Angelou: Greeting the Morning
Presents the life and accomplishments of the gifted black writer, the second poet in American history to deliver an inaugural poem, revealing how she has triumphed over many personal troubles and public obstacles.
Knight, Margy Burns. Who Belongs Here? An American Story.
Following their well-received Talking Walls , Knight and O'Brien again team up for an affectionate if didactic exploration of connections among people world-wide. This time the message is filtered through the experience of Nary, a Cambodian refugee who immigrates to the U.S. with his grandmother after the death of both parents. Hostility toward immigrants and the impetus to work for change are explored. The central question, "What if everyone . . . whose ancestors came from another country was forced to return to his or her homeland? . . . Who would be left?" signals the book's design as a vehicle for discussion. The text itself pairs Nary's story with italicized information on immigration to the U.S. This strategy is only intermittently effective; younger readers may not be capable of making the conceptual jumps both Knight and O'Brien require, while older readers may chafe at the picture-book format. These limitations notwithstanding, the volume provides strong starting points for ongoing explorations of multicultural themes.
Konigsburg, E.L. From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
"Claudia knew that she could never pull off the old-fashioned kind of running away..." so she decided to run not from somewhere but to somewhere--somewhere large, warm, comfortable, and beautiful. And that was how Claudia and her brother, Jamie, ended up living in the Metropolitan Museum of Art--and right in the middle of a mystery that made headlines.
Kroll,Virgina L. My Sister Then and Now.
A young girl's fictional account of her sister's mental illness.
Krull, Kathleen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Dreams Taking Flight
When Hillary was young, she wanted to be an astronaut, to soar as high as the stars above. She kept reaching up and up as she grew. There were people who told her no. But she didn't listen to them. There were people who didn't think she could do it. But she believed in herself. And Hillary has been making history ever since. This is the inspiring story of a girl with dreams as big as the open sky.
Lansky, Bruce, Ed. Girls to the Rescue, Volumes 1,3-5, & 7.
This is a series of tales of clever, courageous girls from around the world. All of the stories feature girls as heroes.
Lindgren, Astrid. Pippi Longstocking.
The classic book about the unconventional, assertive, and extraordinarily strong little girl with the red pigtails.
Lindgren, Astrid. Ronia, The Robber's Daughter.
Ronia is born among a clan of robbers, and grows up surronded by love. But as she grows up she will discover that her small world is threatened from the outside. We are taken into a tale of strong friendship and love, a world where you are strong only because people love you, and you love other people. This is not a sweet love story, but a story where every child and grown up can learn important things about life. About forgiveness. About fright. And most of all about love.
MacLachlan, Patricia. Sarah, Plain and Tall.
In the late 19th century a widowed midwestern farmer with two children--Anna and Caleb--advertises for a wife. When Sarah arrives she is homesick for Maine, especially for the ocean which she misses greatly. The children fear that she will not stay, and when she goes off to town alone, young Caleb--whose mother died during childbirth--is stricken with the fear that she has gone for good. But she returns with colored pencils to illustrate for them the beauty of Maine, and to explain that, though she misses her home, "the truth of it is I would miss you more." The tale gently explores themes of abandonment, loss and love.
Maze, Stephanie. I Want to Be... A Firefighter.
Kindergarten-Grade 2-These books introduce a limited number of concepts and terms associated with an occupation and are appropriate for beginning readers. The one or two sentences per page are supported by attractive full- and double-page color photographs of men and women at work, whether it be rounding up cows, putting out fires, or navigating a plane.
Mazer, Anne. The Amazing Days of Abby Hayes: Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining.
Mazer (The Fixits) introduces a spunky and appealing heroine in this inaugural volume of The Amazing Days of Abby Hayes: she and her days are more average than amazing. This is, in fact, the bee in Abby's bonnet. Her three "SuperSibs" outshine her. One of her older twin sisters excels at virtually every sport, the other is the top student in ninth grade, and her younger brother is a math and computer genius. Her lawyer mother also runs marathons, and her father owns a successful computer business. Where does this leave poor Abby? Feeling "small and insignificant," yet determined to prove "that she was deserving of being a Hayes, too." At the start of her fifth-grade year, Abby resolves to make her mark by becoming a soccer star by the end of the fall season. Documented largely through the journal writings of this devoted young writer, Abby's quest to reach this goal, as well as her frustration with her accomplished siblings, makes for repetitious reading at times. But Mazer injects some moments of sophisticated, wry humor (e.g., a Bridget Jones-like journal entry in which the allegedly newly reformed heroine notes, "Went home and ate plate of cookies to celebrate decision to turn self into great athlete"). In the end, Abby's real talents outshine those to which she aspires. Abby may well score enough points with readers that they'll ride out this tale's pleasures and faults, and move on to her next caper, The Declaration of Independence, also due this month. Ages 8-12.
Mazer, Anne. The Amazing Days of Abby Hayes:Good Things Come in Small Packages.
When Abby and her new friend, Hannah, take charge of a class project to assemble gift packages for underprivileged children, one thing after the next goes wrong. First their teacher, Mrs. Kantor, must leave school for a few weeks. The class is stuck with a mean substitute who won't let them work on their gift boxes. Then, after their kind principal intervenes and work on the class project resumes, Hannah's baby sister unintentionally destroys many of the gift boxes. Working as a team, Abby and Hannah think of a clever way to save the day, their budding friendship, and the class project.
McElroy, Lisa Tucker. Meet My Grandmother: She's a Deep Sea Explorer.
Gr 3-4-Grandmothers are getting younger every day, and Sylvia Earle, pioneering marine biologist, has joined the ranks of this esteemed group. Written in the first person from her 10-year-old grandson's point of view, the text describes "G-mom's" dedication to protecting the marine environment and her work to further the awareness and knowledge of this precious resource. Full-color photographs on every page show Earle and her grandchildren on beaches and in aquarium settings holding kelp, touching sea creatures, and thoroughly enjoying themselves. Her professional activities aboard NOAA research vessels-diving in submersibles and scuba gear-are documented as is her role as National Geographic's explorer-in-residence. The last page provides nine tips for readers who want to be deep-sea explorers with the final tip, "Get Wet." While there's not a lot of substance, this is an engaging family photo album with narration.
Montgomery, L.M. Anne of Green Gables.
Marilla Cuthbert and Matthew Cuthbert, middle-aged siblings who live together at Green Gables, a farm in Avonlea, on Prince Edward Island, decide to adopt a boy from an orphan asylum in Nova Scotia as a helper on their farm. Through a series of mishaps, the person who ends up under their roof is a precocious girl of eleven named Anne Shirley. Anne is bright and quick, eager to please but dissatisfied with her name, her pale countenance dotted with freckles, and with her long braids of red hair. Being a child of imagination, however, Anne takes much joy in life, and adapts quickly, thriving in the environment of Prince Edward Island.
Mora, Pat. The Desert is My Mother/El Desierto Es Mi Madre.
Ages 4-8. With a playful, poetic text, this bilingual picture book celebrates a child's connection with her desert home. "I say feed me. / She serves red prickly pear on a spiked cactus."
Moss, Peggy. Say Something.
At this school, there are some children who push and tease and bully. Sometimes they hurt other kids by just ignoring them. The girl in this story sees it happening, but she would never do these mean things herself. Then one day something happens that shows her that being a silent bystander isn't enough. Will she take some steps on her ownto help another kid?
Moss, Peggy & Dee Dee Tardiff. Our Friendship Rules.
Alexandra and Jenny have been best friends for a long time. But when Alexandra is momentarily dazzled by the glamour of a new girl at school, she's willing to do almost anything to get to be the cool girl's friend. Ultimately, she tells Jenny's biggest, most important secret--and just like that, Alexandra is in! But when Alexandra realizes what it feels like to lose her best friend, and sees the hurt she's caused, she knows she has to figure out a way to regain the relationship that's far more important to her than being invited to sit with the popular girls. Our Friendship Rules is both a lyrical story of forgiveness and a simple, sweet but instructive tale of how to get along.
Munsch, Robert. The Paper Bag Princess
This is the story of a princess named Elizabeth. When a dragon comes and burns Elizabeth’s castle and all her belongings with his fiery breath and steals the prince that she is supposed to marry, Elizabeth takes off, dressed only in a paper bag to get her revenge.
Newman, Lesléa. Heather Has Two Mommies
Heather’s favorite number is two. She has two arms, two legs, two eyes, two ears, two hands and two feet. Heather has two pets: a ginger colored cat named Gingersnap and a big black dog named Midnight. Heather also has two mommies: Mama Jane and Mama Kate. This is a great book to teach children about all kinds of different families.
O'Dell, Scott. Island of The Blue Dolphins.
The real-life story of a 12-year-old American Indian girl, Karana. The author based his book on the life of this remarkable young woman who, during the evacuation of Ghalas-at (an island off the coast of California), jumped ship to stay with her young brother who had been abandoned on the island. He died shortly thereafter, and Karana fended for herself on the island for 18 years. This is the miraculous story of how Karana forages on land and in the ocean, clothes herself (in a green-cormorant skirt and an otter cape on special occasions), and secures shelter. Perhaps even more startlingly, she finds strength and serenity living alone on the island.
Paterson, Katherine. The Great Gilly Hopkins.
Eleven-year-old Gilly has been stuck in more foster families than she can remember, and she's disliked them all. She has a county-wide reputation for being brash, brilliant, and completely unmanageable. So when she's sent to live with the Trotters -- by far the strangest family yet -- Gilly decides to put her sharp mind to work. Before long she's devised an elaborate scheme to get her real mother to come rescue her. But the rescue doesn't work out, and the great Gilly Hopkins is left thinking that maybe life with the Trotters wasn't so bad ...
Phelps, Ethel Johnston. Tatterhood and Other Tales.
All the central characters in these folk tales are spirited females—decisive heroes of extraordinary courage, wit, and achievement who set out to determine their own fate. Some of their stories are comic, some adventurous, some eerie, and some magical. The 25 traditional tales come from Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
Richards, Beah E. Keep Climbing Girls.
Kindergarten-Grade 3. In this picture-book rendition of Richardss 1951 poem of the same name, girls are urged to keep climbing no matter what obstacles get in the way. Bold gouache illustrations create a beguiling green-and-gold landscape with an irresistible tree and a determined little girl who climbs it higher and higher with every page turn. Stern and frightened Miss Nettie tries coaxing the child out of the tree, using scare tactics of broken necks and taunts of tomboy. But a little girl victorious/cant hide her childish glee,/to see Miss Nettie so put out/that she, a girl, could climb a tree. An introduction by LisaGay Hamilton gives readers more information about the poem and Richards, an African-American actor, playwright, and poet who set her own sights high and faced plenty of challenges along the way. This work helps to encourage and bolster up young girls as they begin to make their way in the world.
Rockwell, Anne. They Called Her Molly Pitcher.
George Washington made her a sergeant in the Continental Army for her bravery, and Rockwell (Only Passing Through) gives her star treatment in this stirring picture book biography. She's Mary (better known as Molly) Hays, and in 1777 she followed her husband to war and straight into the annals of American history. After surviving a winter at Valley Forge, Molly continued on with the remaining soldiers to the Battle of Monmouth (N.J.), fought on a sweltering June day. Molly spends the day fearlessly dodging cannon and musket fire to bring pitchers of water to heat-stricken soldiers and, later, manning the cannon left by her injured husband. Without sacrificing the dramatic momentum, the author also assesses the Americans' military tactics and training (or lack thereof) versus British expectations and mores (despite temperatures approaching 100 degrees, British soldiers wore fur hats and heavy wool suits). Rockwell finds opportunities for humor (in later life, it seems, the only fault her employers ever found with her was that she swore like a soldier) and for her own opinions (after Washington honors Molly, no soldier sneered at the thought of a woman being a sergeant in his army). Von Buhler (Little Girl in a Red Dress with Cat and Dog) works in a folk-art style, and flat perspectives, sturdy brushwork and light crackling effects give her paintings a colonial look. The type, unfortunately, can be difficult to read, set on a rustic, linen-like background a minor flaw in a memorable book. Ages 7-10.
Sabin, Francene. Rachel Carson.
Focuses on the childhood and young-adult years of Rachel Carson, who overcame obstacles to achieve greatness. Inspirational and informative reading for students with big dreams.
Sabin, Francene. Young Eleanor Roosevelt.
Recounts the early life of the first lady and humanitarian who grew up with "Uncle Teddy" Roosevelt and found an outlet for her intelligence and energy by working in resettlement houses.
Shannon, David. A Bad Case of Stipes.
Camilla Cream loves lima beans. But she never eats them. Why? Because the other kids in her school don't like them. And Camilla Cream is very, very worried about what other people think of her. In fact, she's so worried that she's about to break out in...a bad case of stripes!
Soman, David and Jacky Davis. Lady Bug Girl.
Lulu’s older brother says she is too little to play with him. Her mama and papa are busy too, so Lulu has to make her own fun. This is a situation for Ladybug Girl!
Ladybug Girl saves ants in distress, jumps through shark-infested puddles, and even skips along the great dark twisty tree trunk-all by herself. It doesn’t matter what her brother says, Ladybug Girl is definitely not too little!
In this sweet and cheerful story by husband and wife team Jacky Davis and David Soman, one not-so-little girl discovers how to make some fun that is just her size, right in her own backyard.
Sweet, Melissa. Carmine: A Little More Red.
While a little girl who loves red--and loves to dilly-dally--stops to paint a picture on the way to visit her grandmother, her dog Rufus meets a wolf and leads him directly to Granny's house.
Tchana, Katrin and Trina Schart Hyman. The Serpant Slayer and Other Stories of Strong Women.
Move over, Jack the Giant-Killer, Prince Charming, and all the other heroes of our most familiar folk and fairy tales. Here is a collection of eighteen stories about heroines, girls and women with as much courage, wit, and intelligence as their better-known male counterparts. From Li Chi, who battles a fierce serpent to save her townspeople, to the old women sly enough to outwit even the devil, the heroines in these tales prove their mettle and pluck, and do it on their own terms.
Wegars, Priscilla: Polly Bemis: A Chinese American Pioneer.
The
opening line of Polly Bemis: A Chinese American Pioneer reads like the beginning of a fairy tale, but this is a true story. Between her birth and her death in Idaho on November 6, 1933, Polly Bemis lived an extraordinary life indeed.The adventures of most pioneers don’t begin quite the way Polly’s did. "In faraway northern China long ago, a young girl’s family sold her because they had no food. She became a slave girl. Her owners took her to a southern seaport and put her on a boat going to America."
Aisenberg, Nadya. Ordinary Heroines: Transforming the Male Myth.
About the search for a new paradigm, that of a contemporary heroine. A heroine is not simply a female hero. The key to the contemporary heroine is that she substitutes moral courage for the physical bravery of the traditional hero, and enacts her 'hero-ine-ism' from within the parameters of her ordinary life.
Anzaldua, Gloria and Cherrie Moraga (editors). This Bridge Called My Back: Writings By radical Women of Color.
From the forewords by Cherrie Moraga, Gloria Anzaldua through the poems, essays, and pieces Toni Cade Bambara calls "cables, esoesses, conjurations and fusile missles, this is a work of bringing-togetherness that gives the reader a clear-eyed view of life in the United States. From "I Paid Very Hard for My Immigrant Ignorance" by Mirtha Quintanales to "who told you anybody wants to hear from you? you ain't nothing but a black woman!" by hattie gossett to "I Don't Understand Those Who Have Turned Away From Me" by Chrystos, This Bridge Called My Back is a showing-and-telling, a volume of reflections of stunning color: raging, gentle, powerful.
Baldwin, Barbara, Margarita Donnelly, editors. Calyx: A Journal of Art and Literature by Women. October 1980 and Summer 1993.
Barash, Susan Shapiro. Tripping the Prom Queen: The Truth About Women and Rivalry.
Tripping the Prom Queen is a groundbreaking investigation into the dark secret of female friendship: rivalry.Susan Shapiro Barash has exploded the myth that women help one another, are supportive of one another, and want each other to succeed. Based on interviews with women across a broad social spectrum, she has discovered that the competition between women is more vicious precisely because it is covert.
Barlas, Asma. "Believing Women" in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an
Does Islam call for the oppression of women? Non-Muslims point to the subjugation of women that occurs in many Muslim countries, especially those that claim to be "Islamic," while many Muslims read the Qur'an in ways that seem to justify sexual oppression, inequality, and patriarchy. Taking a wholly different view, Asma Barlas develops a believer's reading of the Qur'an that demonstrates the radically egalitarian and antipatriarchal nature of its teachings.
Belenky, Mary Field, Lynne Bond, & Jacqueline Weinstock. Tradition That Has No Name
A fascinating study that shows how nurturing community groups can help impoverished, uneducated women to "find their voice" and become articulate and empowered thinkers. Illustrated with poignant and vivid case studies, the book masterfully shows how lives can be forever altered and enhanced through caring community intervention
Belenky, Mary Field, et al. Women’s Ways of Knowing
Despite the progress of the women’s movement, many women still feel silenced in their families and schools. This moving and insightful bestseller, based on in-depth interviews with 135 women, explains why they feel this way.
Brooks, Geraldine. Nine Parts of Desire
As a prizewinning foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, Geraldine Brooks spent six years covering the Middle East through wars, insurrections, and the volcanic upheaval of resurgent fundamentalism. Yet for her, headline events were only the backdrop to a less obvious but more enduring drama: the daily life of Muslim women. Nine Parts of Desire is Brooks’ intrepid journey toward an understanding of the women behind the veils, and of the often-contradictory political, religious, and cultural forces that shape their lives. Defying our stereotypes about the Muslim world, Brooks’ acute analysis of how Islam’s holiest texts have been misused to justify repression of women, and how male pride and power have warped the original message of a once liberating faith.
Chesler, Phyllis. Women’s Inhumanity to Women
Second Wave feminists have for 30-plus years operated under the assumption that sisterhood is powerful. Indeed, women acting in concert have forced society to redefine gender, domestic relations, and the workplace. Still, despite huge gains in public visibility, female ascendance has been hampered by a rarely acknowledged reality: women often betray, hurt, and humiliate one another. Mothers stymie daughters, biological sisters compete, girlfriends gossip maliciously, and women bosses exert arbitrary and capricious authority. Chesler (Women and Madness, etc.) has been studying this phenomenon for 21 years, and her research is fascinating, resonant, and unsettling. While the book focuses on psychological rather than political factors and pays too little attention to race and class, it is nonetheless a groundbreaking look at how women perpetuate oppression. Anthropological, biological, literary, and sociological theories are also tapped, giving the book added heft. Although the text is somewhat repetitious and self-congratulatory, it is highly recommended for all public and academic libraries.
Dodson, Lisa. Don't Call Us Out of Name: The Untold Lives of Women and Girls in Poor America.
For over eight years, Dodson has been documenting the lives of girls and women - hundreds of white, African-American, Latino, Haitian, Irish, and other women in personal interviews, focus groups, surveys, and Life-History Studies. This book is a crossing - a class crossing - taking readers into fellowship with people who are seldom invited to speak but who have powerful stories to tell and who force us to abandon common myths that have been fed to us by the media about school dropouts, teen pregnancy, and welfare "cheats."
Douglass, Susan J. Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media.
An insightful, witty, and well-written analysis of the effects of mass-media on women in late 20th-century American culture. Douglas cuts through the fluff that spews from the tube with a finely-honed sense of the absurd that can forever change (or minimally, inform) how you perceive the changing portrayals of women by the media.
Ehrenreich, Barbara and Deidre English. For Her Own Good
This dense, well-argued classic underscores the need to take expert advice with a shaker of salt. Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English ably show that many experts gleefully hammer recalcitrant souls into a shape acceptable to society, rather than encouraging people to find their own way. The book plunges into 150 years of misbegotten advice to women and questionable insights into feminine nature that have many modern parallels. In the service of better living through science, women have undergone deprivational rest cures that most war rules would disallow, submitted to surgical bludgeoning of ovaries and uterus to quell a list of unladylike behaviors, and humbly followed childcare advice that amounted to abuse
Ehrenreich, Barbara, Arlie Russell Hochschild. Global Woman: Nannies, Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy.
In a remarkable pairing, two renowned social critics offer a groundbreaking anthology that examines the unexplored consequences of globalization on the lives of women worldwide women are moving around the globe as never before. But for every female executive racking up frequent flier miles, there are multitudes of women whose journeys go unnoticed. Each year, millions leave Mexico, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and other third world countries to work in the homes, nurseries, and brothels of the first world. This broad-scale transfer of labor associated with women's traditional roles results in an odd displacement. In the new global calculus, the female energy that flows to wealthy countries is subtracted from poor ones, often to the detriment of the families left behind.
Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed
Millions of Americans work full-time, year-round, for poverty level wages. Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them, inspired in part by the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform, which promised that any job equals a better life. But how can anyone survive, let alone prosper, on six to seven dollars an hour? To find out, Ehrenreich moved from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, taking the cheapest lodgings available and accepting work as a waitress, hotel maid, house cleaner, nursing home aide, and Wal-Mart salesperson. She soon discovered that even the “lowliest” occupations require exhausting mental and physical efforts. And one job is not enough; you need at least two if you intend to live indoors. Nickel and Dimed reveals low-wage America in all its tenacity, anxiety, and surprising generosity – a land of Big Boxes, fast food, and a thousand desperate stratagems for survival. Instantly acclaimed for its insight, humor, and passion, this book is changing the way America perceives its working poor.
Eller, Cynthia. The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory: Why an Invented Past Won't Give Women a Future.
In this lucid and fascinating volume, Eller traces the emergence of feminist matriarchal myth, explicates its functions, and examines the evidence for and against a matriarchal prehistory. Finally, she explains why this vision of peaceful, women-centered prehistory is something feminists should be wary of.
Ensler, Eve. The Good Body (CD- audio book)
Eve leaves no crone unturned, no lass unlabored, no stereotype untouched as she delves into the seriocomic depths of the estrogen-fueled abdomen. Her vocal caricatures are often hilarious, even as they evolve to touching truths about women accepting their bodies as they are--beautiful, flexible, amazing near-miracles.
Faludi, Susan. Backlash
Faludi lays out a two-fold thesis in this aggressive work: First, despite the opinions of pop-psychologists and the mainstream media, career-minded women are generally not husband-starved loners on the verge of nervous breakdowns. Secondly, such beliefs are nothing more than anti-feminist propaganda pumped out by conservative research organizations with clear-cut ulterior motives. This backlash against the women's movement, she writes, "stands the truth boldly on its head and proclaims that the very steps that have elevated women's positions have actually led to their downfall." Meticulously researched, Faludi's contribution to this tumultuous debate is monumental.
Findlen, Barbara, ed. Listen Up: Voices from the Next Feminist Generation
Listen Up offers a unique space for a diverse group of talented, committed young women to explore their ideas and hopes and struggles and places within feminism and within other social change movements. Over the years, it has inspired its readers to do the same.
Gallese, Liz Roman. Women Like Us: What is Happening to the Women of the Harvard Business School, Class of '75-the Women Who Had the First Chance to Make it to the Top.
This book examines six women who completed their education at the Harvard Business School and what has become of them.
Gilligan, Carol. In a Different Voice
Carol Gilligan believes that psychology has persistently and systematically misunderstood women. Repeatedly, developmental theories have been built on observations of men's lives. Here, Gilligan attempts to correct psychology's misperceptions and refocus its view of female personality. The result reshapes our understanding of human experience.
Gross, Ritam. Feminism and Religion: An Introduction.
Rita M. Gross offers an engaging survey of the changes feminism has wrought in religious ideas, beliefs, and practices around the world, as well as in the study and understanding of religion itself.
Hernandez, Daisy and Bushra Rehman. Colonize This! Young Women of Color on Today's Feminism.
Ms. magazine columnist Hernandez and former Muslim poet Rehman, both feminist activists, have assembled a broad collection of essays by young women writers, academics, and activists from a range of cultures and sexual orientations. A few essays have a very specialized focus, describing such experiences as a Chicana with HIV and a Native American woman participating in the typically male War Dance ceremony. More often the contributors look more generally at their lives and families and consider how these experiences have influenced their understanding of feminism.
Hooks, Bell. Feminism is for EVERYBODY: Passionate Politics
Acclaimed cultural critic bell hooks offers and open-hearted and welcoming vision of gender, sexuality, and society in this inspiring and accessible volume. In engaging and provocative style, bell hooks introduces a popular theory of feminism rooted in common sense and wisdom of experience. Hers is a vision of a beloved community that appeals to all those committed to equality, mutual respect, and justice.
Jack, Dana Crowley. Behind the Mask: Destruction and Creativity in Women’s Aggression
Drawing from sixty in-depth interviews, Dana Crowley Jack provides a rich account of how women explain (or explain away) their hidden or actual acts of hurt to others. Arguing that aggression arises from failures in relationships, Jack portrays the many forms aggression can take as women struggle with internal and external demons, reconnect with others, and stand their ground in a society that expects women to be yielding, empathetic, and supportive.
Jervis, Lisa and Andi Zeisler, editors. Bitchfest: 10 Years of Cultural Critism from the Pages of Bitch Magazine.
This often mind-stretching, occasionally predictable and generally entertaining collection of articles from Bitch magazine has something for every feminist, postfeminist and reactionary. Bitch was founded in 1996 in response to "post-feminism" by "freshly minted liberal arts graduates with crappy day jobs and a serious media jones." With refreshing depth, literacy and humor, these essays explore questions surrounding puberty, gender identity, sex, "domestic arrangements," beauty, pop culture and mainstream media, and media literacy/activism.
Jordan, Judith V, et al, editors. Women's Growth in Connection: Writings from the Stone Center
Overly emotional, hysterical, dependent, frivolous, fickle... Why have women been so consistently defined as deficient in maturity, self-mastery, and independence according to the models of human development inspired by male culture? The authors of WOMEN'S GROWTH IN CONNECTION, a sampling of the influential working papers from the Stone Center, Wellesley College, have sought to answer this question by studying developmental theory and reformulating it to reflect women's experience more accurately. These papers, about women's ways of being in the world, frame an innovative relational perspective on women's psychological development. The authors--clinicians, clinical supervisors, and teachers--have been searching for therapeutic models that take into account women's meaning systems, values, and organization of experiences, all of which often revolves around relationships rather than the self.
Kilbourne, Jean. Can't Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel
Many advertisements these days make us feel as if we have an intimate, even passionate relationship with a product. But as Jean Kilbourne points out in this fascinating and shocking exposé, the dreamlike promise of advertising always leaves us hungry for more. We can never be satisfied, because the products we love cannot love us back. Drawing upon her knowledge of psychology, media, and women's issues, Kilbourne offers nothing less than a new understanding of a ubiquitous phenomenon in our culture. The average American is exposed to over 3,000 advertisements a day and watches three years' worth of television ads over the course of a lifetime. Kilbourne paints a gripping portrait of how this barrage of advertising drastically affects young people, especially girls, by offering false promises of rebellion, connection, and control. She also offers a surprising analysis of the way advertising creates and then feeds an addictive mentality that often continues throughout adulthood.
Kraemer, Ross Shepard, Mary Rose D'Angelo. Women and Christian Origins.
Intended as introductory or supplementary, these 14 essays explore recent scholarship concerning women in early Christianity. While providing some new analysis, the essays compiled by Kraemer (Judaic studies, Univ. of Pennsylvania) and D'Angelo (theology, Univ. of Notre Dame) are primarily critical review essays of the issues and approaches to religious studies.
Kreinin, Tamara and Barbara Camens. Girls’ Night Out: Celebrating Women’s Groups Across America
While women’s groups are diverse, their members have a common desire to create sustained bonds with other women. These groups become an anchor and a priority for their members. They create a sense of belonging. We live in an increasingly mobile society, where family is often scattered. When our parents and siblings lived nearby, we could count on them to be present in our day-to-day lives. Women’s groups can provide that sense of family. They mobilize energy and resources, and they lend extra hands. Women’s groups, through their enduring presence, offer a sense of rootedness, a common body of experience and knowledge, a sense of continuity.
Langelan, Martha J. Back Off! How to Confront and Stop Sexual Harassers.
Back Off! is filled with real-life success stories from women who have stopped harassers cold: Sharon, who succeeded in stopping a whole crew of habitual harassers in a city park...Stephanie, a ten-year-old who confronted and escaped a child molester...Catharine and Molly, who stood up to their landlord and stopped him from harassing the tenants...and dozens more. From an eight-year-old who successfully challenged two young harassers on the playground to an organized group of fifty women who confronted a dockworker in response to an attempted rape on the job, here's what they did, how they did it -- and how you can do it, too.
Leadbeater, B. & Way, N. Urban Girls: Resisting Stereotypes, Creating Identities.
Contributors present a portrait of low-income, urban American adolescent girls based on fact rather than stereotype, aiming to fill the gap in research about adolescent girls. They explore girls' attitudes and alternatives in areas such as identity, family and peer relationships, sexuality, health, and career development, often allowing the girls to speak for themselves. For undergraduate and graduate students in psychology, sociology, economics, and women's studies, as well as policymakers.
Levy, Ariel. Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture.
"Meet the Female Chauvinist Pig--the new brand of ""empowered woman"" who wears the Playboy bunny as a talisman, bares all for Girls Gone Wild, pursues casual sex as if it were a sport, and embraces ""raunch culture"" wherever she finds it. If male chauvinist pigs of years past thought of women as pieces of meat, Female Chauvinist Pigs of today are doing them one better, making sex objects of other women--and of themselves. They think they're being brave, they think they're being funny, but in Female Chauvinist Pigs, New York magazine writer Ariel Levy asks if the joke is on them.
Madden, Annette. In Her Footsteps: 101 Remarkable Black Women.
In Her Footsteps portrays the vitality, creativity, and resilience of women of African descent from all around the world. The true-life stories of these daughters of Africa are full of struggle, courage, trial, and triumph. The marvelous women profiled included Ana Quirot, a Cuban runner who overcame life-threatening burns to triumph in the 1996 Olympic games; a Coincoin, a salve from Louisiana who was freed with one son and one acre of land and went on to become a rea estate magnate and cattle rancher; and most famously, Queen Makeda, who is revered in Ethiopian history as the myseterious and beautiful Queen of Sheba. In addition to well-known figures such as author Edwidge Danticat, tennis star Zine Garrison, and entertainer Eartha Kitt, a wide range of unsung, international Black women heroes fills the pages of this inspiring book. In Her Footsteps offers us undeniable proof of the indomitable and passionate force Black women have been in their families, in their communities, and in the world throughout history.
Mah, Madeline Yen. Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter.
The author's memoir of life in mainland China and--after the 1949 revolution--Hong Kong is a gruesome chronicle of nonstop emotional abuse from her wealthy father and his beautiful, cruel second wife. Chinese proverbs scattered throughout the text pithily covey the traditional world view that prompted Adeline's subservience.
Mazel, Ella. "And Don't Call Me a Racist!" A Treasury of Quotes on the Past, Present, and Future of the Color Line in America.
Using quotes across time, class and race, Mazel presents a an uncomfortable look at the divergent ways in which Americans view black / white relations. Most white Americans want to believe that racism is dead, or at least no longer the problem it once was. The sad truth is that racism is alive and well, and is even thriving as we enter the 21st century.
Morgan, Joan. When Chicken-Heads Come Home to Roost: A Hip-Hop Feminist Breaks It Down
In this fresh, funky, and ferociously honest book, award-winning journalist Joan Morgan bravely probes the complex issues facing African-American women in today's world: a world where feminists have not-so-clandestine relationships with the most sexist of men; where women who treasure their independence often prefer men who pick up the tab; and where the deluge of babymothers and babyfathers reminds women who long for marriage that traditional nuclear families are a reality for less than 40 percent of the African-American population.
Morgan, Robin, ed. Sisterhood is Powerful: An Anthology of Writing from the Women’s Liberation Movement
Here is the first comprehensive collection of writings from the Women’s Liberation Movement, including articles, poems, photographs and manifestos. This anthology captures the range of problems being considered by the new feminists, and the variety of approaches to analysis and action.
Nam, Vickie, ed. YELL-Oh Girls!
In this ground-breaking collection of personal writings, young Asian American girls come together for the first time and engage in a dynamic conversation about the unique challenges they face in their lives. Prompted by a variety of pressing questions from editor Vicki Nam and culled from hundreds of submissions from all over the country, these revelatory essays, poems, and stories tackle such complex issues as dual identities, culture clashes, family matters, body image, and the need to find one's voice.
Rossi, Alice S. The Feminist Papers: From Adams to Beauvoir.
A strong set of essays from women and how they have developed as feminists over the years also has explanations of in which societies women are suppressed.
Sanford, Linda Tschirhart and Mary Ellen Donovan. Women and Self-Esteem: Understanding and Improving the Way We Think and Feel About Ourselves.
This is a succinct and comprehensive guide to understanding how self-esteem is developed and how it can be enhanced. The authors examine the impact of developmental, cultural and religious attitudes and of media influences on a woman's ability to accept and appreciate herself. They also offer specific, practical advice on how to address the various difficulties that arise as a result of low self-esteem.
Sharpley-Whiting, T Denean. Pimps Up, Ho's Down: Hip Hop's Hold On Young Black Women.
Pimps Up, Ho's Down pulls at the threads of the intricately knotted issues surrounding young black women and hip hop culture. What unravels for Tracy D. Sharpley-Whiting is a new, and problematic, politics of gender. In this fascinating and forceful book, Sharpley-Whiting, a feminist writer who is a member of the hip hop generation, interrogates the complexities of young black women's engagement with a culture that is masculinist, misogynistic, and frequently mystifying.
Smith, Dorothy E. The Everyday World As Problematic: A Feminist Sociology.
A collection of essays that proposes a method for assessing and analyzing how women and men view contemporary society form their particular vantage points.
Steinem, Gloria. Moving Beyond Words
Readers fascinated by Steinem's exploration of self-esteem in the best-selling Revolution from Within (1991) as well as those who consider that book an unproductive digression are likely to be curious about this collection of new and revised essays. The longest piece, a "reversal" that defends the psychoanalytic theories of "Phyllis" Freud, is demanding (you do need to read those long, chatty footnotes!) but will be instructive for readers who have not followed the latest scholarship on Sigmund.
Steinem, Gloria. Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions
An updated edition of the original 1983 publication features Gloria Steinem's most significant humorous and political essays, including "I Was a Playboy Bunny," "Ruth's Song," and "If Men Could Menstruate."
Steinem, Gloria. Revolution from Within
In the wake of such feminist calls-to-arms as Susan Faludi's Backlash (p. 1133), Paula Kamen's Feminist Fatale (p. 1137), and Naomi Wolf's The Beauty Myth (p. 389), Steinem's inwardly turned examination of how men and women sabotage themselves by suppressing the “child within” appears decidedly retro. Nevertheless, her reflections on her own and others' spiritual struggles may give a new generation of activists pause for further reflection.
Tavris Carol. The Mismeasure of Women
When "man is the measure of all things," woman is forever trying to measure up. In this enlightening book, Carol Tavris unmasks the widespread but invisible custom -- pervasive in the social sciences, medicine, law, and history -- of treating men as the normal standard, women as abnormal. Tavris expands our vision of normalcy by illuminating the similarities between women and men and showing that the real differences lie not in gender, but in power, resources, and life experiences.
Taylor, J., Gilligan, C., & Sullivan, A. Between Voice and Silence: Women and Girls, Race and Relationship.
The authors sought a key to the relationship between risk, resistance, and girls' psychological development and health. In Between Voice and Silence, they explore the cultural differences that affect girls' coming of age in this country and reveal an intergenerational struggle to develop relationships between and among women to hold and respect difference
Thom, Mary (editor). Letters to Ms. 1972-1987.
A compendium of letters from readers who ever since the premier issue of Ms. in 1972, have deluged the magazine with mail. Writers share their personal stories, criticize, voice their support, share political alerts and provide helpful facts of interest to women. These are more than merely a collection of interesting letters -- taken together they are the voice of women, the voice of an era -- and therefore a part of history.
Thompson, Becky. A Promise and a Way of Life: White Antiracist Activism
Not since the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, when many white college students went south to fight against Jim Crow laws, has white antiracist activity held the public's attention. Yet there have always been white people involved in fighting racism. In this passionate work, Becky Thompson looks at white Americans who have struggled against racism, offering examples of both successes and failures, inspirations, practical philosophies, and a way ahead.
Valenti, Jessica. He's a Stud, She's a Slut and 49 Other Double Standards Every Woman Should Know.
Double standards are nothing new. Women deal with them every day. Take the common truism that women who sleep around are sluts while men are studs. Why is it that men grow distinguished and sexily gray as they age while women just get saggy and haggard? Have you ever wondered how a young woman is supposed to both virginal and provocatively enticing at the same time? Isn’t it unfair that working moms are labeled bad for focusing on their careers while we shake our heads in disbelief when we hear about the occasional stay-at-home dad?
Walker, Alice. In Search of Our Mother's Gardens: Womanist Prose.
In this, her first collection of nonfiction, Alice Walker speaks out as a black woman, writer, mother, and feminist in thirty-six pieces ranging from the personal to the political. Among the contents are essays about other writers, accounts of the civil rights movement of the 1960s and the antinuclear movement of the 1980s, and a vivid memoir of a scarring childhood injury and her daughter's healing words.
Walker, Rebecca. Black, White and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self
The Civil Rights movement brought author Alice Walker and lawyer Mel Leventhal together, and in 1969 their daughter, Rebecca, was born. Some saw this unusual copper-colored girl as an outrage or an oddity; others viewed her as a symbol of harmony, a triumph of love over hate. But after her parents divorced, leaving her a lonely only child ferrying between two worlds that only seemed to grow further apart, Rebecca was no longer sure what she represented – or even who she was. In this book, Rebecca Leventhal Walker attempts to define herself as a soul instead of a symbol – and offers a new look at the challenge of personal identity, in a story at once strikingly unique and truly universal.
Watrous, Angela (editor). Bare Your Soul: The Thinking Girl's Guide to Enlightenment.
Whether raised within a specific belief system or warned against all things religious, young women today have been left with questions that dating guides and pop feminist theory cannot answer. This collection answers the call a handbook for the soul that offers the wisdom and validation of how a variety of women negotiate an empowering spiritual existence in a pop-culture world. In Bare Your Soul, women of all backgrounds and traditions share how investigating questions of spirituality affects their lives and their identities. It is a provocative look at the ways in which young women of today both celebrate and repudiate religion and, ultimately, find answers that fit.
Wilson, Marie C. Closing the Leadership Gap
This book is a call to action to increase the presence of women in powerful leadership positions in our country - in politics as well as business. Marie C. Wilson, a leading women's advocate and founder of The White House Project, argues that even as our nation sits on a world spinning with crises, we have barely begun to tap our most critical natural resource - women.
Wolf, Naomi. Fire with Fire: The New Female Power and How it Will Change the 21st Century.
In "The Beauty Myth", Naomi Wolf sought to change the way in which women see themselves in relation to their bodies. Now she focuses on how they see themselves in relation to power. She argues that the feminist movement has to change if it is to speak to a new generation of women, and that, even as women are gaining more ground than ever before, a wariness of feminist orthodoxies keeps them away from the only movement capable of putting political clout behind their personal success. The book represents a call to women to throw off centuries of conditioning about the relationship between power and femininity.
Brown, L. & Gilligan, C. Meeting at the Crossroads: Women's Psychology and Girls' Development
Lyn Mikel Brown and Carol Gilligan ask, "What, on the way to womanhood, does a girl give up?" One hundred girls gave voice to what is rarely spoken and often ignored: that the passage out of girlhood is a journey into silence and disconnection, a troubled crossing when a girl loses a firm sense of self and becomes tentative and unsure. These changes mark the end of adolescence as a watershed in women's psychological development and the stories the girls tell are by turns heartrending and courageous. Listening to these girls provides us with the means of reaching out to them at this critical time, and of better understanding what we as women and men may have left behind at our own crossroads.
Carlip, H. Girl Power: Young Women Speak Out: Personal Writings from Teenage Girls
In this extraordinary book you will discover the secrets and deepest needs of girls from all across the country – the thoughts, the fears, and the dreams of girls between the ages of thirteen and nineteen. You will hear from teen mothers and beauty queens, girl rappers and farm girls, surfers and sorority sisters. Theirs are voices that have too long gone unheard and unheeded, silenced and ignored. And now in this stunning collection they dare to reveal the things that will change your preconceptions and touch your heart.
Chesney-Lind, Meda and Katherine Irwin. Beyond Bad Girls: Gender, Violence and Hype
In this important new work, two respected criminologists challenge the characterization of the new 'bad girl' arguing that it is only a new attempt to punish girls who are not the stereotypical depiction of good. Through interviews with young women, educators and people in the criminal justice system, Beyond Bad Girls exposes the formal and informal systems of socio-cultural control imposed on girls.
Edut, Ophira. Adios Barbie: Young Women Write About Body Image and Identity
Adios Barbie collects a wide range of essays that give collective voice to the first feminist generation to consciously repudiate the dominant beauty standard in order to feel at home in their bodies. Writers like Nomy Lamm and Lisa Jervis explore new paradigms of women who use their bodies as symbols of power, sites of resistance, and mediums of expression.
Fevereisen, Patti. Invisible Girls: The Truth About Sexual Abuse.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, one out of four girls will have experienced sexual abuse by the time she is 16 and 48 percent of all rapes involve a victim under the age of 18. Yet there is tremendous denial about the scope and cultural impact of this epidemic of violence against young girls and women. Dr. Patti Feuereisen has been working with teenage girls for 25 years and has been a pioneer in helping abused girls find their voices. What she discovered in listening to hundreds of girls was not only that sexual abuse of young girls is in fact epidemic but that if the abuse can be processed when girls are still young-in their teens and early twenties-remarkable healing can take place. Girls and young women who are given an opportunity to speak out will most often go on to thrive as adults; without such an opportunity the traumatic effects of their abuse will often continue to cause them difficulty long into adulthood. Invisible Girls weaves together powerful first-person narratives with gentle guidance and seasoned insights-giving every young woman who struggles with the scars of sexual abuse the courage to come out from behind the veil of secrecy and become vibrant, healthy, and whole.
Filipovic, Zlata. A Child's Life in Sarajevo.
A graphic firsthand look at the war in Sarajevo by a Croatian girl whose personal world has collapsed, this vivid, sensitive diary sounds an urgent and compelling appeal for peace. Filipovic begins her precocious journal in autumn 1991 as a contented 10-year-old preoccupied with piano and tennis lessons and saturated with American movies, TV shows, books and rock music. Soon the bombs start falling; her friends are killed by shrapnel or snipers' bullets; her family's country house burns down, and they subsist on UN food packages, without gas, electricity or water, as thousands of Sarajevans die. Filipovic, whose circle of friends included Serbs, Croats and Muslims, blames the former Yugoslavia's politicians for dividing ethnic groups and playing hell with people's lives.
Gilligan, Carol et al. Making Connections.
Adolescent girls' special needs in the teen-age years are thoroughly examined in this compelling book focusing on the resistance stage of development in young girls. Drawing on studies of women's and girl's development, clinical work with girls and women, and their personal experiences, the voices of adolescent girls are used to reframe and greater understand their resistance against debilitating conventions of feminine behavior.
Glickman, Rose. Daughters of Feminists
Filled with personal anecdotes that will engage mothers, daughter, and anyone concerned with the progress of feminism in today’s social climate, Daughters of Feminists explores the experience of women directly influenced by mothers who worked hard toward equality and the transformation of the home, the workplace, and the world at large.
Hampshire College Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program. Young Women’s Voices
A collection of writings documenting our personal stories, our struggles, our fears, our anger, and our fight for reproductive rights.
Hancock, Emily. The Girl Within: A Groundbreaking New Approach to Female Identity.
Adolescent girls' special needs in the teen-age years are thoroughly examined in this compelling book focusing on the resistance stage of development in young girls. Drawing on studies of women's and girl's development, clinical work with girls and women, and their personal experiences, the voices of adolescent girls are used to reframe and greater understand their resistance against debilitating conventions of feminine behavior.
Inness, Sherrie, Ed. Millennium Girls: Today’s Girls Around the World
Riding the wave of a booming girl culture worldwide, this collection of girls' voices across the globe invites us to learn more about varied girlhoods. From coming-of-age rituals in South Africa to the impact of computers and popular magazines on girls in Japan and Germany, Millennium Girls offers us a broader vision of global girlhood.
Jacob, Iris. My Sisters’ Voices: Teenage Girls of Color Speak Out
Jacob solicited works from teens across the country, writing thousands of letters to friends, English teachers and social organizations. The result is a stirring collection of essays and poems detailing the coming-of-age experiences of a diverse group of young women identified by name, age and ethnicity. Jacob and company tackle such issues as interracial friendships, poverty, oppression and family. With her personal reflections inserted before each piece, Jacob exhibits empathy with the writers, revealing rage when presenting African-American Brooke Wilson's harangue against female objectification, and later joining Chinese/Italian Alicia Mazzara in displaying defiance when forced to choose one race over another in the biographical information section of standardized forms. Some of the writings are more race-oriented than others (e.g., Shivani Agarwal's heartbreaking story of first love does not mention ethnicity, and some contributors are listed as "African American," while others are simply "Black"), but all are important and will resonate with teens and their parents, teachers and mentors.
Johnson, Norine, Michael Roberts & Judith Worell. Beyond Appearance A New Look at Adolescent Girls
Boston Univ., MA. Presents a balanced view of adolescent girls, emphasizing their strengths and weaknesses. Reviews research on girls from a variety of ethnic, racial, socioeconomic backgrounds, and ages. Explores gender roles, body image, family and peer relationships, sexual decision-making, and experiences at school and in the community. For researchers and practitioners.
Johnston, Andrea. Girls Speak Out: Finding Your True Self
In Girls Speak Out, educator Andrea Johnston looks at girls throughout history, questions taboos about gender, and provides a step-by-step guide to helps girls explore issues crucial to their sense of self. In essence, she challenges girls to take control of their own lives and to create a world that cherishes each person. With poetry and stories from girls of all social strata who have participated in the Girls Speak Out program, excerpts from the work of women writers such as Alice Walker and Sandra Cisneros, and transcripts from the “talk shows” that Johnston and her Girls Speak Out groups have staged, this book is a blueprint for change.
Lamb, Sharon and Lyn Mikel Brown. Packaging Girlhood: Rescuing Our Daughters from Marketers's Schemes
The stereotype-laden message, delivered through clothes, music, books, and TV, is essentially a continuous plea for girls to put their energies into beauty products, shopping, fashion, and boys. This constant marketing, cheapening of relationships, absence of good women role models, and stereotyping and sexualization of girls is something that parents need to first understand before they can take action.Lamb and Brown teach parents how to understand these influences, give them guidance on how to talk to their daughters about these negative images, and provide the tools to help girls make positive choices about the way they are in the world.In the tradition of books like Reviving Ophelia, Odd Girl Out, Queen Bees and Wannabees that examine the world of girls, this book promises to not only spark debate but help parents to help their daughters.
Lecroy, Craig Winston and Daley, Janice. Empowering Adolescent Girls: Examining the Present and Building Skills for the Future with the Go Grrrls Program
A method to help adolescent girls in today's culture successfully navigate the transition to adulthood. Mary Pipher's Reviving Ophelia awakened us to the need for gender-specific programs tailored to the unique issues girls face. In this book, LeCroy and Daley outline the issues, review the research, and offer specific strategies for working with adolescent girls.
Linn, Susan. Consuming Kids: The Hostile Takeover Of Childhood
In Consuming Kids, psychologist Susan Linn takes a comprehensive and unsparing look at the demographic advertisers call “the kid market, “ taking readers on a compelling and disconcerting journey through modern childhood as envisioned by commercial interests. Children are now the focus of a marketing maelstrom, targets for everything from minivans to M&M counting books. All aspects of children’s live – their health, education, creativity, and values – are at risk of being compromised by their status in marketplace.
Mann, Judy. The Difference: Discovering the Hidden Ways We Silence Girls, Finding Alternatives That Can Give Them Voice
A journalist surveys a wide range of scientific research and popular culture to reveal the roots of low self-esteem in girls and offers practical suggestions to parents and society for raising girls to an equal status with boys.
Orenstein, P. School Girls: Young Women, Self-Esteem, and the Confidence Gap
The classic account of the hurdles facing adolescent girls in America. Inspired by a study by the American Association of University Women that showed girls' self-esteem plummeting as they reach adolescence, Peggy Orenstein spent months observing, interviewing, and getting know dozens of girls both inside and outside the classroom
Pipher, M. Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls
Why are American adolescent girls falling prey to depression, eating disorders, and suicide attempts at an alarming rate? The answer hit a nerve. We live in a look-obsessed, sexist “girl-poisoning” culture. And despite the advances of feminism, girls continue to struggle to find their true selves. Here are girls’ unmuted voices from the front lines of adolescence, personal and painfully honest. By laying bare their harsh day-to-day reality, Reviving Ophelia issues a call to arms and offers parents compassion, strength, and strategies with which to revive these Ophelias’ lost sense of self.
Schor, Juliet B. Born to Buy
Marketing targeted at kids is virtually everywhere--in classrooms and textbooks, on the Internet, even at Girl Scout meetings, slumber parties, and the playground. Product placement and other innovations have introduced more subtle advertising to movies and television. Drawing on her own survey reserch and unprecedented access to the advertising industry, Juliet B. Schor, New York Times bestselling author of The Overworked American, examines how marketing efforts of vast size, scope, and effectiveness have created "commercialized children." Ads and their messages about sex, drugs, and food affect not just what children want to buy, but who they think they are. In this groundbreaking and crucial book, Schor looks at the consequences of the commercialization of childhood and provides guidelines for parents and teachers. What is at stake is the emotional and social well-being of our children.
Sewell, Michelle. Growing Up Girl: An Anthology of Voices from Marginalized Spaces.
Growing Up Girl is an eclectic collection of poems, essays, and short stories that document the transition from girl to woman, as told by the girls and women who know the journey best. Whether she's coming undone or coming out the writing is authentic and passionate.
Shandler, Sara. Ophelia Speaks
Ophelia Speaks by Sara Shandler is a clever response to Mary Pipher's best-selling Reviving Ophelia. Shandler reveals telling portraits of teenage girls in this book, a compilation of essays, poems, and true-grit commentary from a cross section of teenage girls (or Ophelias), throughout the country. The book succeeds because it gives voice to their deepest concerns and their too-often frenzied lives. Because she's a college student, Shandler considers herself a peer of these adolescent girls, able to tap into their collective consciousness.
Simmons, Rachel. The Curse of the Good Girl: Raising Authentic Girls with Courage and Confidence.
In The Curse of the Good Girl, bestselling author Rachel Simmons argues that in lionizing the Good Girl we are teaching girls to embrace a version of selfhood that sharply curtails their power and potential. Unerringly nice, polite, modest, and selfless, the Good Girl is a paradigm so narrowly defined that it's unachievable. When girls inevitably fail to live up--experiencing conflicts with peers, making mistakes in the classroom or on the playing field--the are paralyzed by self-criticism, stunting the growth of vital skills and habits. Simmons traces the poisonous impact of Good Girl pressure on development and provides a strategy to reverse the tide. At once expository and prescriptive, The Curse of the Good Girl is a call to arms from a new front in female empowerment.
Simmons, Rachel. Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls.
Although more than 16 years have passed, Rhodes Scholar Simmons hasn't forgotten how she felt when Abby told the other girls in third grade not to play with her, nor has she stopped thinking about her own role in giving Noa the silent treatment. Simmons examines how such "alternative aggression" where girls use their relationship with the victim as a weapon flourishes and its harmful effects. Through interviews with more than 300 girls in 10 schools (in two urban areas and a small town), as well as well as 50 women who experienced alternative aggression when they were young, Simmons offers a detailed portrait of girls' bullying. Citing the work of Carol Gilligan and Lyn Mikel Brown, she shows the toll that alternative aggression can take on girls' self-esteem.
Simmons, Rachel. Odd Girl Out: Girls Write About Bullies, Cliques, Popularity, and Jealousy.
The national bestseller Odd Girl Out exposed a hidden culture of cruelty that had always been quietly endured by American girls. As Rachel Simmons toured the country, these girls found their voices and spoke to her about their pain. They wanted to talk-and they weren't the only ones. Mothers, teachers, counselors, young professional women, even fathers, came to Rachel with heart-wrenching personal stories that could no longer be kept secret.
Here, Rachel creates a safe place for girls to talk, rant, sound off, and find each other. The result is a collection of wonderful accounts of the inner lives of adolescent girls. Candid and disarming, creative and expressive, and always exceptionally self-aware, these poems, songs, confessions, and essays form a journal of American girlhood. They show us how deeply cruelty flows and how strongly these girls want to change.
Allen, Paula Gunn. Spider Woman's Grandaughters: Traditional Tales and Contemporary Writing by Native American Women.
These 24 compelling and bleakly evocative narratives compiled by Allen, a professor of Native American studies at the University of California, all stress the theme of loss: loss of identity, loss of culture, loss of personal meaning. By juxtaposing traditional stories with contemporary tales, Allen allows readers to see how the same themes, values and perceptions have endured through the centuries, "testaments to cultural persistence, to a vision and a spiritual reality that will not die." Echoes of the traditional "Oshkikwe's Baby," about an old witch who steals babies, can be found in two stories.
Angelou, Maya. A Song Flung Up to Heaven
It is 1964 and Maya Angelou is on her way back home, leaving behind her beloved - and now seriously teenage - son Guy, to finish university in Ghana. America is pulsing with the challenge of change, the civil rights movement is in full swing and that's where Maya Angelou wants to be, working alongside her friends Malcolm X and Martin Luther King. In this marvellous account, Maya Angelou provides, with her customary wisdom, compassion and wit, a first-hand record of an extraordinarily exciting and tragic political period. She writes of 'Jimmy' Baldwin, Eldridge Cleaver, and of friends and family, and finishes with the beginnings of her career as one of America's most impressive memoir writers.
Angelou, Maya. The Heart of a Woman
In the fourth volume of her highly acclaimed autobiography, Maya Angelou continues one of the most remarkable--and inspiring--personal narratives of our age.
Blanton, DeAnne and Lauren M. Cook. They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the American Civil War.
Exhaustively researched by the authors and their formidable team of research assistants, They Fought Like Demons is both an excellent read and an innovative, significant contribution to Civil War scholarship. DeAnne Blanton and Lauren M. Cook have documented 250 cases of "distaff" soldiers--namely, women who disguised as and fought as men--and the book demonstrates beyond a shadow of doubt that these female soldiers displayed martial skill and valor on the battlefield and therefore deserve a share of the respect and honor that Americans have bestowed on male veterans of the Civil War.
Blythe, Myrna (editor). 100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century.
100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century is a gift book, with photographs and short essays on influential women around the world, ranging from writers and scientists to politicians and athletes, and from progressive figures like Oprah Winfrey and Eleanor Roosevelt to reactionaries like anti-feminist Phyllis Schafly and ruthless Madame Mao (Jiang Qing). Although the essays on even the most famous figures, such as Billie Jean King or Princess Diana, are well-written and interesting, the best thing about this book is that it calls to mind wonderful women whose names have lost their currency, among them Jane Addams, who cofounded Chicago's Hull House and was vitally involved in the formation of the ACLU, and Carrie Chapman Catt, who formed the League of Women Voters.
Bolden, Tonya, ed. 33 Things Every Girl Should Know About Women’s History
Here’s the perfect book for anyone interested in learning more about girls and women in the United States from the 18th century to the present. Featuring contributions from a wide variety of women, including well-known nonfiction writers, a children’s librarian, historians, and many more, this latest addition to the 33 Things series provides an engaging, inspiring, informative look at the role women have played in shaping American history.
Bundles, A'Lelia. On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker.
Drawn from more than two decades of exhaustive research by A'Lelia Bundles, Walker's great-great-granddaughter, the book is enriched by the author's exclusive access to personal letters, records, and never-before-seen photographs from the family collection. Bundles reveals surprising insights into Walker's rise to the top of international business, dispels many misconceptions, and showcases Walker's complex relationship with her daughter, a celebrated hostess of the Harlem Renaissance, and renowned friend and patron to both Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston.
Carey, Alice. I'll Know It When I See It: A Daughter's Search for Home in Ireland.
The only child of poor Irish immigrants, Alice Carey's isolated childhood in a cold-water flat in Queens is transformed when her mother becomes maid to legendary Broadway producer Jean Dalrymple. In Ms. Dalrymple's Upper East Side townhouse, young Alice absorbs with delight a sophisticated theatrical culture that includes such notables as Jed Harris and Marilyn Monroe. Then, a visit to Ireland with her mother thrusts young Alice into another novel culture, one that simultaneously enchants and traumatizes her. When Alice returns to Ireland as an adult, she and her husband serendipitously find and fall in love with a ruined Georgian farmhouse. As they begin to convert the stables into a livable cottage, Alice unearths buried memories of a childhood played out in wildly divergent homes.
Chessler, Ellen. Woman of Valor.
Ellen Chesler's 1992 biography of Margaret Sanger is acclaimed as definitive and is widely used and cited by scholars and activists alike in the fields of women's health and reproductive rights. Chesler's substantive new Afterword considers how Sanger's life and work hold up in light of subsequent developments, such as U.S. Supreme Court cases challenging the constitutional doctrine of privacy and international definitions of reproductive health as an essential human right.
Chin-Lee, Cynthia. Amelia to Zora: Twenty-Six Women Who Changed the World.
Grade 4-7. An introduction to 26 diverse, 20th-century women who have made a difference in such varied fields as the arts, sports, journalism, science, and entertainment. The entries include Dolores Huerta, Frida Kahlo, Lena Horne, Maya Lin, and Patricia Schroeder. Determination, imagination, perseverance, and strength are what bind them together. Entries are arranged alphabetically by first name; each woman is featured on a full page that includes a two-paragraph introduction, a quote, and striking mixed-media art that illustrates the essence of the person.
Clinton, Hillary Rodham. Living History
Hillary Rodham Clinton is known to millions of people around the world. Yet few beyond her close friends and family have ever heard her account of her extraordinary journey. She writes with candor, humor and passion about her upbringing in suburban, middle-class America in the 1950s and her transformation from Goldwater Girl to student activist to controversial First Lady. Living History is her revealing memoir of life through the White House years.
Conway, Jill Ker. Written by Herself: Autobiographies of American Women: An Anthology.
The autobiographies in this collection are by women of extraordinary achievement--some well known, some neglected through the generations--who overcame daunting obstacles to pursue their individual destinies in an often hostile, changing America. The narratives, chosen and edited by historian Conway, a former president of Smith College, are grouped into the areas of freedom-fighting, science, arts and letters, and social reform.
DuBois, Ellen Carol. Through Women's Eyes: An American History with Documents.
The first textbook for the survey course in American women’s history to combine a compelling narrative with a wide array of written and visual primary sources, Through Women’s Eyes: An American History is also the first to integrate women’s history into U.S. history while ensuring a balanced sense of the broad diversity of American women. Modeling for students how historians gather and interpret evidence, DuBois and Dumenil provide a textbook rooted in recent scholarship yet accessible to all introductory students.
Edgerly, Lois Stiles. Give Her This Day: A Daybook of Women’s Words
A unique compilation about nearly every subject under the sun, Give Her this Day is arranged in daybook format, with each day containing a piece of writing by a woman born on that day. A variety of subjects are covered: from relations of the sexes to peace and social justice; from a gathering of saints to Washington gossip; from crossing the Continental Divide to being presented to the Queen of England. Photographs of over 125 of the women are included, along with insightful biographies compiled by Lois Edgerly.
Ehrenreich, Barbara and Deirdre English. For Her Own Good: 150 Years of Advice to Women.
This dense, well-argued classic underscores the need to take expert advice with a shaker of salt. Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English ably show that many experts gleefully hammer recalcitrant souls into a shape acceptable to society, rather than encouraging people to find their own way. The book plunges into 150 years of misbegotten advice to women and questionable insights into feminine nature that have many modern parallels. In the service of better living through science, women have undergone deprivational rest cures that most war rules would disallow, submitted to surgical bludgeoning of ovaries and uterus to quell a list of unladylike behaviors, and humbly followed childcare advice that amounted to abuse.
Gage, Carolyn. Like There's No Tomorrow: Meditations for Women Leaving Patriarchy.
Like There's No Tomorrow: Meditations For Women Leaving Patriarchy is an anthology of women's emancipation quips, quotes and stories that are humorous, easy-to-read, inspirational mini-lectures, composing a kind of thumbnail tour of women's history -- as told by women. The profusion of quotations are written with a light touch, but a deep politic, and the woman who finds "one day at a time" a formula for despair will rejoice that, finally, there is a meditation book written for those in search of radical healing. Like There's No Tomorrow offers a compendium of "hot role models", cool strategies, suspenseful stories, and genuine words-of-wisdom perfect for women's issues study groups or personal reflections in a quiet corner.
Gates, Henry Louis Jr. The Trials of Phillis Wheatley: America's First Black Poet and Her Encounters With the Founding Fathers.
The slave Phillis Wheatley literally wrote her way to freedom when, in 1773, she became the first person of African descent to publish a book of poems in the English language. The toast of London, lauded by Europeans as diverse as Voltaire and Gibbon, Wheatley was for a time the most famous black woman in the West.
Gorn, Elliott J. Mother Jones: The Most Dangerous Woman in America.
This highly engaging biography (the first since 1974) charts the life and work of one of the U.S.'s most important and captivating political figures. Born into an impoverished Irish family in County Cork in 1837, she immigrated to North America at age 15. After working as a seamstress and teacher, Harris married George Jones, a member of the International Iron Molders Union. At 30 she was widowed when her husband and four young children died in a yellow fever epidemic. Caught up in the mid-century's roiling labor and social upheavals, Jones threw herself into the political fray. Speaking tirelessly and effectively for the rights of workers and unionists--often using bold, flagrantly rhetorical and poetic metaphors--"Mother" Jones reached the height of her fame and influence by 1913 when, in her 70s, she campaigned for the United Mine Workers in West Virginia, where she was arrested for conspiracy to commit murder (she had urged striking minors to protect their families against the military brought in to break the strike).
Gruber, Ruth. Haven.
A poignant, true-life story of a woman ahead of her time, willing to risk her life and put herself in danger to save refugees. Gripping retelling by Ms. Gruber, who shepharded nearly 1000 refugees from Italy on the Liberty ship, the Henry Gibbons. Afterward, the refugees set up at a camp called Camp Oswego, near Lake Ontario in New York.
Height, Dorothy. Open Wide the Freedom Gates: A Memoir
Dorothy Height marched at major civil rights rallies, sat through tense White House meetings, and witnessed every significant victory in the struggle for racial equality. Yet as that sole woman among powerful, charismatic men, and as someone whose personal ambition was always secondary to her passion for her cause, she has received little mainstream recognition – until now.
Hepburn, Katharine. Me: Stories of My Life.
Admired and beloved by movie audiences for over sixty years, four-time Academy Award-winner Katharine Hepburn is an American classic. Now Ms. Hepburn breaks her long-kept silence about her private life in this absorbing and provocative memoir.
Hill, Frances. A Delusion of Satan: The Full Story of the Salem Witch Trials.
Almost everyone knows something about the infamous Salem witch trials, but few are privy to the chilling details that Hill, a British novelist and journalist turned scholar, reveals in her superb and boldly analytical study. Hill documents every grim particular of this travesty of justice and terrifying example of the power of suggestion, from the very first accusations to the last brutal executions. As Hill tells the all but unbelievable tale about how a group of girls accused innocent women from all walks of life of practicing witchcraft, thus instigating a year of mass hysteria and causing the death of 25 people, she emphasizes the harshness, sterility, and repressiveness of seventeenth-century New England Puritan life.
Hoose, Phillip. We Were There, Too! Young People in U.S. History
From the boys who sailed with Columbus to today's young activists, this unique book brings to life the contributions of young people throughout American history. Based on primary sources and including 160 authentic images, this handsome oversized volume highlights the fascinating stories of more than 70 young people from diverse cultures. Young readers will be hooked into history as they meet individuals their own age who were caught up in our country's most dramatic moments-Olaudah Equiano, kidnapped from his village in western Africa and forced into slavery, Anyokah, who helped her father create a written Cherokee language, Johnny Clem, the nine-year-old drummer boy who became a Civil War hero, and Jessica Govea, a teenager who risked joining Cesar Chavez's fight for a better life for farm workers. Throughout, Philip Hoose's own lively, knowledgeable voice provides a rich historical context-making this not only a great reference-but a great read.
Jones, Dorothy Holder and Ruth Sexton Sargent. The Original Biography of Abbie Burgess: Lighthouse Heroine.
Born in Maine in 1839 and with a limited education, Abbie tended the lights faithfully for most of her life. One week after her father received his appointment as lighthouse keeper at Matinicus Rock, Abbie inherited the lamps. Her career as a lighthouse keeper spanned 38 years and saw her work at Matinicus and White Head Light Stations. Abbie was a heroine upon several occasions. She risked her safety and well being for the sake of her family and "those that go down to the sea ships."
Kaplan, Carla. Zora Neale Hurston: A Life in Letters.
Whatever happened to Zora Neale Hurston? In the 1930s her stories, novels, folklore studies, and plays were all over the bestseller lists. By the '60s she was forgotten--a reversal of fortune captured in the extraordinary collection Zora Neale Hurston: A Life in Letters.Why did Hurston's star fade? Simple weariness, her correspondence suggests. She was happier, it seems, tilling her Florida garden than revealing her soul to the world. She was also not shy of crossing swords with the likes of W.E.B. Du Bois and Langston Hughes, and in a time of growing militancy and the awakening civil rights movement Hurston became increasingly conservative, developing political stances that, editor Kaplan writes, "have often baffled her admirers." Hurston developed a pen-stilling, probably ungrounded suspicion that anything she wrote would be stolen by other writers, who would "then hate me for being alive to make their pretensions out a lie. And then take all kinds of steps to head me off."Having enjoyed early fame, Hurston died alone and in poverty. This well-assembled and very welcome book traces her sad path, and it adds much to our understanding of the once-neglected writer.
Keenan, Shelia. Scholastic Encyclopedia of Women in the United States.
Anne Bradstreet, Pocahontas, Lucretia Mott, Nellie Bly, Isadora Duncan, Amelia Earhart, Dr. Karen Horney, Marilyn Monroe, Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Rodham Clinton... these are women who, over the last 400 years, have helped shape the United States. Packed with intriguing photos and illustrations, this big, glorious volume chronicles and celebrates the lives and achievements of more than 250 American women for the benefit of tomorrow's history-makers.
Lane, Ann J. To "Herland" and Beyond: The Life and Work of Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
Lane illuminates the life and philosophy of feminist Gilman (1860-1935), whose story "The Yellow Wallpaper" reflected a personal experience with depression; we learn of Gilman's friends and family, her international recognition as a theorist and social commentator, and her belief in women's rights to full equality and autonomy.
Larson, Kate Clifford. Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of An American Hero.
Araminta Ross, better known as Harriet Tubman, was born a slave in 1822 on Maryland's Eastern Shore. In 1849, after hearing that she might be sold to settle her late master's debt, she escaped and began a life of sacrifice to help others escape as well. But Tubman's efforts didn't stop there. She played a vital role in the events of the Civil War and, in her later years, supported the fight for women's rights. Until the end of her life, she fought against the bigotry and injustice faced daily by African Americans. Using a clear writing style, Larson does an excellent job of placing Tubman in the context of her times.
León, Vicki. Outrageous Women of Ancient Times.
Astonishing true tales of the most amazing women in history They were bright and bold, outspoken and inspiring, daring and even dangerous. They were the incredible, courageous, and totally Outrageous Women of Ancient Times. These remarkable women rocked the world with their accomplishments--and their attitude!
León, Vicki. Outrageous Women of the Middle Ages
Astonishing true tales of the most amazing women in history They were bright and bold, outspoken and inspiring, daring and even dangerous. They were the incredible, courageous, and totally Outrageous Women of Ancient Times. These remarkable women rocked the world with their accomplishments--and their attitude!
León, Vicki. Uppity Women of Medieval Times
Vicki León, tireless explorer of the past, has gathered a treasure of information from sources written, etched, carved and painted, to reconstruct the lives of wild women who wouldn’t keep their places. From Queen Elizabeth to Joan of Arc, from Artemisia Gentileschi to Damia al-Kahina, this collection of medieval women who took history into their own hands will mesmerize, amuse, and inspire you.
Lipsitz, George. Rainbow at Midnight: Labor and Culture in the 1940's.
Rainbow at Midnight details the origins and evolution of working-class strategies for independence during and after World War II. Arguing that the 1940s may well have been the most revolutionary decade in U.S. history, George Lipsitz combines popular culture, politics, economics, and history to show how war mobilization transformed the working class and how that transformation brought issues of race, gender, and democracy to the forefront of American political culture.
Lorde, Audre. Zami: A New Spelling of My Name.
A 1982 autobiography by African American poet Audre Lorde. It started a new genre that the author calls biomythography. This is a story of a Black homosexual woman discovering herself in a racist, homophobic American society. This is a story of a person surviving.
Lunardini, Christine, Ph.D. What Every American Should Know About Women’s History
While women have made dramatic progress in their struggle for equality in American society, the key episodes and personalities of this historic moment have too often gone unrecognized or faded into obscurity. Whether the issue is work, family life, social reform, or the struggle or equal rights, these stories offer compelling insights into the lives of the women who have shaped our destiny.
Lupton, Ellen. Mechanical Brides: Women and Machines From Home to Office
This book considers a design history from the perspective of female users and consumers. The telephone, typewrite, washing machine, and electric iron have been central to the definition of ‘women’s work’ in 20th century America. Cultural ideas about the ambitions of women are reflected by the ways appliances have been designed, marketed, used, and imagined.
Markham, Beryl. West With the Night
West With the Night is a true story about the travels of a female pilot. With the skill of someone who has filled long nights with stories, Markham recounts her adventures – discoveries, rescues, and narrow escapes, the glint of an airplane abandoned in the desert, the look of a lion about to pounce…much more than a pilot’s log, West With the Night is a wise, funny, and inspiring exploration of a life well lived. In the 1930s Beryl Markham worked as an African bush pilot, then in September of 1936 she became the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic from East to West.
McLean, Jacqueline. Profiles: Women with Wings
Women with Wings looks at the history of aviation as it is encapsulated in the lives of an extraordinary group of women who flew during the pioneering days of flight. For some, the peace and beauty they experienced in the air were compelling reasons to fly. For others, flying represented freedom, a way to assert their autonomy. Some women were driven by the need to prove their equality with men, while others were lured by the promise of undiscovered frontiers. Flying is about all of these things, but for the early women aviators and many women flying today, it has been about perseverance and strength of character. As pilot Judith Chisholm has said, “All it takes is determination, an independent spirit and a thick skin.”
Michelson, Maureen. Women and Work: Photographs and Personal Writings
Women in the work force is a subject that has been analyzed and categorized by countless experts and academicians in numerous book. But rarely are women given the opportunity to speak for themselves, in their own words, about their work and what it means in the context of their lives. In this book, 85 women from all walks of life and backgrounds, living in the United States and working in a wide variety of jobs, share their work experiences.
Niethammer, Carolyn. Daughters of the Earth: The Lives and Legends of American Indian Women.
Here, as it unfolded, is the chronology of the native American woman's life. Here are the birth rites of Caddo women from the Mississippi-Arkansas border, who bore their children alone by the banks of rivers and then immersed themselves and their babies in river water; here are Apache puberty ceremonies that are still carried on today, when the cost for the celebrations can run anywhere from one to six thousand dollars. Here are songs from the Night Dances of the Sioux, where girls clustered on one side of the lodge and boys congregated on the other; here is the Shawnee legend of the Corn Person and of Our Grandmother, the two female deities who ruled the earth. Far from the submissive, downtrodden "squaw" of popular myth, the native American woman emerges as a proud, sometimes stoic, always human individual from whom those who came after can learn much.
Okubo, Mine. Citizen 13660.
This powerful graphic novel was drawn and written by Artist Mine Okubo when she was a teenager at a Japanese internment camp during World War II. Okubo's elegant black and white drawings and wry text make CITIZEN 13660 on a par with Art Speigelman's MAUS as a war time testimony.
Paprocki, Sherry Beck. Katie Couric.
Learn how Katie Couric rose to prominence in the cutthroat business of television journalism.
Polk, Milbry & Tiegreen, Mary. Women of Discovery: A Celebration of Intrepid Women Who Explored the World
Across the centuries and from many lands, women have set forth on journeys of exploration. Visionaries, adventurers, artists, and scientists, these women challenged the limitations, both physical and social, of their times and in the face of formidable challenges expanded the world’s body of knowledge. Yet despite their extraordinary achievements, they have remained unknown and unsung for too long. Women of Discovery tells the stories of over eighty female explorers.
Polster, Miriam F. Eve’s Daughters: The Forbidden Heroism of Women
Heroic acts of women throughout history have been ignored, misinterpreted, and maligned. Miriam Polster reveals that our understanding of heroism in society is entrenched in archaic male archetypes that are potentially destructive and often irrelevant to our daily lives. Offering a positive approach to the psychology of women, Polster explains why we must celebrate the heroism of women, from Eve to the champions of everyday life.
Ransby, Barbara. Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement: A Radical Democratic Vision.
A gifted grassroots organizer, Baker shunned the spotlight in favor of vital behind-the-scenes work that helped power the black freedom struggle. She was a national officer and key figure in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, one of the founders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and a prime mover in the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Baker made a place for herself in predominantly male political circles that included W. E. B. Du Bois, Thurgood Marshall, and Martin Luther King Jr., all the while maintaining relationships with a vibrant group of women, students, and activists both black and white.
Reagan, Nancy. My Turn: The Memoirs of Nancy Reagan.
The former First Lady strikes back at her detractors, remarks upon her troubled relationships with her children and discusses her belief in astrology.
Roosevelt, Eleanor. The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt.
The long and eventful life of Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) was full of rich experiences and courageous actions. The niece of Theodore Roosevelt, she married a distant relative and Columbia University law student named Franklin Delano Roosevelt; he gradually ascended throughout the world of New York politics to reach the U.S. presidency in 1932. Throughout his three terms, Eleanor Roosevelt was not only intimately involved in FDR’s personal and political life, but led women’s organizations and youth movements and fought for consumer welfare, civil rights, and improved housing. During World War II she traveled with her husband to meet leaders of many powerful nations; after his death in 1945 she worked as a UN delegate, chairman of the Commission on Human Rights, newspaper columnist, Democratic party activist, world-traveler, and diplomat.
Rostenberg, Leona and Madeleine Stern. Bookends: Two Women, One Enduring Friendship.
Rostenberg and Stern, rare-book dealers, single Jewish women and lifelong friends, continue the story begun in Old Books, Rare Friends with this inspiring, moving chronicle of a friendship and moving personal account of the 20th century. The authors, now nearing their 90s, describe their battles and victories in the changing world.
Schechter, Patricia. A Ida B. Wells-Barnett and American Reform 1880-1930.
Pioneering African American journalist Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862-1931) is widely remembered for her courageous antilynching crusade in the 1890s; the full range of her struggles against injustice is not as well known. With this book, Patricia Schechter restores Wells-Barnett to her central, if embattled, place in the early reform movements for civil rights, women's suffrage, and Progressivism in the United States and abroad. Schechter's comprehensive treatment makes vivid the scope of Wells-Barnett's contributions and examines why the political philosophy and leadership of this extraordinary activist eventually became marginalized.
Schlissel, Lillian. Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey.
After the depression of 1837, the prospect of "free land" and gold prompted more than 250,000 people to emigrate to Oregon and California between 1840 and 1870. History, relying predominantly on men's writings, often presents this journey in terms of mythic adventure. But what was it like for women? After studying the writings of 103 women, Lillian Schlissel determined that "If ever there was a time when men and women turned their psychic energies toward opposite visions, the overland journey was that time." In Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey, she explores her findings, quoting at length from her sources and including a selection of diaries and reminiscences at the end.
Sherr, Lynn and Jurate Kazickas. Susan B. Anthony Slept Here: A Guide to American Women's Landmarks.
Originally published in 1976 as The American Woman's Gazetteer, this updated version is a travel guide through towns, cities, and states, packed with facts about the role women have played in shaping U.S. history. The thorough index and the alphabetical arrangement by state makes the book useful as a reference source; it's also fun for browsing. The abundance of photographs and various locales encourages readers to journey through the pages. Interesting trivia is scattered throughout. This source complements Notable American Women, 1607-1950 (1971) and Notable American Women: The Modern Period (1980, both Belknap), and Doreen Rappaport's American Women (HarperCollins, 1992).
Silver, Michael. Golden Girl: How Natalie Coughlin Fought Back, Challenged Conventional Wisdom, and Became America's Olympic Champion.
The story of Natalie Coughlin’s remarkable battle back from injury and burnout to be-come America’s Golden Girl a two-time Olympic Gold Medal winner in swimming and the most decorated female athlete at the 2004 Olympics.
Stephens, Autumn. Wild Women Crusaders, Curmudgeons and Completely Corsetless Ladies in the Otherwise Virtuous Victorian Era
A fascinating and sometimes humorous glimpse into the lives of 150 19th-century American women who refused to whittle themselves down to the Victorian model of proper womanhood. 50-black-and-white photos.
Stephenson, June. Women’s Roots: The History of Women
History has been written by men, about actions important to men, ignoring women and fostering an attitude that implies what females do is unimportant. June Stephenson sets the record straight – it was women who began agriculture, cattle breeding and architecture, providing the basis for civilization. This dramatic history of the relationships between women and men moves from prehistory to the present, telling the truth about women’s achievements, about the millenniums of concerted oppression, and how women prove indomitable.
Stone, Merlin. When God Was a Woman
Here is an invitation to discover a past that has been buried by millennia of Judeo-Christian myth and corresponding social order. Merlin Stone tells us, in fascinating detail, the story of the Goddess who, known by names such as Astarte, Isis, and Ishtar, reigned supreme in the Near and Middle East. There she was revered as the wise creator and the one source of universal order, not simply as a fertility symbol as some histories would have us believe. And under the Goddess, societal roles differed markedly from those in patriarchal Judeo-Christian cultures: women bought and sold property, traded in the marketplace, and inherited title and land from their mothers.
Ventura, Varla. Sheroes: Sheroes: Bold, Brash (and Absolutely Unabashed) Superwomen
Sheroes is a dizzy, amusing dip into the lives of 200 women of substance from Harriet Tubman (the original American freedom rider), comic strip character Wonder Woman, and Star Trek's Lieutenant Uhura to British adventurer Alexandra David-Neel (My Journey to Lhasa), Olympic champion speed racer Bonnie Blair, and African eco-warrior Wangari Maathai. Varla Ventura mainly celebrates easily recognized women, but deserves credit for ferreting out many early sheroes, such as the five Biblical sisters who persuaded Moses that daughters deserved to inherit (albeit only when no sons are available), and little known luminaries like pro-hockey goalie Manon Rheume and Puerto Rico's freedom fighter Maria de la Mercedes Barbudo. Sheroes happily tweaks the historical record, flinging around words like "bodacious" and "brainiac" such as to make scholars and feminists blanch, but it assembles a colorful listing of real and imaginary women as role models to which to aspire.
Wagner, Sally Roesch. Sisters in Spirit. Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Influence on Early American Feminists
This groundbreaking examination of the early influences on feminism may revolutionize feminist theory. Distinguished historian and contemporary feminist scholar Sally Roesch Wagner has compiled extensive research to analyze the source of the revolutionary vision of the early feminists. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Matilda Joslyn Gage, and Lucretia Mott had formed friendships with their Native neighbors that enabled them to understand a worldview far different, and in many ways superior, to the patriarchal one that existed at that time. This is the provocative and compelling history of their struggle to bring equality and dignity to all women, and the role played by the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) women who modeled the position women could occupy in society.
Ware, Susan. Modern American Women: A Documentary History.
A collection of primary source documents for the American women's history course, 'Modern American Women: A Documentary History' focuses on events and developments involving women from 1890 to the present. New material includes documents on anti-lynching activism and Indian relocation, excerpts from 'The Vagina Monologues' by Eve Ensler, expanded chapters on 'Sexuality and the Body' and 'The State of the Movement for Women's Equality'.
White, Deborah Gray. Ar'n't I a Woman? Female Slaves in the Plantation South.
This new edition reviews and updates the scholarship on slave women and the slave family, exploring new ways of understanding the intersection of race and gender and comparing the myths that stereotyped female slaves with the realities of their lives.
Xu, Meihong and Larry Engelmann. Daughter of China: A True Story of Love and Betrayal.
In 1988, Xu, a young, married Chinese military intelligence officer studying at the Center for Chinese and American Studies in Nanjing, fell in love with Engelmann, one of her American professors. Their reckless behavior brought down the wrath of the Chinese authorities, who, suspecting an espionage connection, arrested her and had him expelled from China. After numerous harrowing experiences (told, in this frustrating narrative, alongside flashbacks from Xu's earlier life), the lovers are miraculously reunited, marry, and move to America.
Yellin, Emily. Our Mothers' War: American Women at Home at the Front During World War II.
Wartime manpower shortages were bending gender rules, and many women seized the opportunity to try something different. While feminist historians have analyzed the meaning of their war experience, journalist Yellin takes a more subjective approach. This nonjudgmental, anecdotal account covers the usual range of topics women in war industries, in volunteer work, in the armed forces, in undercover operations but Yellin avoids retelling the familiar.
Berry, Carmen Renee & Tamara Traeder. Girlfriends
Girlfriends tells the stories of old friends and new friends, best friends and lost friends, soulmates and confidants. Inspiring, enlightening, with generous doses of humor, this book explores acceptance, strength, resilience, loyalty, and many other facets of these invaluable relationships.
Bond, Marybeth. Gutsy Women: More Travel Tips and Wisdom for the Road
From award-winning author and travel expert Marybeth Bond comes this updated and expanded edition of her best-selling Gutsy Women, full of invaluable travel tips and wisdom, including new chapters on travel rituals, volunteering, and women traveling together. From grads to grannies, backpackers to business executives, it’s a must have for any woman traveler.
Breathnach, Sarah Ban. Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy
With the grace of Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s Gift from the Sea and the wisdom of M. Scott Peck’s The Road Less Traveled, Simple Abundance is a book of 366 evocative essays – one for every day of your year – written for women who wish to live by their own lights. In the past a woman’s spirituality has been separated from her lifestyle. Simple Abundance shows you how your daily life can be an expression of your authentic self.
Casey, Terri. Pride and Joy
This book is a collection of interviews with 25 women who have chosen not to have children. In lively stories and vivid voices, these diverse narrators talk proudly of their contributions to their communities, causes, and families, and they speak joyfully of intimate relationships with husbands and partners, of family and friends, work, volunteer and leisure activities, solitude and connections with children. Their stories dispel the social myth that women must have children to be happy, and they debunk the stereotypes of childless women.
Cole, Joni B. et al. This Day: Diaries from American Women
This book is a portal into a diversity of fascinating lives. Prepare to be transported to corporate boardrooms, televisions studios, prisons, concert halls, classrooms, and an amazing array of households across our country – all described in the words of the women who were actually there.
Conlon, Faith, Ingrid Emerick, Christina Henry De Tessan, editors. A Woman Alone: Travel Tales from Around the Globe.
These two new collections of entertaining travel essays focus on female travelers. The Unsavvy Traveller includes hilarious stories of trips gone horribly wrong, while A Woman Alone contains stories of intrepid women traveling solo. The first is the more unusual of the two, vividly describing experiences that are both horrendous and humorous, including getting lost in the jungle, being chased by a bear, and being questioned by the police on the suspicion of taking photos of a nude man sunbathing.
Fiorenza, Elizabeth Shussler. Wisdom Ways: Introducing Feminist Biblical Interpretation.
Radical Catholic feminist theologian Schussler Fiorenza offers an introduction to feminist biblical interpretation that is sure to annoy some readers, enlighten some others and challenge all of them. As an introduction, the book is presumably intended to present Schussler Fiorenza's brand of liberation theology to a new audience beyond the academic theological one the Harvard Divinity School professor already commands.
Frymer-Kensky, Tikva. Reading the Women of the Bible: A New Interpretation of Their Stories.
A professor of Hebrew Bible at the Divinity School at the University of Chicago, Frymer-Kensky (In the Wake of the Goddesses: Women, Culture and the Biblical Transformation of Pagan Myth) investigates biblical stories about women to ascertain why "a clearly androcentric text from a patriarchal society" has "so many stories that revolve around women."
Gilbert, Elizabeth. Eat, Pray, Love.
The celebrated author of The Last American Man creates an irresistible, candid, and eloquent account of her pursuit of worldly pleasure and spiritual devotion.
Gilligan, Carol, et.al. Woman.
Essays on the female experience accompany images of the global family of women, captured by some of the world's great photojournalists.
Greenlaw, Linda. All Fishermen are Liars: True Tales from the Dry Dock Bar.
In "All Fisherman are Liars, Linda meets up with her best friend and fellow fisherman Alden Leeman for lunch and a drink at the Drydock in Portland just before Christmas. The surly captain of her first fishing expedition, Alden has seen his share of mishaps and adventures while at sea. When Linda shares memories of navigating her ship through one of the worst storms she's ever seen, Alden quickly follows up with his own tale of terror and survival while other fishermen sit on the periphery attentively listening before jumping in with stories of their own.
Greenlaw, Linda. The Hungry Ocean.
Familiar to millions of readers of "The Perfect Storm" as the captain of the "Hannah Boden", sister ship to the "Andrea Gail", Greenlaw is also known as one of the best sea captains on the East Coast. Here she offers an adventure-soaked tale of her own, complete with danger, humor, and characters so colorful they seem to have been ripped from the pages of "Moby Dick".
Heilbrun, Carolyn G. The Last Gift of Time: Life Beyond Sixty.
Years ago Carolyn Heilbrun, a long-time feminist (Writing a Woman's Life) who also writes mysteries as Amanda Cross (The James Joyce Murder), decided to leave before age dragged her down by committing suicide at 70. Fortunately, she reneged, and chose instead to chronicle moments from her 60s. Always erudite, often deliciously wry, if sometimes pretentious, Heilbrun hits the mark more often than not in this book of essays. She speaks of "unmet friends" whose lives have paralleled her own and blessed deliverance from the academic bustle and backstabbing of Columbia University, the tyranny of memory, and foolish feminine clothes. Throughout, her sense of renewal is as welcome as her determination to go against the grain.
Jones, Judy and William Wilson. An Incomplete Education.
You'll find everything you forgot from school--as well as plenty you never even learned--in this all-purpose reference book, an instant classic when it first appeared in 1987. The updated version takes a whirlwind tour through 12 different disciplines, from American studies to philosophy to world history.
Kahn, Laurie Susan. Sleepaway: The Girls of Summer and the Camps They Love.
With the warm and nostalgic feel of a scrapbook, Sleepaway transports grown-up campers back to the treasured days of summer and their first taste of independence. Written by Laurie S. Kahn, a former advertising executive (who overcame her disappointment at not being color war captain only when she was named director of radio and television production at Young & Rubicam in New York), Sleepaway collects a hundred years of camp lore, plus vintage photographs, letters, songs, badges, postcards, and autographed pillowcases. Here are stories that instantly evoke memories of a first bunk (remember the smell of damp towels piled up on a rainy day?), of swimming tests and socials (a chance for a first kiss!), of rowdy singalongs, joyous mealtimes, mail call, and the hilarity of a short-sheeted bed.
Kass, Amy (editor). The Perfect Gift.
The Perfect Gift aims to cultivate and enlighten our philanthropic imagination. It addresses us all as present and future philanthropists -- as human beings who give, serve, and seek to promote the well-being of others. It suggests that we are continually confronted with choices about giving, and offers literary selections intended to help us reflect more seriously on these choices.
Lerner Ph.D., Harriet Goldhor. The Dance of Intimacy: A Woman's Guide to Courageous Acts of Change in Key Relationships.
This guide outlines the steps women, as well as men, can take to strengthen good relationships and heal difficult ones.
Martin, Katherine. Women of Courage: Inspiring Stories from the Women Who Lived Them
As you read the extraordinary stories in Women of Courage, you will enjoy the company of illuminating, stimulating, uplifting, and invigorating women. You will see wonderful portrayals of the heart, mind, and spirit of courage, and come to honor her many faces. These are the stories of more than forty women who have had life-altering experiences. Whether facing terminal illness, the vast emptiness of the South Pole, a risky pregnancy, a race for political office, a wrenching divorce, or a dream as yet unfulfilled, these women found source of courage within themselves they didn’t know they had. These women made it, not merely intact, but stronger for the experience, and wiser for recognizing how they triumphed.
McCaslin, Wanda D. Justice as Healing: Indigenous Ways.
Justice as Healing is a compilation of articles that explores in detail the use of restorative justice to address the present-day plight of Indigenous peoples. It is difficult to provide a chapter-by-chapter summary of the book, since many of its themes are interwoven through many places. The articles are all nonetheless bound together by a central and coherent thesis. The starting point is the fact of colonialism over Indigenous peoples, both historical and present.
McPhee, Jenny et al. Girls
Girls is a radiant collection of essays and photographs. What is it like to be a girl in America today? What constitutes a normal girl’s experiences? These and others are questions that the McPhees asked on their cross-country odyssey, which spanned more than two years. Girls is the illuminating, thought-provoking, and ultimately triumphant look at the answers they found.
Mitchell, James Andrew. Finding Their Own Voices Maine Women at the Millennium: Their Stories
James Mitchell presents a series of biographical sketches and interviews of more than thirty Maine women who have all carved out meaningful lives for themselves. The women shared their stories and dreams with Mitchell to acknowledge their and other women’s accomplishments. Although their stories and fields of endeavor – ranging from commercial fishing (Linda Greenlaw) to writing (Kate Barnes) to government service (Chellie Pingree) – are different, the women all celebrate the remarkable resilience of the human spirit. What they have in common is intelligence, passion, enthusiasm, and a firm belief in their abilities.
Reilly, Patricia Lynn. Imagine a Woman in Love with Herself: Embracing Your Wisdom and Wholeness.
Patricia Lynn Reilly takes you on a journey of joyous self-affirmation, to reconnect with your inner richness, and to move from self-criticism to self-celebration.
Schwager, Tina and Schuerger, Michele. Gutsy Girls: Young Women Who Dare
Do you wonder what you’re made of? Would you like to test yourself – really push yourself to the limit? Are you brave? Determined? Passionate about life? Ready to challenge yourself and take a risk? Meet 25 girls who said YES to these questions and performed daring feats. Their true stories will thrill and inspire you. As you read about their accomplishments – from extreme sports to groundbreaking firsts – you’ll get an up-close look as the courage, hard work, and persistence it takes to reach these kinds of goals.
Sheehy, Gail. Predictable Crises of Adult Life Passages.
At last, this is your story. You'll recognize yourself, your friends, and your loves. You'll see how to use each life crisis as an opportunity for creative change -- to grow to your full potential. Gail Sheehy's brilliant road map of adult life shows the inevitable personality and sexual changes we go through in our 20s, 30s, 40s, and beyond.
Solomon, Rivka, editor. That Takes Ovaries!: Bold Females and Their Brazen Acts.
That Takes Ovaries!: Bold Females and Their Brazen Acts presents sixty-four brave, unabashed, fun-loving women and their short stories of strength and audacity. That Takes Ovaries! rejects the notion of how females should behave and instead boldly declares, look what I just did! From courageous and smart to outrageous and foolhardy, from the seemingly frivolous to the obviously political, this culturally diverse group of women and girls models the range of what real femininity looks like today -- sassy, self-assured, and estrogen-fueled.
Tenneson, Joyce. Wise Women: A Celebration of Their Insights, Courage, and Beauty.
In ancient times, older women were the keepers of primal mysteries and were revered for their special wisdom. For this very special book, Joyce Tenneson traveled throughout America to photograph and interview women ages 65 to l00.What she found was a revelationwomen who were vital, energetic, and deeply beautiful, inside and out. The80 portraits are of women from all walks of life from the famous, such as Sandra Day OConnor, Julie Harris, and Angela Lansbury, to the ordinary, such as our mothers and grandmothers.
Thoele, Sue Patton. The Women's Book of Spirit: Meditation for the Thirsty Soul.
A leader in the women’s spirituality movement, Thoele offers her deepest wisdom in this collection, resulting in a powerful and profound book that can be used in a number of ways. Thoele recommends using it as a sacred feminine oracle by opening it at random, holding it to your heart and "asking your inner wisdom to guide you to the perfect, right entry for you at this moment." It can also be used as a meditation guide, a daily friend, or to answer a specific question.This is a book to soothe every woman’s soul and to strengthen the vital connection to spirit. Chapters include Embodying Heart Energy, Intertwining Soul-Strands, Awakening to Wisdom, and Ascending to Gratitude.
We have current and back issues of every magazine listed (unless otherwise noted). Come check out our selection!
Magazines:
Bust For Women who have something to get off their chests
HUES (Hear Us Emerging Sisters) A Woman’s Guide to Power and Attitude
Ms. Magazine
New Moon
Teen Voices Because you’re more than just a pretty face
Newsletters:
FVP Voice A Publication of the Family Violence Project
Rape Crisis Assistance and Prevention Newsletter
Apter, Terri. Altered Loves: Mothers and Daughters During Adolescence
Drawing on detailed interviews with mothers and daughters from Terri Apter’s research in Britain and America, and from recent psychological studies of family interaction, Altered Loves is a frank, moving, and insightful examination of this crucial time in a woman’s life. Apter shows that contrary to the classical view of adolescence as a stage in which daughters reject their mothers, adolescent daughters often remain strongly attached to them. The strife that characterizes this period is actually the result of trying to renegotiate a valued relationship.
Arnup, Katherine. Lesbian Parenting: Living with Pride and Prejudice.
The perfect primer for lesbian parents, and a helpful resource for their families and friends, this book includes a theoretical perspective as well as the personal experiences of lesbians and their children.
Carrera, Michael. Lessons for Lifeguards: Working with Teens When the Topic is Hope
This book centers on the belief that those of us entrusted with the privilege of access to vulnerable young people must provide for their care and guidance with renewed vigor and determination. Much of what is offered in the essays, reflections, and “urgings” are unorthodox and risky. What you will find in these pages is experienced, practical advice offered within a context of genuine care for teens.
Coffey, Bonnie Allmon. Dreams for Our Daughters
Girls – especially today – need dreams to thrive. As you go through your life, you may be unaware that you are helping shape the dreams of a young woman. Dreams for Our Daughters is a collection of dreams from women around the world to share with our collective daughters. Give the gift of dream to a girl in your life.
Cohen-Sandler PhD., Roni. Stressed-Out Girls: Helping Them Thrive in the Age of Pressure.
Many adolescent girls struggle with tremendous academic and social stress. Although it's common for them to bury their anguish, clinical psychologist Cohen-Sandler uncovers it in this treatise on the true feelings of 3,000 teenaged girls. Drawing on her clinical work, interviews and a wide-ranging survey, Cohen-Sandler identifies five types of worried girls and lays out strategies for helping them lessen anxiety, develop resiliency and build confidence. Among Cohen-Sandler's types are "adapting girls" who are challenged by transitions, "undervalued girls" who wrestle with "square peg" dilemmas, "insecure girls" who are desperate for acceptance, perfectionist girls who "burn too bright," and "distracted girls" whose minds wander.
Crawford, Susan Hoy. Beyond Dolls and Guns: 101 Ways to Help Children Avoid Gender Bias
This book offers parents and anyone concerned with the well-being of children with practical tips that can encourage gender equality and avoid harmful sex-role stereotyping in the daily lives of boys and girls.
Debold, E., Wilson, M., & Malave, I. Mother-Daughter Revolution
Essential reading for women of all ages, this compassionate and impassioned book looks at the astonishing phenomenon wherein young girls, initially so much more individual and self-assured than their male peers, find themselves subtly silenced--boxed in by the social standard of "good girl" behavior.
Dodson, S. The Mother-Daughter Book Club
Shireen Dodson was on vacation with her family when she decided she needed to find "a way to spend some special time" with her daughter. What she did was start a mother-daughter book club. In this sweet little book, Dodson offers practical advice about starting a similar club. The heart of the book, though, is in the insights she offers about the benefits--the chance to explore ideas and feelings, to discuss each other's lives, and to establish what Dodson calls a "bridge of sharing" that involves both mother and daughter listening to each other.
Dryfoos, Joy G. Safe Passage: Making It Through Adolescence in a Risky Society.
The transition from adolescence to adulthood represents an aspect of psychosocial development that has increasing importance not only for individuals but also for public policy makers. To the extent that adolescent development can be influenced by politics, Dryfoos, former director of the Alan Guttmacher Institute and author of Full-Service Schools, suggests that government programs are essential in facilitating the "safe passage" to socially constructive adulthoods for American adolescents at risk for antisocial forms of behavior.
Friday, Nancy. My Mother, My Self.
Through candid self-disclosure and hundreds of interviews, Friday investigates a generational legacy and reveals the conflicting feelings of anger, hate, and love the daughter’s hold for their mothers and why they so often become that mother themselves.
Ford, Judy and Anna Chase. Wonderful Ways to be a Stepparent
You arrive on the scene, full of hope and promise for creating a harmonious blended family, only to discover that stepparenting is probably the hardest role you’ll ever have. But it doesn’t have to be all stress, hard work, and hurt feelings. In their practical and supporting book, Judy Ford and Anna Chase offer a helping hand and show how to transform a seemingly untenable arrangement into a relationship filled with love.
Glennon, Will. 200 Ways to Raise a Girl's Self Esteem. An Indispensable Guide for Parents, Teachers, and Other Concerned Caregivers.
Studies show that young girls often develop faster than their male counterparts, grasping concepts such as math and sports just as easily -- until they reach early adolescence. Then, girls quickly fall behind boys, victims to society's confusing dictates of what being female means. According to parenting expert Will Glennon, reinforcing a young girl's self-esteem through carefully considered "boosters" is the key to helping girls hold their own in the world. This guide helps parents and teachers understand the subtle difference between "boosters" and "busters." For example, complimenting a young woman on her appearance may give her the idea that she is valued only for her looks. In 200 Ways to Raise a Girl's Self-Esteem, readers will find ways to impart a strong sense of self-worth to girls in everyday situations.
Gordon, Don Ph.D. Parenting Wisely: Program Workbook.
Parenting Wisely was developed at Ohio University as an alternative or complement to existing family interventions. The developer used his knowledge of the Functional Family Therapy model and experience with program dissemination to create a program that would reduce or eliminate many of the barriers that keep at-risk families from receiving good family interventions.
Hamkins, SuEllen And Renee Schultz. The Mother-Daughter Project: How Mothers and Daughters Can Band Together, Beat the Odds and Thrive Through Adolescence.
At once simple and revolutionary, this book details the success of the Mother-Daughter Project’s groundbreaking model, providing the reader with a road map for strengthening her bond with her own daughter, and providing strategies for staying close through adolescence and beyond.
Jelloun, Tahar Ben. Racism Explained to My Daughter
Racism Explained to My Daughter is a unique and compelling dialogue in which award-winning author Tahar Ben Jelloun explains difficult concepts from ghettos and genocide to slavery and anti-Semitism in language we can all understand.
Kelly, Joe. Dads and Daughters: How to Inspire, Understand and Support Your Daughter When She’s Growing Up So Fast
Joe Kelly defines the landscape for fathers and daughters in the treacherous domain of America today. He also offers the testimony of other travelers, a map and a first aid kit to help families make it to safety. This book is an essential aid for the fathers of adolescent girls.
Kelly, Joe. The Dads and Daughters Togetherness Guide. 54 Fun Activities to Help Build a Great Relationship.
Fathers know that doing things with their daughters is important. Shared activities build trust and self-esteem, show how much dads care, and allow everyone to cut loose and have fun. But even fathers who can beat the generation and gender gaps that make them feel awkward can’t always dream up cool places to go or mutually enjoyable things to do. Like the coach of their favorite team, dads need a game plan, and that’s exactly what Joe Kelly provides in Dads & Daughters Togetherness Guide.
Leo, Pam. Connection Parenting: Parenting Through Connection Instead of Coercion, Through Love Instead of Fear
This book provides some very practical advice and explains emotional needs in a way that seems simple and to the point. Other parenting books only give the theory or ideas but do not give you the real life examples and applications. This book succinctly and compassionately addresses children's emotions and how best to handle them, the difference between punishment and discipline; teaching children respect and how to build self-esteem; how your parents affect how you parent; how to understand yourself and your children better; and as a result, how to create a more harmonious and joy-filled home environment.
Levin, Diane E., Ph.D, and Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D. So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids.
Thong panties, padded bras, and risque Halloween costumes for young girls. T-shirts that boast "Chick Magnet" for toddler boys. Sexy content on almost every television channel, as well as in books, movies, video games, and even cartoons. Hot young female pop stars wearing provocative clothing and dancing suggestively while singing songs with sexual and sometimes violent lyrics. These products are marketed aggressively to our children; these stars are held up for our young daughters to emulate--and for our sons to see as objects of desire.
So Sexy So Soon is an invaluable and practical guide for parents who are fed up, confused, and even scared by what their kids--or their kids' friends--do and say. Filled with savvy suggestions, helpful sample dialogues, and poignant true stories from families dealing with these issues, this book provides parents with the information, skills, and confidence they need to discuss sensitive topics openly and effectively so their kids can just be kids.
Linn, Susan. Consuming Kids: The Hostile Takeover of Childhood.
In Consuming Kids, psychologist Susan Linn takes a comprehensive and unsparing look at the demographic advertisers call "the kid market," taking readers on a compelling and disconcerting journey through modern childhood as envisioned by commercial interests. Children are now the focus of a marketing maelstrom, targets for everything from minivans to M&M counting books. All aspects of children's lives--their health, education, creativity, and values--are at risk of being compromised by their status in the marketplace.
Lutz, Ericka. The Complete Idiots Guide to Stepparenting.
You're no idiot, of course. You know how to push a toddler on a swing, the recipe for the gooey chocolate chip cookies, and even how to get teens to confide in you. Your own kids think you're hip, too (although they'd never admit to it). But when it comes to figuring out how not to come across as the wicked stepparent, you feel like you need a magical potion. Don't reach for the garlic yet! The Complete Idiot's Guide to Stepparenting gives you sanity-saving advice for dealing with the stepfamily, getting to know your stepchildren, and feeling confident in your role.
Mothers Acting Up. Yes: Mothers Acting Up in 2008.
2008 handbook and calendar.
Odean, Kathleen. Great Books for Girls: More Than 600 Books for Girls Age 3-14.
Give girls books with images of strong females who are leaders, adventurers, scientists, artists, problem-solvers, and more! This guide provides an invaluable list of more than six hundred titles—picture books, novels, mysteries, biographies, folktales, sports books, and more—that will encourage, challenge, and ultimately nurture in girls the strong qualities our culture so often suppresses.
Odean, Kathleen. Great Books for Girls: More Than 600 Books to Inspire Today's Girls and Tomorrow's Women
A unique guide for parents and teachers contains more than six hundred annotated listings of a variety of books for girls, from toddlers to adolescents, which feature female protagonists who solve problems and shape their own destiny.
Pruett, Kyle D. M.D. Fatherneed: Why Father Care is as Essential as Mother Care for Your Child
Successful fathering does not come at the expense of the mother/child bond; in fact, it depends on a mother’s encouragement. Through true stories of actual families Fatherneed reveals the infinite varieties of fathering that result when a dedicated father and a supportive mother work together. With wit, authority, and compassion, Dr. Pruett shows how to be sure that your child gets what only a father can provide.
Shaffer, Susan Morris & Gordon, Linda Perlman Why Girls Talk And What They’re Really Saying: A Parent’s Survival Guide To Connecting With Your Teen
As most parents will attest, raising teen girls can be a roller-coaster ride of high drama and low moments. And because they can often tend to be talkative, parents may assume that their daughters are good at communicating their real feelings. In reality, it is often difficult to sort through their chatter to truly understand the messages these girls are trying to send. Even though she may not say it, your daughter needs your understanding and support now more than ever. It’s crucial to keep the lines of communication open and maintain positive emotional connections. This book shows you how, providing the tools you need.
Smith, Lucinda Irwin. Growing Up Female: New Challenges, New Choices.
Examines the choices teenage girls have to face in today'sworld concerning goal setting, dating, health, careers, and marriage.
Stabiner, Karen. My Girl: Adventures with a Teen in Training.
Girls turn into monsters as soon as they reach puberty-or so many mothers have warned Stabiner (All Girls). But in this charming memoir, the author argues that such doomsday predictions are not necessarily true. The mother of a relatively well-adjusted pre-teen, Stabiner describes her relationship with 11-year-old Sarah to show that mothers and daughters can live together peacefully.
Steyer, James P. The Other Parent: The Inside Story of the Media's Effect on Our Children.
There's a stranger in your house.Every day your children are bombarded by images of sex, commercialism, and violence -- right in your own home. Kids spend more time each week with media than they do with their parents or teachers, and they learn about the adult world -- through the influence of TV, the movies, music, computer games, and the Internet -- long before they're ready
Thomas, Susan Gregory. Buy, Buy Baby: How Consumer Culture Manipulates Parents and Harms Young Minds
An investigative journalist examines how marketers exploit infants and toddlers and the broad, often shocking impact of that exploitation on our society.
Thompson PhD., Michael et al. Best Friends, Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social Lives of Children.
Child therapists Thompson (coauthor of bestseller Raising Cain) and Cohen (Playful Parenting) have teamed up with Washington Post columnist and children's writer Grace (all three are parents) to describe the social lives of kids and the appropriate roles of parents, teachers and school administrators. They explore the stages of children's development, from parent-bonded to quasi-asocial toddler, the learning-the-rules phase in elementary school and adolescent and romantic bonding. Each phase may bring some negative experiences including some outright cruelty that can be hard on both parents and children, but sometimes necessary for learning about the world.
Thompson PhD., Michael. Mom They're Teasing Me: Helping Your Child Solve Social Problems.
Childhood angst tends to torment parents as well as children and can erupt into the tragedy of school shootings. These books address such problems from fairly dissimilar perspectives. Psychologists Thompson (coauthor, Raising Cain) and Cohen (Playful Parenting) collaborate with journalist/ author Grace on a sensitive and straightforward advice manual that focuses on 40 key questions regarding the social life of children. Conversational and upbeat in tone, the book is divided into three sections designed to help readers distinguish "normal" social pain from more lasting trauma. The text covers friendship skills, tattletales, racial bigotry, bullying, and personal hygiene and also suggests techniques for building positive leadership and conflict-resolution skills.
Walsh PhD., David. No: Why Kids-Of All Ages-Need to Hear it and Ways Parents Can Say it.
Join the movement to say Yes to No. An unprecedented coalition of parents and educators across Minnesota have adopted No as a statewide read.Although saying No to your child is obviously important, many parents still have a hard time following through -- even when they know they should -- especially when other parents and the culture around them are being permissive.Now, successful psychologist, bestselling author, and nationally known parenting expert Dr. David Walsh provides you with an arsenal of tactics, explanations, and examples for using No the right way with your kids.
Ward, Janie. The Skin We're In: Teaching Our Children To Be Emotionally Strong, Socially Smart, Spiritually Connected
Shepherding children through the demanding years of adolescence can be a struggle for any parent. But black parents must also help their children confront the psychological fallout of racism. With this in mind, Dr. Janie Ward, who spent fifteen years researching the moral and psychological development of African-American boys and girls, offers parents a comprehensive four-step program -- Name it, Read it, Oppose it, Replace it -- that provides strategies for healthy resistance to negative social influences and complacency in children throughout the formative years.
Williams, Joan. Unbending Gender: Why Family and Work Conflict and What to Do About It
In this book, Joan Williams outlines a new vision of workplaces focused on the needs of families and, in divorce cases, recognition of the value of family work. Williams introduces a new ‘reconstructive feminism’ that places class, race, and gender conflicts among women at center stage. Her solution is an inclusive, family-friendly feminism that supports both mothers and fathers as caregivers and as workers.
Wiseman, Rosalind. Queen Bees and Wannabes
Wiseman offers parents a guide to navigating the adolescent landscape. Acting as a liaison between "Girl World" and "Planet Parent," Wiseman helps parents understand their daughters' friendships, the power of cliques and the roles of girls within them (including Queen Bee, Sidekick, Torn Bystander, Messenger and Target). She outlines parenting styles (from "The Lock-Her-in-a-Closet Parent" to "The Loving-Hard-Ass Parent") and offers tips on talking to teens ("Don't use the slang your daughter uses"). The second half concentrates on boys, sex and drugs as well as what to do if your daughter needs professional help. Within each chapter, "Check Your Baggage" sections challenge parents to recognize their own biases and remember what it was like when they were teens; as well, Wiseman offers scripts for discussing difficult issues and advice on how to deal with them. The author also forthrightly addresses the issue of homosexuality. To wit, a "Homophobic Questionnaire" that turns the tables on parents with questions such as "What do you think caused your heterosexuality?" Wiseman's straightforward humor, sound advice and practical approach make this a must-read for anyone involved in the lives of teenage girls. Back matter offers extensive resource listings including fiction and nonfiction titles, movies and helpful organizations and their Web sites.
AAUW Educational Foundation. Beyond Gender Wars: A Conversation About Girls, Boys, and Education
This report summarizes the key insights that emerged from the conversation among researchers and the public forum at the “Beyond the Gender Wars” conference. In the report, participants share their visions of what would constitute a truly equitable and effective education for girls and boys, their understanding of how gender interacts with other aspects of students’ identities, their responses to and revisions of the gender wars debate, and their recommended priorities for achieving better education for boys and girls.
AAUW Educational Foundation. Gender Gaps: Where Our Schools Still Fail Our Children
"Gender Gaps" is an update to "How Schools Shortchange Girls," the report that drew national attention to the unequal treatment of girls in America's schools. The AAUW sees how girls are faring after five years of educational reform, explores lingering problems, and shows why teachers need to address the different needs of girls and boys, rather than simply giving them an identical education. 10 charts, 10 tables.
AAUW Education Foundation. Growing Smart: What’s Working for Girls in Schools
Comprehensive academic review of more than 500 reports identifies approaches that promote girls' achievement and healthy development. Culturally conscious report urges experimentation with single-sex programs, cooperative learning, and other nontraditional approaches.
AAUW Educational Foundation. Hostile Hallways: Bullying, Teasing and Sexual Harassment in School
One student in five fears being hurt or bothered in school; four students in five personally experience sexual harassment. These are among the findings of this nationally representative survey of 2,064 eighth- through eleventh- graders. The report investigates sexual harassment in public schools, comparing the findings with AAUW's original survey in 1993 and exploring differences in responses by gender, race/ethnicity, grade level, and area (urban or suburban/rural).
AAUW Educational Foundation and Wellesley College. How Schools Shortchange Girls
A startling examination of how girls are disadvantaged in U.S. public schools. Includes recommendations for educators and policy-makers as well as concrete strategies for change.
American Psychological Association. Developing Adolescents: A Reference for Professionals
Despite the negative portrayals that sometimes seem so prevalent – and the negative attitudes about adolescents that they support – the picture of adolescents today is largely a very positive one. Professionals can play an important role in shifting perceptions of adolescents to the positive. The truth is that adolescents, despite occasional or numerous protests, need adults and want them to be part of their lives, recognizing that they can nurture, teach, guide, and protect them on a journey to adulthood. This reference guide shows how adults can make that connection with adolescents.
Annie E. Casey Foundation. 2008 Kids Count Data Book: State Profiles of Child Well-Being.This 19th annual KIDS COUNT Data Book provides national and state-by-state information and statistical trends on the conditions of America’s children and families. This year, the KIDS COUNT Data Book essay, A Road Map for Juvenile Justice Reform, looks at the nearly 100,000 youth confined to juvenile facilities on any given night in the United States, and what can be done to reduce unnecessary and inappropriate detention and incarceration and increase opportunities for positive youth development and community safety.
Bosse, Jordon D. Surviving the Fire: Risk Factors in the Lives of Maine GLBTQ/Q Youth.
Center for Adolescent Health. Protecting Teens: Beyond Race, Income and Family Structure.
Secondary students answered surveys about their lives, health, friendships, self-esteem, and expectations for the future. School administrators completed surveys about school policies and procedures, teacher characteristics, health service provisions, and student characteristics. Students and parents completed interviews. Section 1 discusses resulting data on interrelationships among race, income, and family structure. Section 2 examines individual factors and friends and family influence on teen behavior. Both sections highlight cigarette use, alcohol use, suicidal thoughts and attempts, weapon-related violence, and sexual intercourse. While demographic factors influence behavior, they do not cause teens to engage in high risk behavior. It is necessary to move away from a focus on demographic factors in trying to understand adolescent health risk behaviors.
Dispelling the Myths About Tobacco: A Health Care Provider’s Toolkit for Reducing Tobacco Use Among Women
This crucial report, the first in more than 20 years to focus on the issue of women and tobacco use, concludes that the single greatest preventable threat to health, safety, and welfare of women around the world is tobacco.
Domestic Abuse in Maine Data Project II 1996-1999
This volume of the Data Project, which covers the period 1996-1999, represents the second effort by the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence to gather data and assess the impact of domestic abuse on Maine’s citizens. Compiled by examining court records, police files, and independent reports, and by interviewing advocates, judges, prosecutors, law enforcement and medical personnel, state officials, social workers, and researchers, it builds on earlier data.
Domestic Violence: The Hidden Costs to Business and What You Can Do to Reduce Them
Ginorio, Angela and Huston, Michelle. ¡Si, Se Puede! Yes, We Can Latinas in School
This paper explores the experiences of Latinas in the United States educational system. We utilize the concept of “possible selves” to investigate the lives of Latinas in school, at home, and with their peers. Communities formed by communities’ families, peers and schools provide a social context in which possible selves are imagined and changed over time. We suggest that elements in each of these social contexts can be education-encouraging and dismissive. This is the focus of much of the report.
Girls’ Rights survey conducted for Girls Incorporated
The survey is intended to explore perceptions about girls’ rights and the barriers girls may face in asserting these rights This survey is a part of Girls Incorporated’s Girls’ Rights Campaign and highlights Girls Inc.’s Girls’ Bill of Rights. Topics covered in the survey include attitudes towards society’s expectations for girls and for boys, important life goals for girls and boys, students’ lives today, and familiarity with Girls Incorporated.
GLSEN. The 2005 National School Climate Survey.
2005 National School Climate Survey (NSCS), the only national survey to document the experiences of students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) in America's schools.
GLSEN. The 2007 National School Climate Survey.
2007 National School Climate Survey (NSCS), the only national survey to document the experiences of students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) in America's schools.
GLSEN. From Teaching to Torment: School Climate in America.
Findings from this study provide us with a clearer picture of the extent and nature of the problem of bullying and harassment, and confirm that it is, indeed, a central challenge facing all schools as they seek to serve all students.
GLSEN. Involved, Invisible, Ignored.
A report on the experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Parents and Their Children in Our Nation's K-12 Schools
GLSEN. The Principal's Perspective: School Safety, Bullying and Harassment.
A survey of public school principals which reveals a rich and complex picture of attitudes of principals on bullying and harassment.
Haag, Pamela. Voices of a Generation. AAUW Educational Foundation
What would girls write about their lives that they would not say out loud to their parents, teachers, or friends? Voices of a Generation begins to answer this question. It draws on an unprecedented, unique collection of more than 2,000 responses to six questions from girls age 12-16, who participated in more than 50 daylong "Sister-to-Sister" summits held in 1997-98 nationwide, from Cobb County, Georgia to Kalispell, Montana, inner city Detroit to Gilroy, California. Girls were asked to identify the major issues and struggles in their lives, to speculate on how their schools could help them, to talk about what they would like to tell other girls--and what they would like to know from other girls. Their passionate, candid, plain-spoken responses cover a wide range of subjects--from sex, pregnancy, body image, and sexual harassment to peer pressure, prejudice, drugs, loneliness, sisterhood, and more. Together they constitute an intimate, unflinching portrait of girls' lives--told in their own terms.
Maine Children's Alliance. Maine Kids Count 2008 Data Book
The Maine Children's Alliance is part of the national KIDS COUNT network, a state-by-state effort to track the status of children across the country. This reference provides the most up-to-date data on the social, economic, physical and educational well-being of children in Maine.
Maine’s Future: A Report on the Status of Young Women in Maine
This report, published by the Girl Scouts of Kennebec Council, examines the lives of girls in Maine from multiple perspectives. It delves into their health (“Bodies, Minds and Souls”) , their education (“Capacity, Performance and Attachment”) and their social status (“Socioeconomic Environment, Relationships and Civic Engagement”).
Office of Substance Abuse. MYDAUS: Maine Youth Drug and Alcohol Use Survey
This technical report for 2002 illustrates the prevalence of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs; risk and preventative measures; prohibited behaviors; and pro-social behaviors among students in the state of Maine.
Phillips, Lynn. The Girls Report: What We Know and Need to Know About Growing Up Female
Adolescence can be both a rich and challenging time for girls as they confront new ideas, explore life's possibilities and navigate through the stormy seas of physical, social, and emotional changes. How are girls meeting these challenges? The research and policy studies reviewed and analyzed for this report provide a mixed picture of progress and continuing struggles. The Girls Report maps theoretical debates, counters popular myths with recent research findings, and highlights successful programs serving diverse populations. Chapters on education, health, violence, sexuality, and economic realties conclude with clear recommendations for action. The report also outlines specific actions that individuals and groups, including parents, teachers, policy makers and funders, can take to support girls. In The Girls Report, girls speak to their own situations and their own words suggest some solutions.
Pohlmann, Lisa, Skeek Frazee and Merril Cousin. Information Guide For Abused Women In Maine
The Information Guide has a special purpose: to reach women who live far away from our centers. However, it is a valuable resource to all battered women. It is intended to give battered women “ideas, strength and strategies” to live lives free from violence.
Preventing Girls’ Aggression and Violence: A Report of The Girls and Violence Talk Force
In 1999, the Governor’s Prevention Partnership convened The Girls and Violence TaskForce, a group of prevention and juvenile justice practitioners, educators, researchers, and other experts, who spent several years researching the issue of girls and violence. They discovered that girls’ violence develops within, and is surreounded by, unique circumstances and factors; that the underlying reasons for girls’ violent offending – their pathways to violence- are different from boys’; and that girls’ experience of and expression of violence are also unique. They discovered that strategies to prevent girls’ violence must be grounded in what girls value – relationships and connections, and that if they are not, they will fail. This report highlights the work of the Girls and Violence Task Force.
Wheeler, Kathryn A. et.al. Where Are the Girls? The State of Girls' Programming in Greater Boston.
The report documents that girls in the Greater Boston area are woefully underserved by current programs.For example, in after-school programs, the participants are overwhelmingly male, severely shortchangingthe leadership potential and social development of thousands of girls. With only 6 percent of philanthropic dollars allotted to programming specifically geared toward girls, and an increasing number of girls at risk for entering the juvenile justice system, vigor in research, policy, funding, and programming aimed at girlsand their needs is essential.
Women's Resource Center: University of Maine. Girls will be Girls? Executive Summary
The Girlfighting Project was designed to embrace the complexity of girls’ lives by integrating analysis of girls’ voice from 13 different research studies and ongoing reflections of Maine girls and women, as well as insights from projects and organizations directly working with Maine girls. The Women’s Resource Center organized groups of academics and practitioners, as well as girls themselves, to address questions posed them and tap into their experiences with and understandings of girlfighting behavior…We sponsored the Girls Will be Girls? conference, which brought us together with nationally known scholars of girls’ development to grapple with the perils and possibilities of growing up female in the new millennium.
Argov, Sherry. Why Men Love Bitches: From Doormat to Dream Girl--A Woman's Guide to Holding Her Own in a Relationship.
Sherry Argov’s Why Men Love Bitches delivers a unique perspective as to why men are attracted to a strong woman who stands up for herself. With saucy detail on every page, this no-nonsense guide reveals why a strong woman is much more desirable than a "yes woman" who routinely sacrifices herself.
Bass, Ellen and Laura Davis. The Courage to Heal
The Courage to Heal is an inspiring, comprehensive guide that offers hope and encouragement to every woman who, was sexually abused as a child -- and those who care about her. Although the effects of child sexual abuse are long-term and severe, healing is possible. The authors weave personal experience with professional knowledge to show the reader how she can come to terms with her past while moving powerfully into the future. They provide clear explanations, practical suggestions, a map of the healing journey, and many moving first-person examples of the recovery process drawn from their interviews with hundreds of survivors.
Carlin, Deborah and Jennifer Di Grazia (editors). Queer Cultures.
This unique anthology presents the most important and influential essays in GLBT and Queer Studies during the past twenty years. Presented in a way that is historically contextualized, politically complex, and far-reaching across different disciplines, the readings demonstrate the ways in which queer theory has begun to transform some of the prevailing assumptions underlying GLBT studies.
Chernin, Kim. My Life as a Boy
A woman should think before she acts, err on the side of caution, listen to doubting words. So Kim Chernin was taught, and so she knew how to act when someone desired her. What she never knew was how to go after what she wanted - at least not without having second thoughts. Then, in her thirties, she learned to be a boy. By turns provocative and insightful, My Life as a Boy is a story of a woman pursuing what she wants without hesitation.
Day, Frances Ann. Lesbian and Gay Voices: An Annotated Bibliography and Guide to Literature for Children and Young Adults.
Written to support librarians and educators in their efforts to provide young people with positive literary images, this groundbreaking guide provides detailed annotations and recommendations for over 275 books.
DeLaria, Lea. Lea's Book of Rules for the World.
Stand-up comic DeLaria has succeeded on and off Broadway and on comedy stages throughout America. She is sometimes over-the-top, offensive, and downright insulting and sometimes howlingly funny, unless one is offended or insulted by, say, her modern "Ten Commandments," such as the flip "Thou shalt not take the name of Susan Sarandon in vain," or the list of women who are OK to sleep with because you will never stand sleeping with them, so sleeping with them really isn't adultery. By the way, as for coveting thy neighbor's wife, thou shalt not, DeLaria declares, unless she is really cute or amply endowed or your neighbor is your ex.
Eller, Cynthia. Am I A Woman? A Skeptic's Guide to Gender.
What is it that really makes a woman a woman? Is it anatomy? Does she behave differently than men? Does it matter how others perceive her? In this sharp, funny, and insightful book, Cynthia Eller discovers that the answer is harder to pinpoint than it might seem.
Emack, Laura. At Play: An Anthology of Maine Drama. Collection of plays by Maine authors. Includes play, Ugly Ducklings by Carolyn Gage.
Farstein, Linda. Sexual Violence
For two decades, Linda Farstein has waged war against rape. From directing Manhattan’s Sex Crimes Prosecution Unit to her involvement in nationally prominent rape cases, this is the story of the crimes, the trials, the convictions – and the massive changes within the legal processes that give new hope to sex crime victims. Sexual Violence is a vital commentary on the criminal justice system today, as told by one of its toughest prosecutors.
Guernsey, JoAnn Bren. Sexual Harassment: A Question of Power.
Haines, Staci. The Survivor’s Guide to Sex: How to Have an Empowered Sex Life After Childhood Sexual Abuse
Move over abuse, and move in pleasure! This book is for all women – heterosexual bisexual, lesbian, partnered and single – who want to delight in their own sexuality. Based on the author’s extensive training and experience in working with abuse survivors, The Survivor’s Guide to Sex offers a complete guide to sexual recovery.
Hennegan, Alison. The Lesbian Pillow Book.
Continuing the eye-catching tradition of our steamy pillow book serieshere are two new erotic treasures that celebrate homoerotic love through exotic art, prose, and poetry throughout the ages from cultures all over the world.
Jennings, Kevin. Becoming Visible: Reader in Gay and Lesbian History for High School and College Students.
This book explores a wide range of stories that the average reader would NOT be familiar with and these span different cultures , times, and even ethnic groups(including Native American and Chinese, although African stories are less well documented than African-American ones and others. It is deftly set up so that questions after each passage evoke questions and thought, yet it doesn't come across as very academic.
Lamb, Sharon, Ed. The Secret Lives of Girls
Sexual play and acts of aggression are common for girls, according to Lamb, a psychology professor at St. Michael's College, but they are conducted in secrecy and often burden the participants with lifelong guilt. Based on interviews with 122 women and girls from a fairly wide range of socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds (29 were African-American and 22 Latina), this accessible and engaging study reveals that most girls experience sexual and aggressive feelings.
Phillips, Lynn. Flirting With Danger: Young Women’s Reflections On Sexuality And Domination
In Flirting with Danger, Lynn M. Phillips explores how young women make sense of, resist, and negotiate conflicting cultural messages about sexual agency, responsibility, aggression, and desire. How do women develop their ideas about sex, love, and domination? Why do they express feminist views condemning male violence in the abstract, but often adamantly refuse to name their own violent and exploitive encounters as abuse, rape, or victimization?
Roszak, Betty and Theodore. Masculine/Feminine
This book offers readings in sexual mythology and the liberation of women. “He is playing masculine. She is playing feminine. He is playing masculine because she is playing feminine. She is playing feminine because he is playing masculine…She is stifling under the triviality of her femininity. The world is groaning beneath the terrors of his masculinity…how do we call off the game?”
Silverman, Sue William. Love Sick: One Woman’s Journey through Sexual Addiction
In this powerful, often lyrical memoir, a woman learns to value herself – as a whole person rather than as a sexual object. Recounting her past experiences as part of her journey toward recovery, Sue William Silverman explores her skewed belief that sex is love, a belief that began with her father’s sexual abuse from her early childhood into adolescence. This utterly candid account may be the first book by a woman to examine sexual addiction. But the misguided search that became Silverman’s life has resonance for other addictions, whether to food, drugs, alcohol, or work – for anyone whose only satisfaction is now.
Stockford, Marjorie A. The Bellwomen: The Story of The Landmark At&T Sex Discrimination Case.
In the early 1970s, David Copus, a young lawyer, teamed up with his government colleagues to confront the mature and staid executives of AT&T over the company’s treatment of its female and minority employees. Their disagreement resulted in a $38 million settlement that benefited 15,000 employees, more than 13,000 of them women, and changed our perceptions of women’s and men’s roles in the workplace forever.
Tanenbaum, Leora. Slut! Growing Up Female With a Bad Reputation
The statistics are daunting: "Two out of five girls nationwide have had sexual rumors spread about them," reports Leora Tanenbaum. "Three out of four girls have received sexual comments or looks, and one in five has had sexual messages written about her in public areas." The 50 women interviewed for this book differ greatly in ethnic background, age, and economic status, but they share one thing in common--each of them, along with Tanenbaum herself, was labeled a "slut" in junior high or high school. (And, as recent cases involving Anita Hill and Monica Lewinsky demonstrate, a woman can face such taunts no matter what her age or professional level.) As such, they became victims of a double standard that winks at sexual promiscuity among teenage boys but insists that young women remain virginal and pure. Even worse, the slut bashing is perpetuated in nearly every case by female classmates. In addition to insisting that schools get serious about combating sexual harassment, Tanenbaum urges the development of sex education programs that acknowledge responsible alternatives to abstinence, programs that would recognize the sexual desires of young women (and men) without condemnation. Her social critique is solid, but it's the personal accounts of emotional abuse--and, thankfully, perseverance--that will thoroughly convince you that the current tolerance of slut bashing is simply unacceptable.
Tolman, Deborah L. Dilemmas of Desire: Teenage Girls Talk about Sexuality.
For all the panicky ink devoted to teen sex, until now there has been no academic study on what teenage girls actually want. Tolman, an associate director at the Center for Research on Women at Wellesley College, fills that gap by focusing on girls' desires, rather than on the social ills they're usually quizzed on-pregnancy, disease and dropping out of school.
von Mahlsdorf, Charlotte. I am My Own Wife: The True Story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf.
Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, born Lothar Berfelde in 1928 in Mahlsdorf, was the son of a benevolent mother and a tyrannical father. At a very early age (seven or eight), he discovered that he liked to wear his mother's old clothes, jauntily noting that "I still have my mania for aprons." His story is not all lightness and lipstick, however. Mahlsdorf recalls being transferred from public to private school after a teacher beat him for making a crack about Hitler Youth. He found a job working after school in an antique furniture store. But then a Jewish co-worker was taken away ("They probably need farm workers in Poland," his employer insisted hopefully), and more and more often they began dealing in "Jewish bequests." Mahlsdorf escaped the war and his father by going with his mother, sister and brother to East Prussia, and from there to stay on his aunt's farm, where he was encouraged and nurtured by his lesbian aunt, herself a cross-dresser. Near the end of the war, when he returned to his home village, he killed his violent father during a confrontation and used a precursor of battered women's syndrome as his defense. Mahlsdorf did not slow down a bit in later years. He recalls creating a house-museum almost from scratch, East Germany's underground gay culture, the persecution he suffered from appearing in women's clothing in public and the divisiveness of the Berlin Wall.
White, Emily. Fast Girls: Teenage Tribes and the Myth of the Slut
Haunted by memories of the way her high school classmates had treated Anna "Wanna" Thomas, the school's designated "slut," former Seattle Stranger editor White decided to investigate the near-universal American myths of the "fast girl" and the actual women behind those myths. She contacted over 150 mostly white women and girls between ages 13 and 55. Typical of them is 25-year-old Madeline, who was rumored in high school to have crabs, AIDS and herpes; had "whore" written in lipstick on her locker; and was beaten up at a party by other girls. White uses the recollections of these women to piece together what she calls the American slut archetype: a girl whose body matures early, who is said to have sex with teams of boys and who is frequently a victim of childhood sexual abuse. White often and sometimes gratuitously cites Foucault, de Beauvoir, Jung, Elaine Showalter and other scholars as she examines why these labels are ever present in the adolescent social universe, and what they reveal about Americans' conflicted attitudes toward female sexuality.
Wolf, Naomi. Promiscuities: The Secret Struggle for Womanhood
In this provocative and highly personal new book, Naomi Wolf speaks to women with searing honesty about a subject that has long been taboo: our sexual coming of age. Promiscuities follows a group of adolescent girls as they gradually become aware of themselves as sexual beings and discover what our culture tells them being female means.
Black, Shannon Trice, M. Ed.,LPC Classroom Guidance Games
Classroom Guidance Games is designed to be a friendly, easy, fun tool for counselors and teachers to use in the classroom. Each of these fifty tried and true games are easy to assemble, require little preparation, and only 30 minutes to play. Students will love these games which get them out of their seats and engage their minds, as well as their bodies. They will learn ways to deal with anger, homework, bullies, safety, goals, friends, and their futures!
Herman, Manna Lachecki. Teaching Kids to Love the Earth: Sharing a Sense of Wonder... 186 Outdoor Activities for Parents and Other Teachers.
his book was developed to teach children about nature by encouraging their curiosity about the natural world through outdoor activities. The book describes 186 learning activities that encourage children to experience and appreciate the earth. The learning activities are arranged and presented in theme sections to illustrate "the Sense of Wonder Circle," a notion that feelings about nature are more important than knowledge of it for teaching and learning. Theme sections include curiosity, exploration, discovery, sharing, and passion. Each of the 17 chapters contains a story to illustrate the main learning activity. Descriptions of learning activities include the purpose and rationale of the activity; the appropriate age and number of children for the activity; the setting; needed materials; and suggestions for carrying out the learning activity. Also included in each chapter are sections entitled "Did You Know,""Resources," and "Other Ideas" that provide additional resources and ideas for planning learning activities.
Hill, Julia Butterfly. One Makes the Difference: Inspiring Actions that Change Our World
Environmental activist and writer Hill, whose The Legacy of Luna recorded her attempt to save a redwood forest by living in a tree for two years, now offers practical tips for environmentally sound living. In short, punchy chapters, she suggests steps that readers of all ages can take to reduce waste and pollution. Using nontoxic household products for cleaning, organizing recycling programs and buying locally grown produce are just a few of the measures Hill recommends in this accessible guide. She also gives a crash course in nonviolent protesting and other forms of political action.
Logan, Judy. Teaching Stories
Judy Logan taught middle school at inner-city public schools in San Francisco for more than 30 years (which automatically makes her a hero), and in this collection of short essays, she tells about her experiences. Logan uses an inclusive curriculum that incorporates life elements that her students bring in. She believes in saying "yes" to her students as often as possible, and in balancing the "have-tos" and the "get-tos" of assignments. In "The Story of Two Quilts," each student makes a quilting patch: "Can I do Cyndi Lauper?" "Yes." "Can I sew on buttons, ribbons, sparkles?" "Yes." "Can I stuff cotton underneath to make it three dimensional?" "Yes." Logan's students, who have been encouraged and taught to think for themselves, win awards, achieve in high school, and achieve in life. We should all be so lucky as to have Logan, or teachers like her, in our children's lives.
Maine Women's Health Campaign--Girls Will Be Girls? Aggression, Sexuality, and Body Image: A Guide for Planning Change.
Petovello, Laura R. The Spirit That Moves Us
This book is a guide to teaching kindergarten through fourth graders about diversity, prejudice, human rights, and the Holocaust.
Quenk, Rachel. The Spirit That Moves Us
This book places an emphasis on the broader issues of identity and prejudice. Moving from general to more specific themes to place prejudice and the Holocaust in the context of an ongoing social problem. Each chapter contains lesson plans based on fictional or autobiographical children’s books appropriate for grades five through eight.
Sadker, Myra & David. Failing at Fairness: How America's Schools Cheat Girls
Failing at Fairness is a powerful indictment of sexism in America’s classrooms. The findings from twenty years of research by two of America’s most distinguished social scientists show that gender bias in our schools makes it possible for girls to receive an education equal to boys’. Girls are systematically denied opportunities in areas where boys are encouraged to excel, often by well-meaning teachers who are unaware that they are transmitting sexist values. Professors Myra and David Sadker have produced a comprehensive, compelling, essential resource, “ a truly optimistic book, testament to the resilience of the human psyche and the power of education to create space for personal and intellectual growth.”
Sapon-Shevin, Mara. Because We Can Change the World: A Practical Guide to Building Cooperative, Inclusive Classroom Communities
With the increase of diverse students in all classrooms, pre-service and in-service teachers often find themselves overwhelmed with how to provide a quality learning community that is inclusive of all students. This book delivers hope, promise, and practical goals for teachers who wish to create a warm, respectful, and nurturing learning environment for their students, that will, in turn, inspire students to make a difference in their classroom community and the world beyond.
Sheffer, Susannah. A Sense of Self: Listening to Homeschooled Adolescent Girls.
Research has documented that the self-esteem of girls plunges at adolescence. Whether this is true for girls educated outside the school system was studied through interviews with 20 homeschooled girls, a questionnaire completed by 20 more, and tape-recorded responses of 5 others. Subjects were asked to describe themselves and their interests, family relationships, friendships, and educations. Many of these girls chose to act in ways that resisted society's expectations, and many were very self-reflective about the paths their families had chosen for them, or the paths they were working out for themselves. Most of the girls talked about trusting themselves, pursuing their own goals, and maintaining friendships even when they and their friends were not in agreement. Looking at the attitudes and successes of homeschooled girls provides an oblique look at schools and their effects on girls and young women. The eight chapters in the book are entitled: (1) "'They cannot understand the freedom'"; (2) "Family Context"; (3) "'We don't have to agree'"; (4) "'I like who I am'"; (5) "Acts of Resistance"; (6) "'A whole different person'"; (7) "'More aware of my femaleness'"; and "Brining Resistance into School." (Contains 37 references.)
Teaching Tolerance Project. Starting Small: Teaching Tolerance in Preschool and Early Grades.
This book profiles seven classrooms in which teachers are helping young children build inclusive, equitable, caring communities across differences that too often divide. Their approaches are varied, yet they share three crucial habits: reflecting continually on their own assumptions, goals and behavior; talking with their peers about how these factors conflict as well as coincide; and practicing social skills as diligently as mental or physical ones. The book has seven chapters each centered on an in-depth classroom narrative. Topics addressed include the following: family diversity, practical and ethnic awareness, fairness,nurturing justice, building friendship skills, discovering diversity, facing prejudice, heroes, responding to special needs, encouraging self-discipline, and coping with loss.
Two kinds of sidebars supplement the main stories. "Reflections" is research-based essays addressing specific themes or developmental aspects of teaching tolerance, such as racial awareness, gender equity, or friendship. "Applications" offers practical ideas for incorporating these concepts into classroom activities. Annotated resource lists focusing on diversity education in early childhood settings are provided.
Virginia Tech Service-Learning Center. Empowering Women and Girls: Supporting Educational Equity Through School-University Collaboration.
The Women’s Studies Department of The Ohio State University. Reading Women’s Lives
Reading Women’s Lives is a custom program designed and developed to cover the core curriculum of Women’s Studies. The guide comes with a CD-ROM disk with the full text of all selections for previewing purposes.
Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak.
Since the beginning of the school year, high school freshman Melinda has found that it's been getting harder and harder for her to speak out loud: "My throat is always sore, my lips raw.... Every time I try to talk to my parents or a teacher, I sputter or freeze.... It's like I have some kind of spastic laryngitis." What could have caused Melinda to suddenly fall mute? Could it be due to the fact that no one at school is speaking to her because she called the cops and got everyone busted at the seniors' big end-of-summer party? Or maybe it's because her parents' only form of communication is Post-It notes written on their way out the door to their nine-to-whenever jobs. While Melinda is bothered by these things, deep down she knows the real reason why she's been struck mute...
Ashby, R.S. Going for the Gold: Sarah Hughes, America's Sweetheart.
Geared toward slightly older readers, Going for the Gold: Sarah Hughes, America's Sweetheart by R.S. Ashby spotlights the 16-year-old champ in a chapter book format.
Betancourt, Jeanne. Three Girls in the City: Exposed.
Maya, Carolyn, and Joy are best friends. They are three friends who are doing projects with cameras, sharing fun times, adventures, and even some bad times.
Betancourt, Jeanne. Three Girls in the City: Self-Portrait.
Three13 year-old girls meet at a summer photo class: Carolyn, fresh from Wyoming, motherless and scared; Joy, who has everything plus a bad attitude, and Maya from Harlem, strong, proud and surprised to find herself liking these 2 mismatched girls. Just as these 3 discover they're friends despite their differences, Carolyn's father decides to send her back 'home' to Wyoming. Then, in her first flush of street-smart confidence, Carolyn gets scarily lost on the subway - and it's Joy and Maya who find her - and show her dad that New York City is the home they've been looking for.
Blume, Judy, editor. Places I Never Meant to Be.
In this provocative collection, Judy Blume, the censors' favorite target, assembles an all-star cast of young adult writers who have themselves felt the pain of censorship. Each contributes an original short story and some highly quotable observations on their own experiences and feelings when under attack.
Boock, Paula. Dare Truth Or Promise
Excerpt: “ ’I’m in love with that girl,’ she said out loud in amazement, because she knew that this was a life-changing thing and life-changing things should be said aloud, should have a moment in time, and a place in the air, some molecular structure to make them real. I’m in love with that girl, she heard as it reverberated inside her head. And it was a truth, she realized, as things are which you don’t think, but discover have always existed.
Brashares, Ann. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
They were just a soft, ordinary pair of thrift-shop jeans until the four girls took turns trying them on--four girls, that is, who are close friends, about to be parted for the summer, with very different sizes and builds, not to mention backgrounds and personalities. Yet the pants settle on each girl's hips perfectly, making her look sexy and long-legged and feel confident as a teenager can feel. "These are magical Pants!" they realize, and so they make a pact to share them equally, to mail them back and forth over the summer from wherever they are. Beautiful, distant Lena is going to Greece to be with her grandparents; strong, athletic Bridget is off to soccer camp in Baja, California; hot-tempered Carmen plans to have her divorced father all to herself in South Carolina; and Tibby the rebel will be left at home to slave for minimum wage at Wallman's.
Braun, Sandra. Incredible Women Inventors.
This addition to the acclaimed Women's Hall of Fame series profiles ten incredible women with an itch to invent. Written in an accessible, engaging, and informative style, Incredible Women Inventors examines both the challenges and successes in the lives of Canadian and international problem-solvers.
Canfield, Jack et al. Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul: 101 Stories of Life, Love and Learning
A collection of inspirational stories from contributors such as Bill Cosby, Robert Fulghum, Jennie Garth, Jennifer Love Hewitt, A.J. Langer, and many more.
Canfield, Jack et al. Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul II
You asked for more Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul – so here it is, from the hearts of Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Kimberly Kirberger. You’ll find 101 stories to help you deal with a world that seems more and more difficult every day.
Canfield, Jack et al. Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul on Tough Stuff.
This latest offering in the best-selling Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul series explores a host of challenges faced by today's teens. Within its pages teens will find portraits of life's complexities expressed from the viewpoint of their peers. Teen contributors share their thoughts and feelings on difficult issues, ranging from poor self-image to thoughts of suicide, from family discord to coping with the loss, from peer pressure to school violence.
Chambers, Veronica. Mama's Girl
On the streets of Brooklyn in the 1970s, Veronica Chambers mastered the whirling helixes of a double-dutch jump rope with the same finesse she brought to her schoolwork, her often troubled family life, and the demands of being overachieving and underprivileged. Though her mother seemed to bear out the adage that "black women raise their daughters and mother their sons," Veronica never stopped trying to do more, do better, do it all.
Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street.
Esperanza Cordero, a girl coming of age in the Hispanic quarter of Chicago, uses poems and stories to express thoughts and emotions about her oppressive environment.
Cooper-Mullin, A. & Coye, J. M. Once Upon a Heroine: 450 Books for Girls to Love
This is a carefully constructed resource of books about and for girls. While it includes recommendations on the well known..."Little Women", "Anne of Green Gables" and "Harriet the Spy", it also includes recommendations on unusual, clever and hard to find books such as Jan Andrews' "Very Last First Time" and Jacqueline Dembar Greene's "Out of Many Waters". In addition to the typical one-paragraph summaries of the books, the authors have interviewed dozens of prominent accomplished American women about their favorite childhood books.
Cummings, Priscilla. What Mr. Mattero Did.
Grade 6-8 When three seventh-grade girls from Oakdale Middle School come forward with an accusation that Mr. Mattero touched them inappropriately, the passionate, veteran music teacher is summarily sent home, and a formal investigation and lots of informal character assassination quickly gets underway. Once the media becomes involved, the man becomes persona non grata and is presumed guilty by most. Naturally, he's devastated, and his family suffers too, as the rumors and reproaches escalate. Melody, Mattero's daughter, is particularly affected; she happens to be an eighth-grader at Oakdale.
Donoghue, Emma. Stir-fry
Seventeen and sure of nothing, Maria has left her parents’ small-town grocery for university life in Dublin. An ad in the Student Union – “2 women seek flatmate. No bigots” – leads Maria to a home with warm Ruth and wickedly funny Jael, students who are older and more fascinating than she’d expected. But one day something Maria glimpses by accident blows her mind open, and she is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her sexuality. A poignant, funny, and sharply insightful coming-of-age story, Stir-fry is a lesbian novel that explores the conundrum of desire arising in the midst of friendship and probes feminist ideas of sisterhood and nonpossessiveness.
Frank, Anne. The Diary of a Young Girl.
A beloved classic since its initial publication in 1947, this vivid, insightful journal is a fitting memorial to the gifted Jewish teenager who died at Bergen-Belsen, Germany, in 1945. Born in 1929, Anne Frank received a blank diary on her 13th birthday, just weeks before she and her family went into hiding in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. Her marvelously detailed, engagingly personal entries chronicle 25 trying months of claustrophobic, quarrelsome intimacy with her parents, sister, a second family, and a middle-aged dentist who has little tolerance for Anne's vivacity. The diary's universal appeal stems from its riveting blend of the grubby particulars of life during wartime (scant, bad food; shabby, outgrown clothes that can't be replaced; constant fear of discovery) and candid discussion of emotions familiar to every adolescent (everyone criticizes me, no one sees my real nature, when will I be loved?). Yet Frank was no ordinary teen: the later entries reveal a sense of compassion and a spiritual depth remarkable in a girl barely 15. Her death epitomizes the madness of the Holocaust, but for the millions who meet Anne through her diary, it is also a very individual loss.
Fritz, Jean. The Double Life of Pocahontas
Pocahontas was the special favorite of her father, the great chief Powhatan. And when the English settlers came to Virginia, she became a ‘sister’ to Captain John Smith, who was ‘adopted’ into her tribe. She was permitted to move freely between the Indian and white worlds, and her life seemed perfect until she was kidnapped by the settlers. And before Peace could be made, she would be asked to turn her back on everything she loved – and to leave her Indian world behind forever.
Gantos, Jack. Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key
Joey Pigza has problems. Big problems. He was emotionally abused by his grandmother. He has never met his dad. He can't get along in his elementary school classroom because of his mood swings and his "dud meds." We gradually see that Joey must have Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), which is not being effectively controlled with his current medication. Joey's life is a terrifying roller-coaster ride, and Jack Gantos, author of the Rotten Ralph books, drags the reader along to see what life is like with ADD. The story is written from the boy's point of view in a sharp, worried style that veers out of control when Joey does. Joey's control of his own behavior slips away as we read, horrified to see this boy trying to get a grip on his life and failing. He disrupts the class field trip; he puts his finger in a pencil sharpener and injures himself; he swallows his house key. Then he runs through the classroom holding open sharp scissors. When he trips and falls, seriously injuring a classmate, he is transferred to a special-education program in another school. Here, thankfully, he encounters a caring teacher who recommends further medical evaluation, and Joey is eventually able to return to his former school.
Gantos, Jack. What Would Joey Do?
Joey's dad just roared into town on a motorcycle, his mom is chasing her ex-husband away with a broomstick, and his grandma's camped out on the couch behind a plastic shower curtain. What's more, Joey's chihuahua has been dognapped, and his mom insists that he be homeschooled with a mean blind girl and her super-religious mother. Welcome to Joey's world. With his new self-assumed role as "Mr. Helpful," Joey's on a mission to make everything and everyone better. Can Joey accomplish all this or will his wild, wired behavior spin him out of control all over again?
Garden, Nancy. Annie On My Mind
Excerpt: “’Liza,’ Mom said, looking into my eyes, ‘I want you to tell me the truth, not because I want to pry, but because I have to know. This could get very unpleasant…Now – have you and Annie – done any more than the usual experimenting…’ ‘No, Mom,’ I said, trying to look back at her calmly. I’m not proud of it. I make no excuses – I lied to her.”
Gavin, Jamila. Three Indian Princesses.
Princess Savitri: Savitri happily leaves the palace to live with her husband, Satyvan, in the jungle. But beneath her joy lurks fear, for Savitri carries a dark secret. It is written in the stars that Satyvan will die within a year Princess Damayanti: Everyone wishes to marry the beautiful Damayanti, including the gods. Even they, however, are happy to consent to her marriage to King Nala all except the demon Kali, who lays a curse on the perfect couple Princess Sita: Prince Rama is about to become king when he is banished to the jungle for fourteen years by his jealous stepmother. His loyal wife Sita follows, only to be kidnapped by Ravana, Lord of the Demons
George, Jean Craighead. Julie of the Wolves.
Lost on the Tundra. To her small Eskimo village, she is known as Miyax; to her friend in San Francisco, she is Julie. When the village is not longer safe for her, Miyax runs away. But she soon finds herself lost in the Alaskan wilderness, without food, without even a compass to guide her. Slowly she is accepted by a pack of Arctic wolves, and she grows to love them as though they were family. With their help, and drawing on her father's teachings, Miyax struggles day by day to survive. But the time comes when she must leave the wilderness and choose between the old ways and the new. Which will she choose? For she is Miyax of the Eskimos - but Julie of the Wolves.
Girzone, Joseph F. Joshua In the City.
The effect of the eponymous hero on a New York inner-city neighborhood is the subject of this latest in Girzone's (Never Alone) inspirational series. Gentle, mysterious Joshua is propositioned by a young runaway turned prostitute. When her pimp muscles in, Joshua brings him to his knees, promising the young woman he'll never bother her again. He also heals the next person they encounter, a wealthy woman troubled by depression; Girzone would have us believe that this affluent woman is the prostitute's loyal friend and regular picnic companion! Then Joshua meets the woman's generous husband, some confused black youths and their single mother and several others, all of whom he impresses with his kindliness and charity.
Gray, Gwendolyn. Girls Who Grew Up Great: A Book of Encouragement for Girls About Amazing Women Who Dared to Dream.
Listen up to hear the stories of some daring women who made a huge difference in the world: Murasaki Shikibu, who wrote the world's first novel. Miranda Stuart, who disguised herself as a man for her entire life to become England's first female doctor. Maggie Lena Walker, the first African American woman to become president of a bank. Angelina and Sarah Moore Grimke, two sisters who were the first women to speak out for women's rights in America.These are just a few of the remarkable women you'll read about in GIRLS WHO GREW UP GREAT. It's full of stories about girls like you who, as they grew up, dared to dream, conquered challenges, and made a better world for us all.
Hunter, Latoya. The Diary of Latoya Hunter
Here are Latoya’s innermost thoughts, recorded in her diary as the events happened. As she experiences her first year at JHS 80 in the Bronx, these are described in the simple but luminous prose of an intelligent, sensitive, shy, and deeply feeling young girl. Her story is, of course, typical of girls like her, and it is also unique. It is affirmative, inspiring, moving, human, real.
Ibbotson, Eva. Island of the Aunts
Aunt Etta, Aunt Coral, and Aunt Myrtle need help caring for the mermaids, selkies, and other creatures who live on their hidden island--and they know that adults can't be trusted. What the kindly old aunts need are a few sensible and sturdy children who can keep a secret. And while kidnapping is generally not a good idea, sometimes it just has to be done. (After all, some kids just plain need to be kidnapped.) When the newly kidnapped assistant caretakers, Minette and Fabio, arrive on the island, all kinds of amazing and wondrous things start happening.
Ibbotson, Eva. Journey to the River Sea.
Sent to live with distant relatives on a rubber plantation in Brazil, Maia must leave her cozy boarding school in London for the unknown wilderness of the Amazon jungle. Accompanied by Miss Minton, a no-nonsense governess, Maia expects to find curtains of orchids and brightly colored macaws. But instead they find the Carters, Maia's evil-tempered aunt and uncle, with whom Maia's life becomes almost unbearable. It is only when she is swept up in a mystery involving a young Indian boy, a homsick child actor, and a missing inheritance that Maia finds herself in the middle of the Amazon adventure she dreamed of.
Jones, Stephanie. Girls, Social Class, & Literacy: What Teachers Can Do to Make a Difference
Johnson, Maureen. The Bermudez Triangle
Excerpt: “In the first moment, Nina thought Avery was helping Mel with a necklace. Then, she realized that Mel wasn’t wearing one. Also, putting on or removing a necklace doesn’t usually involve putting you lips on someone else’s. Oh my God. They’re kissing. Nina froze, holding the curtain to the side. One of her atomic laughs almost bubbled up, but them is stopped somewhere in her throat and sank back down. Nowhere in Nina’s arsenal of responses, replies, and reactions did she have anything for this. So she just stood there for a moment, trying to think of something neutral. Something you could say on any occasion at all. ‘What’s going on?’ she asked.”
Keene, Carolyn. The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew #1).
Nancy Drew’s keen mind is tested when she searches for a missing will.
Keene, Carolyn. The Hidden Staircase (Nancy Drew #2).
Teenage detective Nancy Drew uses her courage and powers of deduction to solve the mysterious happenings in an old stone mansion.
Keene, Carolyn. The Bungalow Mystery (Nancy Drew #3).
Nancy believes her friend's guardians are trying to steal her inheritance. As she investigates, she has a perilous experience near the deserted bungalow.
Keene, Carolyn. The Mystery at Lilac Inn (Nancy Drew #4).
Nancy finds herself in danger when she tries to solve the mystery of an old inn which seems to be jinxed.
Keene, Carolyn. The Secret of Shadow Ranch (Nancy Drew #5).
Nancy arrives in Arizona, looking forward to a fun-filled vacation at Shadow Ranch, but abruptly finds herself involved in a baffling mystery involving a missing child.
Keene, Carolyn. The Secret of Red Gate Farm (Nancy Drew #6).
Nancy becomes suspicious of a secret society and is drawn to investigate.
Keene, Carolyn. Without a Trace (Nancy Drew: All New Girl Detective #1).
Eggs and zucchini may sound like a special Sunday omelet to most, but for Nancy Drew, it means it's time to roll up her sleeves and start solving mysteries. In this first book of the "modernized" series featuring the whip-smart girl detective, Nancy is called upon to solve not one but two whodunits, simultaneously. Someone has been smashing the neighborhood zucchini patches and the disgruntled gardeners are starting to point fingers at one another. Meanwhile, a new resident in Nancy's Midwestern town is frantic when she discovers that her old and precious Faberge egg has been stolen. Can our favorite not-so-hard-boiled detective unscramble both these cases before it's too late?
Keene, Carolyn. A Race Against Time (Nancy Drew: All New Girl Detective #2).
Nancy and her friends compete in a huge bike race. But when the money that's been raised is stolen, Nancy's on the trail of a thief.
Keene, Carolyn. False Notes (Nancy Drew: All New Girl Detecitve #3).
While looking for a birthday present for her father, Nancy instead finds a mystery involving the kidnapping of a talented musician who is at the center of both a political feud and a fight over a scholarship.
Keene, Carolyn. High Risk (Nancy Drew: All New Girl Detective #4)
Nancy follows Ned's lead and takes some flying lessons. It's all fun until she starts noticing suspicious behavior on land and in the air that interferes with her lessons.
Lamb, Wally. She's Come Undone.
In this engaging first novel, narrator Dolores Price recounts her life story from age four to age 40; her relentless parade of disasters makes for interesting reading.
Landon,Margaret. Anna and the King.
this classic tale blends fact and fiction as it tells the story of Englishwoman Anna Leonowens, who becomes governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the 1860s. The story is filled with detailed description.
LeBlanc, Margaret Ann. Ms. Mady Comes to Town.
Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars.
Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen often think about life before the war. But it's now 1943 and their life in Copenhagen is filled with school, food shortages, and the Nazi soldiers marching in their town. The Nazi won't stop. The Jews of Denmark are being "relocated, " so Ellen moves in with the Johansens and pretends to be part of the family. Then Annemarie is asked to go on a dangerous mission. Somehow she must find the strength and courage to save her best friend's life. There's no turning back now.
MacLachlan, Patricia. Skylark.
This successful sequel to Sarah Plain and Tall (1985) has enough dramatic tension and character development to satisfy devoted fans of the first book. Mail-order bride Sarah goes back east with children Anna and Caleb, leaving husband Jacob, whose name is "written in the land," to deal with their drought-ridden farm. Sarah's home in Maine makes a favorable impression on the children, but they miss their father and fear they will never return to the prairie.
Martin, Ann M. Belle Teal.
Ten-year-old Belle Teal Harper lives with her mother and grandmother in a small rural town in the early 1960s. Though they don't have much, Belle Teal feels rich with love and loyalty to her family and her best friends, Clarice and Little Boss.As a new school year begins, Belle Teal faces unexpected challenges. Her Gran's memory is slipping away. Her mother works longer hours to support the family. Little Boss' troubled relationship with his father is pushing the boy to extremes. And there are two new students in Belle Teal's class: a shy African American boy caught in the center of rampant prejudice, and a new girl whose outward confidence belies the secret she holds close.
McDaniel, Lurline. Telling Christina Goodbye.
Grade 6-10 Trisha is enjoying her senior year and planning to attend college in her home state, Indiana, with her longtime boyfriend, Cody. She's especially excited for her best friend, Christina, who's been offered a scholarship to the University of Vermont, which Trisha sees as an opportunity for the teen to get away from her controlling boyfriend, Tucker. Tension mounts when the four attend a basketball game together and Tucker starts a fight with a boy who talks to Christina. On the way home, the two couples have a car accident that leaves Christina dead and Cody in a coma.
Myracle, Lauren. Kissing Kate
Lissa and Kate had spent almost every day together since they were twelve. But then one night last summer, Kate leaned in to kiss Lissa, and Lissa kissed her back. Now Kate is pretending that her friend doesn’t exist, and it is Lissa who needs a secret cure for her feelings and confusion…Lissa discovers that there isn’t a cure for life – and that sometimes falling in love with the wrong person is the only way to find your footing.
Mylin, Deborah (editor). Body Language: New Moon Talks about Growing Up.
Neely, Barbara. Blanche On The Lam.
Neely's deftly written first novel pays tribute to the community and culture of a working-class African American woman who becomes both a sleuth and a fugitive from the law.
O'Connor, Karen. Dan Thuy's New Life in America.
Dan Thuy Huynh, 13, her parents, and her 9-year-old sister have been living with the girls' grandparents in San Diego for four months. Their journey to this country included one month spent hiding in Kampuchea (Cambodia), a 24-hour boat trip to Thailand, and 3 years there in a refugee camp. Both the history of the camps and their routines are succinctly described. As the family adapts to American life, the combining of the two cultures is portrayed, whether it be in food and clothing or in evaluating the traditional role of Southeast Asian women in contrast to their opportunities here.
O'Dell, Scott. Streams to the River, River to the Sea.
Scagawea, a Shashone Indian, guided and interpreted for explorers Lewis and Clarke as they traveled up the Mississippi, but she had adventures long before that one, like the time she was captured by the Minnetarees, and taken away from her family and everything that she knew and loved....
Quindlen, Anna. Being Perfect.
A few times in your life, someone will tell you something so right, so deeply true that it changes you forever. That is what Anna Quindlen, author of the timeless bestseller A Short Guide to a Happy Life, does here.In Being Perfect, she shares wisdom that, perhaps without knowing it, you have longed to hear: about the perfection trap, the price you pay when you become ensnared in it, and the key to setting yourself free. Quindlen believes that when your success looks good to the world but doesn’t feel good in your heart, it isn’t success at all.
Rice, Ashley. Girls Rule: A Very Special Book Created Especially for Girls.
This is a book for girls. For girls who are thinkers and believers. For girls who are readers and changers and dreamers. For girls who look for rainbows and friendship. For girls who are not afraid to be different. Join one such girl, Penelope J. Miller, as she narrates this book, becomes your friend, and takes you on a journey through all the fun, craziness, and challenges of being a girl in the world. She's here with words of experience, support, advice, and a whole lot of laughs. And she's even left some space for you to write down your own thoughts, memories, wishes, and ideas.
Santiago, Esmeralda. Almost a Women
The broad outlines of Santiago's life story, begun in When I Was Puerto Rican (1993) and continued here, are familiar; indeed, they limn the quintessential American experience--that of a stranger in a strange land. Santiago, writing prose as notable for its poise and directness as for its sharp detail, picks up where she left off, with her arrival at age 13 in Brooklyn, New York, and chronicles her struggle not only to learn a new language and adjust to a far more diverse and divisive society.
Sewell, Michelle, Editor. Just Like a Girl: A Manifesta!
This fiery, fierce collection of short stories, essays, and poems is a rough-and-tumble travelogue through the bumpy, powerful, action-packed world of girl. The anthology features writings by an ethnically diverse cross-section of contributors ages 14-60, exploring the themes of love, fear, and forgiveness. Realizing the girl as superhero!
Singer, Marilyn. Stay True: Short Stories for Strong Girls
If your parents promise you something and don’t deliver, can you go on strike? Are there any real Cinderella stories anymore? How do you stay true to yourself, anyway? The eleven distinguished authors in this humorous and heartfelt collection – among them M.E. Kerr, Norma Fox Mazer, Andrea Davis Pinkney, and Rita Williams-Garcia – explore issues like generational differences, independence, abuse, and relationships in stories that will touch and inspire.
Sittenfeld, Curtis. Prep.
Curtis Sittenfeld's poignant and occassionally angst-ridden debut novel Prep is the story of Lee Fiora, a South Bend, Indiana, teenager who wins a scholarship to the prestigious Ault school, an East Coast institution where "money was everywhere on campus, but it was usually invisible." As we follow Lee through boarding school, we witness firsthand the triumphs and tragedies that shape our heroine's coming-of-age. Yet while Sittenfeld may be a skilled storyteller, her real gift lies in her ability to expertly give voice to what is often described as the most alienating period in a young person's life: high school.
Vail, Rachel. Please, Please, Please.
Hurley never sits with her legs crossed. It works against her turn-out in dancing. Encouraged by her doting mother, the girl has been devoted to ballet for six years. Lately though, it seems her commitment to dance is causing her to miss crucial seventh-grade experiences such as the class apple-picking trip, soccer, and time at the pizza place with her crowd. CJ's struggle to decide how to please her mother, please her friends, and still please herself is the basis of this story.
Wolff, Wirginia Eulwer. Bat 6.
Since the turn of the century, two rival Oregon farm communities have put their differences behind them and come together once a year to watch their sixth-grade girls' teams play softball. In the spring of 1949, the "50-year girls" excitedly anticipate their moment of glory. Bat 6 is their story, reconstructed just after it happened. The narrative is comprised of firsthand reporting from girls on both sides. This year, each team has a ringer. For the Bear Creek Ridge Mountaineers, it's Japanese-American first-baseman Aki, whose family has just moved back to the community after spending most of the war years in an internment camp. The Barlow Pioneers' marvel is their center fielder who calls herself Shazam, a troubled youngster who does everything, except her schoolwork, with an unsettling, single-minded intensity. Her father was killed at Pearl Harbor and she has maintained a deep-seeded hatred of the Japanese ever since.
The ACLU Freedom Files: Women's Rights
Part of a series, this film focuses on individuals who have fought for gender equality.
Avoiding the Money Trap: Strengthening Rural Families
The Casey Foundation's 25-minute video on DVD highlights financial problems that often ensnare rural working families, including payday loans, high interest car loans, high debt, poor credit, and more. The documentary is designed to raise awareness among policymakers, service providers and advocates, as well as to be a resource for financial education.
B-Girl Be: A Celebration of Women in Hip-Hop
Barbie Nation
Generations of people are obsessed with Barbie, the world’s most popular toy. Journeying from Barbie conventions to anti-Barbie demonstrations, from San Francisco’s gay pride parade to Croatia’s bunkers, Barbie Nation plumbs the phenomenon of the Barbie doll. Barbie fans, foes, fetishists (and the woman who created Barbie) reveal the history and fantasy behind this 20th century icon.
Cut: Teens and Self Injury
CUT: Teens and Self Injury provides an intimate look at a largely unacknowledged problem that affects thousands of young people, their families and friends. Using the words, music and artwork of the teens themselves, director Wendy Schneider draws back the curtain on the sensationalism and secrecy surrounding the cycle of self-harm and brings this hidden issue into sharp, clear focus. As teens articulate their experience with self-injury, we see them begin to confront both their urges and their deepest feelings.
Deadly Persuasion: The Advertising of Alcohol and Tobacco
In Deadly Persuasion: The Advertising of Alcohol & Tobacco, Jean Kilbourne exposes the manipulative marketing strategies and tactics used by the tobacco and alcohol industries to keep Americans hooked on their dangerous products. Illustrating her analysis with hundreds of current advertising examples from mainstream and trade sources, Kilbourne presents a compelling argument that these cynical industries have a clear and deep understanding of the psychology of addiction
Desire
his refreshingly honest film documents the challenges and desires of a group of young women in New Orleans by letting them film their own stories. As this diverse group of young women (two teenagers from the Desire housing projects, a single mother from the working-class suburb of Belle Chase across the river, and two girls from the most prestigious private high school in New Orleans) make short films about their own desires, this provocative film records the intimate dramas of their changing lives.
Dying to Be Thin
The film examines a disturbing increase in the prevalence of debilitating and sometimes life-threatening eating disorders, particularly anorexia and bulimia.
The Education of Shelby Knox: Sex, Lies, and Education
A 15-year-old girl's transformation from conservative Southern Baptist to liberal Christian and ardent feminist parallels her fight for sex education and gay rights in Lubbock, Texas.
From Girl to Woman
The feature presentation weaves themes of indigenous moontime teachings, self-care and self-esteem building, primordial feminine imagery in nature and art and multi-cultural approaches to girls' coming of age rites, including Native American, Latina, African American, Jewish, Hindu, Japanese and contemporary Goddess traditions.
Falling
Taylor, a 16 year-old-girl falls into abusing prescription drugs. This fictional film follows her downhill slide.
Game Over (41 Min)
Video and computer games represent a $6 billion a year industry. One out of every ten households in America owns a Sony Playstation. Children who own video game equipment play an average of ten hours per week. And yet, despite capturing the attention of millions of children worldwide, video games remain one of the least scrutinized cultural industries. Game Over is the first educational documentary to address the fastest growing segment of the media through engaging questions of gender, race and violence.
Girlfight (111 Min)
Girlfight is the fresh, triumphant story of a young woman in the Bronx who discovers her greatest love in the boxing ring. Diana Guzman is always fighting, whether at home in the housing projects with her abusive dad or at high school against gossipy girl cliques, but she finds a new outlet for her anger at her brother’s boxing gym. With hard-core training from veteran boxing coach Hector, Diana learns she has the guts and talent to be a contender. When she falls for macho featherweight Adrian, her heart is put to the test.
Invisible
This film examines some of the history of the relations between white and Native American communities in Maine.
Iron Jawed Angels
Defiant young activists take the women's suffrage movement by storm, putting their lives at risk to help American women win the right to vote.
It’s Elementary: Talking About Gay Issues in School & Viewing Guide (88 Min)
Most adults probably don’t see why or how schools should address lesbian and gay issues with young children. With inspiring classroom footage, It’s Elementary urges educators and parents to re-think their assumptions. This beautifully crafted film shows what actually happens when teachers lead class discussions that address anti-gay prejudice. It makes a powerful case that children need to be taught respect for ALL – and that this kind of education needs to start in elementary school.
Killing Us Softly 3
With wit and warmth, Kilbourne uses over 160 ads and TV commercials to critique advertising's image of women. By fostering creative and productive dialogue, she invites viewers to look at familiar images in a new way, that moves and empowers them to take action.
Lemonade Stories
Lemonade Stories, from award-winning filmmaker Mary Mazzio, explores the powerful impact mothers have had on igniting entrepreneurial spirit and innovative thinking. The film features Richard Branson (Virgin); Russell Simmons (Def Jam); Arthur Blank (Home Depot); Kay Koplovitz (USA Networks) among others. This highly acclaimed film aired on CNN and is in schools, corporations, and colleges around the world.
Live Girls: Stepping Out and Speaking Up (56 Min)
On October 5, 2002, twelve girls from the Diversity Coalition, a coed group of Maine High School Student Activists working to make a positive difference in their world, opened the University of Maine conference, “Girls Will Be Girls?”. They brought their voices center stage with an inspiring presentation of teenage girls’ voices on harassment, body image and sexuality, receiving a standing ovation from over 400 educators, researchers and parents. This film captures the passion of their live performances that day, along with filmed conversations among themselves and some of their work with Middle School students through the Harassment Tales Project.
Mickey Mouse Monopoly (52 Min)
This film takes a close and critical look at the world Disney films create and the stories they tell about race, gender and class and reaches disturbing conclusions about the values propagated under the guise of innocence and fun. This daring new video insightfully analyzes Disney’s cultural pedagogy, examines its corporate power, and explores its vast influence on our global culture. Including interviews with cultural critics, media scholars, child psychologists, kindergarten teachers, multicultural educators, college students and children Mickey Mouse Monopoly will provoke audiences to confront comfortable assumptions about an American institution that is virtually synonymous with childhood pleasure.
Notorious C.H.O. (95 Min)
Filmed live in Seattle, Notorious C.H.O. is Margaret Cho’s hilarious follow-up to her hit comedy sensation I’m the One that I Want. This hugely successful one-woman show toured 37 cities in North America last year and closed with a sold-out performance at New York’s Carnegie Hall. A brilliant, taboo-busting comedian, Margaret Cho is known as much for her raunchy humor as she is for her enormous contributions as a social equalizer.
Our Stories: "Healing Woods"
Healing Woods takes place at Indian
Township, one of the two Passamaquoddy Reservations in Washington County, Maine.
Paradise Road (132 Min)
In a time of war, an extraordinary group of women turned a song of hope into a symphony of triumph. This compelling drama reveals the heroic actions of a group of womenheld prisoner by the Japanese during World War II. These diverse women from different countries, speaking different languages, unite to form a vocal orchestra - creating a life affirming symphony of human voices.
The Pornography of Everyday Life (52 Min)
This trenchant and provocative documentary essay will generate thought, analysis, and discussion in a wide variety of courses in
women's and gender studies, psychology, sociology, and popular culture. It incorporates more than 200 powerful images from advertising, ancient myth, contemporary art, and popular culture to demonstrate how pornography (defined as the sexualized domination,degradation, and objectification of women and girls and social groupswho are put in the demeaned feminine role) is in reality a prevalent mainstream worldview.
Queen of Cactus Cove
A teenage chess champ has everything going for her: a winning streak, a great practice partner: her best friend Achak, and a victory at today’s Regional Chess Championship in the bag ... or so she thinks. With genuine humor, charming honesty, and a truly original take on chess, QUEEN OF CACTUS COVE is a bittersweet tale about winning, losing and growing up all at the same time.
Running in High Heels
A film about the difference between what women say and do in politics, Running in High Heels follows the campaign of a woman running for State Senate in New York City as women around her from the left and right of the spectrum try to explain how women can be the majority of the population at 52% but run nothing.
Searching For Angela Shelton (94 min)
Filmmaker Angela Shelton sets out to meet every other Angela Shelton in America as an approach to surveying American women. She discovered that 24 out of 40 Angela Sheltons she spoke to had been raped, beaten or molested (just like herself.) Then there was an Angela Shelton who tracked sexual predators and lived in the same town as the filmmaker's father, who had molested her and her step-siblings for years. The filmmaker's survey of women becomes a journey of self discovery. The Angela Sheltons complete the journey by teaching the filmmaker about forgiveness, faith and the power of the human spirit in all of us, no matter what your name is.
Slim Hopes (30 Min)
Jean Kilbourne’s video offers an in-depth analysis of how female bodies are depicted in advertising images and the devastating effects of those images on women’s health. Addressing the relationship between these images and the obsession of girls and women with dieting and thinned, Slim Hopes offers a new way to think about life-threatening eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, and a well-documented critical perspective on the social impact of advertising.
Speak Up! Improving the Lives of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Youth (35 Min)
Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) students and their allies face unique challenges of violence and harassment in their schools. Speak Up! explores what these students and their allies have done to transform their schools into safer and more welcoming environments. Interviews with students, parents, teachers, administrators and national activists highlight not only the need for transformation, but offer resources and advice for those actively working for change.
Spin the Bottle: Sex, Lies, and Alcohol
Spin the Bottle offers an indispensable critique of the role that contemporary popular culture plays in glamorizing excessive drinking and high-risk behaviors.
The Strength to Resist: Media's Impact on Women and Girls
"The Strength to Resist:The Media's Impact on Women & Girls" is a 33 minute documentary about the image of women in advertising. The film presents the ideas of girls and young women as well as those of the leading authorities in the fields of psychology of women and girls, eating disorders, gender studies, violence against women, and media literacy--and focuses their ideas on practical solutions and the best tactics for reclaiming our culture.
That's a Family: A Film for Kids About Family Diversity
With blunt and sometimes hilarious candor, children from over 50 diverse families open the door to their homes, and explain things like "divorce," "mixed race," "gay and lesbian," "birth mom," "single parent," "guardian," and "stepdad" -- and get right to the point of what they wish other people would understand about their families. While designed especially for young audiences, THAT'S A FAMILY! stretches the minds and touches the hearts of people of all ages.
Tough Guise (82 Min)
While the social construction of femininity has been widely examined, the dominant role of masculinity has until recently remained largely invisible. Tough Guise is the first educational video geared toward college and high school students to systematically examine the relationship between images of popular culture and the social construction of masculine identities in the U.S. at the dawn of the 21st century. Full and Abridged versions available
War Zone
Filmmaker Maggie Hadleigh-West believes that the streets are a War Zone for women. Armed with only a video-camera, she both demonstrates this experience and, by turning and confronting her abusers, reclaims space that was stolen from her.
What a Girl Wants (38 Min)
During the spring of 2000, eleven girls aged 8 to 16 from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds and two classrooms of middle and high school students were interviewed about their views on media culture and its impact on their lives. Their insightful and provocative responses provide the central theme of the film.
Wrestling with Manhood: Boys, Bullying and Battering
Wrestling with Manhood is the first educational program to pay attention to the enormous popularity of professional wrestling among male youth, addressing its relationship to real-life violence and probing the social values that sustain it as a powerful cultural force.
Women's Power in Global Perspective
This show looks at female spheres of power in politics, economy, religion, medicine, arts, and letters.
2000 Girl’s Unlimited Conference
Highlights goals of Hardy Girls genesis, Girls Unlimited.
2002 Girl’s Unlimited Conference
Highlights goals of Hardy Girls genesis, Girls Unlimited.
5 Girls (116 Min)
The world is full of smart, resilient girls, but we don't often hear about them. Until now. From the production company that made Hoop Dreams comes 5 Girls, a documentary three years in the making that shows girls as heroines of their own lives. With Chicago as its backdrop, Corrie, Toby, Amber, Aisha and Haibinh take us through their tumultuous teenage years, where everything from first loves to poverty, from hairstyles to the challenges of immigration, comes to the forefront in this tightly woven drama.
Barbie Nation
Generations of people are obsessed with Barbie, the world’s most popular toy. Journeying from Barbie conventions to anti-Barbie demonstrations, from San Francisco’s gay pride parade to Croatia’s bunkers, Barbie Nation plumbs the phenomenon of the Barbie doll. Barbie fans, foes, fetishists (and the woman who created Barbie) reveal the history and fantasy behind this 20th century icon.
The Beauty That You’ve Always Been (5 Min)
Multi-cultural pictures and music of women and girls from the “Real Women Project” and sponsored by the Athena Foundation. An inspirational music video.
Breaking Our Silence (11 Min)
This 11-minute documentary gives insight into the activist efforts of a group of men in the town of Gloucester, MA. Using footage from anti-violence marches and centering on community men speaking out against violence and domestic abuse, this video is an effective case study of how men can come together to challenge the violent construction of masculinity. With its focus on taking action to make change, Breaking Our Silence is an excellent case study of the theories presented in MEF's Tough Guise.
Build Up!
Developed by the Associated General Contractors and Scholastic, Inc. as the first phase of its Construction Futures campaign, an initiative is designed to enhance the image of construction industry through coordinated educational and community service activities. While phase one was specifically developed for the use with fifth graders, over time Construction Futures will be expanded to include educational initiatives and community based programs for other grades.
The Burning Times (57 Min)
This video offers an in-depth look at the often-misunderstood witch craze that swept through Europe a few hundred years ago. The Burning Times suggests that the widespread church- and state-sanctioned torture and killing of female "witches" during these times set the stage for modern society’s cultural acceptance of massive violence against women. A National Film Board of Canada production.
Cusp (25 Min)
Gr. 6 and up. This realistic portrait of late girlhood introduces the story of Alice, a spirited 12 year old fiercely struggling to retain her sense of self amid the newly emerging hierarchies and peer aggressions of the 6th grade. Inspired by the AAUW report “How Schools Shortchange Girls”, Cusp honestly presents the emotional and personal trials that impact on girls’ self-esteem and performance in school. Cusp is an essential tool for helping girls to negotiate the coming of age process, ease changing mother-daughter relationships and overcome peer pressure.
D-Day Interview with Warren Sody
Deadly Persuasion (53 min)
Jean Kilbourne exposes the manipulative marketing strategies and tactics used by the tobacco and alcohol industries to keep Americans hooked on their dangerous products. Illustrating her analysis with hundreds of current advertising examples from mainstream and trade sources, Kilbourne presents a compelling argument that these cynical industries have a clear and deep understanding of the psychology of addiction, This is an understanding they exploit to create and feed a life-threatening dependency on their products. Deadly Persuasion casts a critical eye on corporate interests behind industries whose products kill more than 450,000 Americans each year.
Democracy in a Different Voice (54 min)
Lani Guinier lectures and answers questions about her views on race, diversity, and the meaning of democracy. Contents: Silenced -- The tyranny of the majority -- Districts of the mind -- Democracy in a different voice --Speaking out.
Desire
This refreshingly honest film documents the challenges and desires of a group of young women in New Orleans by letting them film their own stories. As this diverse group of young women (two teenagers from the Desire housing projects, a single mother from the working-class suburb of Belle Chase across the river, and two girls from the most prestigious private high school in New Orleans) make short films about their own desires, this provocative film records the intimate dramas of their changing lives.
Dove Campaign for Real Beauty
The Dove film, dubbed Evolution, ends with the tagline: "No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted." But it doesn't have to be. And Dove itself has developed fabulous workshops for girls, young women and parents that anyone can download, lead or just work through on your own time.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony: Not for Ourselves Alone: Parts 1 & 2
Two women. One allegiance. Together they fought for women everywhere, and their strong willpower and sheer determination still ripples through contemporary society. Here lies the story of two of our century’s most celebrated pioneers: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Recount the trials, tribulations and triumphs of these two women as they strive to give birth to the women’s movement. Not until their deaths was their shared vision of women’s suffrage realized. A powerful historical introspective.
The F-Word (10 Min)
Gr. 9 and up. The F-Word (10 min) A provocative look at the power of the word 'feminism' in the US. Why does it mean so many different things to people? Pithy interviews with women and men from diverse backgrounds are rhythmically intercut with computer-animated quotes from the likes of Barbara Smith to Pat Robertson, all set to an upbeat rap accompaniment. Designed to open up attitudes, The F-Word proves feminism is still something worth talking about-hotly debated, widely misconstrued, but undeniably a fact of life!
Girls Like Us (57 Min)
A classic documentary on young women from the WMM collection, "Girls Like Us" introduces an ethnically diverse group of four working class girls in South Philadelphia. Filmed over the course of four years, this mesmerizing documentary reveals the impact that class, sexism, and violence has had on the dreams and expectations of young women. As they grow up before the camera, difficult moral dilemmas emerge – such as early pregnancy and safe sex – which they are forced to negotiate alone. This powerful documentary provides an opening for parents, counselors and educators to discuss the challenging topics of sex, peer pressure and choice with teenagers. In documenting their friendships, challenges and triumphs, "Girls Like Us" presents a searingly honest, inspiring depiction of girls' lives that is ideal for promoting dialogue between adults and young women alike.
Girls Will Be Girls? Aggression, Sexuality and Body Image.
The video explores the themes of sexuality, body image, and girls' friendships and aggression.
Girl Wrestler
Screened to critical acclaim at festivals across the country, this film tells the story of 13-year-old Texan Tara Neal, who bucks traditional expectations by insisting that girls and boys should be able to wrestle on the same mat. This film truly captures the nail biting thrill of competition, while speaking volumes about sexism in sports and the way parents invest their hopes in young athletes.
Grrlyshow (18 Min)
Gr. 9 and up. Refreshing and entertaining, this engaging piece chronicles the pop culture phenomenon of “grrly zines”- self-published magazines written mainly by teenage girls and young women. Demonstrating how “zines” have allowed girls to humorously and critically explore issues, Grrlyshow is a useful tool for encouraging young women to consider journalism as a potential career. This lively film shows young women that they have the power to change and reinvent their image in the mainstream media.
Hollywood's Smoke and Mirrors (25 min)
Also known as "Redefining Liberation Part 2", this film explores of women in the film industry that are harmful to the self-esteem of women and girls. This video features interviews with actress Tyne Daly, former senator Carol Mosley-Braun, activist Dolores Huerta, author Urvashi Vaid and several teenagers. Some women and girls are literally dying to fit the images they see on TV and in movies.
The Joy of Stress with Loretta LaRoche (56 Min)
Stress is an individual reaction; it can be fantastic or it can be fatal! The choice of how we respond is ultimately up to each of us. In this program, you will explore the concept of stress and how it affects your body, mind, and spirit. You will learn how you can use humor to break the negative and irrational thought patterns that cause stress and reframe them into positive, powerful, and productive tools for change.
"Just Me" (4.5 Min)
Real Women Project, written and performed by Gayle St. Gregory, pictures of women and girls in a variety of settings.
Killing Us Softly 3 (33 Min)
Jean Killbourne’s pioneering work helped develop and popularize the study of gender representation in advertising. Her award-winning “Killing Us Softly” films have influenced millions of college and high school students across two generations and on an international scale. In this important new film, Kilbourne reviews if and how the image of women in advertising has changed over the last 20 years.
The Merchants of Cool
FRONTLINE correspondent Douglas Rushkoff examines the tactics, techniques, and cultural ramifications of these marketing moguls in "The Merchants of Cool." Produced by Barak Goodman and Rachel Dretzin, the program talks with top marketers, media executives and cultural/media critics, and explores the symbiotic relationship between the media and today's teens, as each looks to the other for their identity.
Mickey Mouse Monopoly (52 Min)
This film takes a close and critical look at the world Disney films create and the stories they tell about race, gender and class and reaches disturbing conclusions about the values propagated under the guise of innocence and fun. This daring new video insightfully analyzes Disney’s cultural pedagogy, examines its corporate power, and explores its vast influence on our global culture. Including interviews with cultural critics, media scholars, child psychologists, kindergarten teachers, multicultural educators, college students and children Mickey Mouse Monopoly will provoke audiences to confront comfortable assumptions about an American institution that is virtually synonymous with childhood pleasure.
Mirror, Mirror (17 Min)
Gr. 9 and up. In Mirror, Mirror a diverse group of women- all of varying age, size and ethnicity- share how they have overcome the pressures to achieve the perfect body and embrace their individuality. An excellent discussion starter on representations of women in the media, eating disorders, and women’s health, Mirror, Mirror empowers young people to feel confident about themselves, their abilities and their bodies.
Parenting Adolescents Wisely. Parts 1,2, & 3.
Playing (Un)fair (30 Min)
Although the landmark 1972 Title IX law granted female athletes equality in the eyes of the law, the male-dominated world of sports journalism has been much slower to adapt, with coverage of female sports still lagging far behind that of men. Playing (Un)fair is the first film to critically examine this post-Title IX media environment in terms of the representation of female athletes.
Reviving Ophelia (38 Min)
In this exclusive, illustrated video, Mary Pipher, Ph.D., discusses the challenges facing today’s teenagers, especially girls, as well as the role of the media and popular culture in shaping their identities. She offers concrete ideas for girls and boys, families, teachers, and schools to help girls free themselves from the toxic influences of today’s media-saturated culture.
Rosie's Girls.
The Secret Life of Girls
15-year-old Natalie, confused to begin with, finds out about her father's affair with one of his students. Refusing to simply stand by and watch her family disintegrate, Natalie takes it upon herself to expose the problem, and in doing so calls into question the family's penchant for denial.
Señorita Extraviada (74 Min)
Señorita Extraviada, Missing Young Woman tells the haunting story of the more than 200 kidnapped, raped and murdered young women of Juarez, Mexico. Visually poetic, yet unflinching in its gaze, this compelling investigation unravels the layers of complicity that have allowed for the brutal murders of women living along the Mexico-U.S. border. In the midst of Juarez’s international mystique and high profile job market, there exists a murky history of grossly underreported human rights abuses and violence against women. Relying on what Portillo comes to see as the most reliable of sources – the testimonies of the families of the victims – Señorita Extraviada documents a two-year search for the truth in the underbelly of the new global economy. An Independent Television Service (ITVS) Production.
Sexual Harassment: Building Awareness on Campus (23 Min)
This program, addressed to both men and women, offers a comprehensive, non-threatening discussion of the nature of sexual harassment in campus and institutional settings as well as what can be done to prevent it. It emphasizes psychological, legal, and communications perspectives and features interviews with students and faculty as well as experts.
Simon and I (52 Min)
Simon & I is an intimate and inspiring portrait of black South African gay rights activist Simon Nkoli, who died of AIDS in 1998, and his fellow activist and protégé, Bev Ditsie. Chronicling two remarkable decades of activism, their story charts the history of the gay and lesbian liberation movement in South Africa and presents a personal account of the devastating AIDS epidemic in Africa. Bev unfolds their unique relationship using a mixed format of interviews, archival images and newspaper clips, while speaking honestly about the challenges they faced and the difficult issue of sexism within the gay rights movement. Their hard work and unyielding determination moved South Africa to become the only country in the world to include sexual orientation in its constitutional Bill of Rights. An homage to a great figure in the gay and lesbian rights movement, "Simon & I" is equally a tribute to an enduring friendship and bond between two remarkable leaders.
The Shadow of Hate: A History of Intolerance in America (40 Min)
Produced by three-time Academy Award winner Charles Guggenheim, The Shadow of Hate spans three centuries to examine this country's ongoing struggle to live up to its ideals of liberty, equality and justice for all. Through documentary footage and eyewitness reports, viewers are given a powerful perspective on historical events from the ordinary people who lived through them.
Shouting Silent (50 Min)
Shouting Silent explores the South African HIV/AIDS epidemic through the eyes of Xoliswa Sithole, an adult orphan who lost her mother to HIV/AIDS in 1996. Xoliswa journeys back home in search of other young women who have also lost their mothers to HIV/AIDS and are now struggling to raise themselves (and, in many cases, their siblings) on their own. Sithole lyrically interweaves their unsettling stories with highly stylized imagery to help convey her own painful memories and document the grim statistics of HIV infection in Africa. These testimonials powerfully demonstrate how entire generations of young people are growing up without their parents and chronicles the devastating impact the AIDS pandemic is having on orphaned children in South Africa. An arresting and timely piece, "Shouting Silent" is also a cinematographic gem that artistically and meditatively captures how these young women are quickly slipping through the cracks of society.
Speak Up! Improving the Lives of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Youth (35 Min)
Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) students and their allies face unique challenges of violence and harassment in their schools. Speak Up! explores what these students and their allies have done to transform their schools into safer and more welcoming environments. Interviews with students, parents, teachers, administrators and national activists highlight not only the need for transformation, but offer resources and advice for those actively working for change.
Stop Sweatshops! (15min)
If you think sweatshops are a thing in the past, you are wrong. Today, there are many workers over seas in China and other countries working for meager wages, and facing threats to their human rights.
Surviving High School.
An exploration of the stress that high school kids experience as they try to fit in and be accepted by their peers-- no matter what the cost.
Tech Savvy Girls (15 Min)
Too many girls are leaving school unprepared for the high tech workplace they will soon enter. Tech Savvy Girls examines the problems and offers practical answers to the questions, “What can be done to make the cyberculture more inviting to girls? How do we make them technologically savvy?” (Resource guide included)
Thelma and Louise (130 Min)
When unhappy housewife Thelma and her wise-cracking waitress friend Louise decide to take a break from their lives – Thelma from her chauvinistic husband and Louise from her commitment-shy musician boyfriend – they embark on a trip that leads to a tragic incident at a road-side honky tonk. In an instant, their weekend ‘getaway’ becomes just that as they flee across the American southwest with the police a two-step behind.
Tomboys! Feisty Girls and Spirited Women (28 min)
Are tomboys tamed once they grow up? We certainly hope not! This lively and inspiring documentary explodes that archaic myth with the stories of proud tomboys of all ages: African-American teenager Jay Gillespie; Massachusetts firefighter Tracy Driscoll, lesbian artist Nancy Brooks Brody and the inimitable political activist Doris Haddock, aka "Granny D," whose walk across America in support of campaign finance reform has gained global attention. Interviews with these feisty women are intercut with personal photographs and archival footage to celebrate tomboys of all ages. Exploring the myriad ways gender identity is constructed from a very young age, Tomboys makes the connections between rebel girl and spirited women gloriously clear. With additional commentary by girls' studies pioneer Carol Gilligan, these tales of energy and enterprise are a revelation to us all.
Tough Guise (82 Min)
While the social construction of femininity has been widely examined, the dominant role of masculinity has until recently remained largely invisible. Tough Guise is the first educational video geared toward college and high school students to systematically examine the relationship between images of popular culture and the social construction of masculine identities in the U.S. at the dawn of the 21st century. Full and Abridged versions available
Troop 1500
TROOP 1500 follows five young Girl Scouts:sisters Caitlin and Mikaela, Jasmine, Jessica and Naomi, whose mothers are serving time. Once inside the prison bars, the girls of Troop 1500 fall into the arms of the mothers they seldom see: Kenya, Melissa, Ida and Susan; crying and laughing while pulling out report cards and pictures and passing along hellos from grandparents and absent brothers. At the conclusion of each monthly meeting in the prison library, the girls and moms form a circle and recite the Girl Scout Promise in unison: "On my honor, I will try to serve God and my country, to help people at all times, and to live by the Girl Scout law."
Uphill All the Way (80 min)
The astounding true story of five troubled teenage girls who face the challenge of their lives: a 2,500-mile bicycle journey along the United States Continental Divide. The girls are students at the DeSisto School, a rehabilitative high school in Massachusetts for drug addicts, victims of sexual abuse, and juveniles that have had run-ins with the law. Despite the emotional risks posed by their unstable backgrounds, they sign up for the bike trip as an opportunity to prove individually and collectively that they can reach once unfathomable heights. If finished, the trek will be the first time in their lives the girls have set a goal and met it. Over the course of three months, they mature in ways that are visible, thought provoking and completely unexpected.
UVAS No
Documents the perils of pesticides in the grape vineyards as part of the UFW`s Safe Food Campaign. Details the illnesses, suffering and deaths of farm workers and their children from exposure to harmful pesticides. This is the original video used to increase public awareness of these dangerous chemicals used on grapes. As a result, use of these dangerous pesticides on grapes has since been banned.
Welcome to Studio 2B (25min)
As members of Studio 2B, girls ages 11-17 will voice their opinions on issues they care about while sharing hopes, dreams, challenges and fears. They'll also be part of a program that they said they wanted. We found that girls ages 11-17 want most to relate to hip, teen-savvy adult volunteers. In particular, 18 to 19 year old adults can talk from recent experience about the same life steps these girls are now taking. And even though these young adults probably haven't had years of life and work experience, teens idolize, want to be mentored by, and feel comfortable talking about the issues affecting them with adults in this age group.
What a Girl Wants (38 Min)
During the spring of 2000, eleven girls aged 8 to 16 from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds and two classrooms of middle and high school students were interviewed about their views on media culture and its impact on their lives. Their insightful and provocative responses provide the central theme of the film.
What Kids Want You to Know About Domestic Violence (8 Min)
Produced by the YWCA of Annapolis, The Strong Girls’ Club is a short video that shows what girls want the public to know about domestic violence and its effects on children.
Wrestling with Manhood: Boys, Bullying and Battering
Wrestling with Manhood is the first educational program to pay attention to the enormous popularity of professional wrestling among male youth, addressing its relationship to real-life violence and probing the social values that sustain it as a powerful cultural force.
Women and Tobacco: Seven Deadly Myths (17 Min)
Smoking takes a deadly toll on women and the people they love. Lung cancer already claims the lives of many more women each year than breast cancer, and deaths from lung cancer are on the rise. Women between the ages of 18 and 34 are prime targets for the tobacco industry, which spends billions of dollars every year on advertising that makes smoking cigarettes look fun, sexy, and inviting. This video explores the myths about smoking and empowers women to become or stay smoke-free.
Women Vote 2004: The Margin of Victory
Women Who Dare (17 min)
Learn what inspired Yla Eason to develop a new toy company, where Jenai Lane found the capital to expand her business, and what Rachel Hubka had to learn about running a bus company after being in the business for years.
Women Working
Describes the advantages of trade and technical jobs for women in Maine.
Youth Suicide
Abraham, Pearl. The Romance Reader
The daughter of a visionary rabbi who dreams of founding his own synagogue and center of learning, Rachel Benjamin lives in an insular environment, seemingly protected from the temptations and freedoms the modern world offers. Rachel is a dreamer like her father; but her dreams are of the strong, confident men and the beautiful damsels in distress she reads about in romance novels she sneaks under her blankets at night. She longs to live not in the dying, desolate community of a bungalow colony in upstate New York, where she can't help but be aware of the presence and allures of the secular world surrounding her, but in Brooklyn - in Williamsburgh or Borough Park - where the Hasidic world is sufficient unto itself and she could more easily be the good Hasidic daughter she is trying to be.
Alvarez, Juila. In the Name of Salome
In her most ambitious work since In the Time of Butterflies, Julia Alvarez tells the story of a woman whose poetry inspired one Caribbean revolution and of her daughter whose dedication to teaching strengthened another.
Attic Press, Dublin. Mad & Bad Fairies
Will Alice, lost in Thunderland, find her way back to Harmony Land? What is Ophelia’s cunning plan of escape? Will the CUPS succeed in their witch-hunt? Find out in this wonderful collection of fairy tales for feminists. Other titles include “Thumbelina the Left Wing Fairy” and “The Frog Prince”.
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice.
Elizabeth Bennett is the second of five sisters from a well-off family. Their mother is anxious to marry them off to wealthy young gentlemen, but when they meet Mr. Darcy, an eligible, wealthy young man, his arrogance makes him undesirable, especially to Elizabeth, who is the target of his rudest comments. When her older sister Jane falls in love with Mr. Darcy's best friend Mr. Bingley, Lizzie finds herself having to be in Darcy's presence more than she would like. She befriends Mr. Wickham, who also doesn't view Mr. Darcy in a positive light. However, as the events unfold, Mr. Wickham turns out to be not quite as charming as Lizzie initially believes and Mr. Darcy not quite as odious.
Cameron, Anne. Daughters of Copper Woman.
Since its first publication in 1981, "Daughters of Copper Woman" has become an underground classic, selling over 200,000 copies. Now comes a new edition that includes many pieces cut from the original as well as fresh material added by the author. Here finally, after twenty-two years of gathering dust, is the complete version of the groundbreaking bestseller.
In this, her best-loved work, Anne Cameron has created a timeless retelling of northwest coast Native myths that together create a sublime image of the social and spiritual power of woman. Cameron weaves together the lives of legendary and imaginary characters, creating a work of fiction with an intensity of style matched by the power of its subject.
Campbell, Bebe Moore. Singing in the Comeback Choir
Maxine McCoy has made it. A black woman from working-class Philadelphia, she has risen against the odds to become a television producer in Los Angeles. But when she receives a phone call about her grandmother, a once great singer, she realizes that it's time to return to Philadelphia and her roots.
Cisneros, Sandra. Caramelo.
Through the eyes of young Celaya, or Lala, the Reyes family saga twists and turns over three generations of truths, half-truths, and outright lies. And, like Celaya's grandmother's prized caramelo (striped) rebozo, so is "the universe a cloth, and all humanity interwoven.... Pull one string and the whole thing comes undone." The Reyes clan, from Awful Grandmother Soledad and her favorite son Inocencio to Celaya, follow their destinies from Mexico City to the U.S. armed forces, jobs upholstering furniture, and to Chicago and San Antonio. Celaya gathers and retells, in over 80 chapters, the stories that reinforce her family's, and subsequently her own, identity as they travel between the U.S.-Mexican border and within the United States.
Cleage, Pearl. What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day
After a decade of elegant pleasures and luxe living among the Atlanta brothers and sisters with the best clothes and biggest dreams, Ava Johnson has temporarily returned home to Idlewood - her fabulous career and plans smashed to bits by cold reality. But what she imagines is the end is, instead, the beginning.
Cooke, Grace MacGowan. Power and the Glory.
Graham Greene explores corruption and atonement through a priest and the people he encounters. In the 1930s one Mexican state has outlawed the Church, naming it a source of greed and debauchery. The priests have been rounded up and shot by firing squad--save one, the whisky priest. On the run, and in a blur of alcohol and fear, this outlaw meets a dentist, a banana farmer, and a village woman he knew six years earlier. For a while, he is accompanied by a toothless man--whom he refers to as his Judas and does his best to ditch. Always, an adamant lieutenant is only a few hours behind, determined to liberate his country from the evils of the church.
Danticat, Edwidge. Breath, Eyes, Memory
At the age of twelve, Sophie Caco is sent from her impoverished village of Croix-des-Rosets to New York, to be reunited with a mother she barely remembers. There she discovers secrets that no child should ever know, and a legacy of shame that can be healed only when she returns to Haiti--to the women who first reared her. What ensues is a passionate journey through a landscape charged with the supernatural and scarred by political violence, in a novel that bears witness to the traditions, suffering, and wisdom of an entire people.
Erdrich, Louise. Love Medicine.
The stunning first novel in Louise Erdrich's Native American series, Love Medicine tells the story of two families -- the Kashpaws and the Lamartines. Written in Erdrich's uniquely poetic, powerful style, it is a multigenerational portrait of strong men and women caught in an unforgettable drama of anger, desire, and the healing power that is love medicine.
Esaki-Smith, Anna. Meeting Luciano.
Emily is worried that her mother, Hanako, recently divorced by Emily's father, is becoming more and more eccentric. An avid opera fan and Europhile, the cosmopolitan Hanako has decided to renovate her house because she believes with unwavering certainty that opera star Luciano Pavarotti is coming for a visit. Moreover, Hanako seems to be too trusting of the hearty Greek-American contractor, Alex, who aggressively inflates the home improvements, arousing Emily's suspicions and leaving her baffled at her mother's naive allegiance to this take-charge stranger. Under Alex's gaze and through the regenerative enterprise, Hanako blooms, however, taking stock of her newly reimagined life. Will Pavarotti actually show up? The answer to this question is delightfully unexpected, as the novel gracefully explores Emily's past and present to suggest that it is Emily, not her mother, with the identity crisis.
Keller, Nora Okja. Comfort Woman.
Beccah is lost on the path of life, unsure where her future lies, while her mother is lost in the past, her life caught up in the spirits of the dead, who have haunted her since her escape from the camps where she was a sex slave during the Japanese occupation of Korea in World War II. The story is told from these two women's points of view as each grapples with the terrors, real and imaginary, that dominate their lives. Beccah knows little of her mother's past, and when her mother dies, she is forced to confront the truth. Despite the atrocities recounted and the suffering endured, a fierce love binds these two spirits together, even in death.
Knowles, Ardeana Hamlin. Pink Chimneys.
Maude Richmond is a spirited and independent teenager who wishes to become a physician like her father. Since that profession is closed to women, she becomes a midwife, choosing to tend to the childbirths of "fallen women" in defiance of the dictum that the they are evil incarnate. One of her patients, 16-year-old Fanny Abbot, has been seduced and abandoned. Reluctantly, Fanny gives her newborn daughter to her sister to raise and is set up by a Bangor businessman as madam of his posh house of prostitution, Pink Chimneys. The circle of intertwined relationships closes years later when Elizabeth Emerson, Fanny's daughter, is hired to work at Pink Chimneys as a seamstress.
Konecky, Edith. Allegra Maud Goldman
This book tracks the coming to consciousness of a feisty and sharply observant Jewish girl growing up in 1930s Brooklyn. Allegra encounters the usual trials of bourgeois childhood – the confinement of first schooldays, the confusion of fumbled sex education, the humiliations of dress-shopping – and a world that seems determined to stifle her creativity and aspirations. She faces it all with a wisdom and wit that both delight and inspire.
LaDuke, Winona. Last Standing Woman
Based on a tragic history and presenting a hopeful vision for the future, Last Standing Woman is a powerful and poignant first novel tracing the lives of seven generations of Anishinaabe (Ojibwe/Chippewa). Beginning in the 1860s, the story chronicles a Native American Indian reservation and its people’s struggle to restore their culture. Battering alcoholism, sexual abuse, and fighting to regain their land, the characters are living heroes breathing with hope and vision.
Letts, Billie. The Honk and Holler Opening Soon.
For 12 years, wheelchair-bound restaurateur and Vietnam vet Caney Paxton hasn't left his Sequoyah, Okla., cafe, known (thanks to a sign-maker's error) as the Honk and Holler Opening Soon. Now it's Christmas time, 1985, and for Caney and four-times married waitress Molly O, who helped raise him, the holiday looks bleak: business is slumping, overdue bills are piling up and the roof is leaking. Worried about her teenage daughter, Brenda, a country musician seeking her fortune in Nashville, Molly O is too preoccupied to recognize the romantic interest of cafe regular Life Halstead; Caney, ashamed of his part in the war, feels trapped by his wound and his painful past. But that changes when luck brings the Honk and Holler two new employees: beautiful young Crow Indian drifter Vena Takes Horse, who signs on as a carhop, and Vietnamese refugee Bui Khanh, a cook and handyman running from a guilty secret of his own.
Letts, Billie. Where the Heart is.
Novalee Nation is seventeen, seven months pregnant, and on her way to California with her no-good boyfriend when he abandons her at a shopping mall in Oklahoma. In this contemporary fairy tale with no fairy godmother in sight, Novalee depends on herself to build a new life.Living inside a Wal-Mart at night and on the streets during the day, Novalee patches together a family from the caring people she meets. Capturing each one on Polaroid film, she sees the goodness of each soul and finds a way to help others as they help her.
McMillan Terry. Breaking Ice.
Breaking Ice is a collection of short stories from well-known authors. The many, varied female voices - in particular - are eye-opening and engrossing; the subjects are pertinent and realistic. The lives, thoughts, moods, and experiences of people of color are portrayed with finesse and great literary skill.
Marshall, Paule. Brown Girl, Brownstones.
Set in Brooklyn during the Depression and World War II, "Brown Girl, Brownstones" is the enduring story of a most extraordinary young woman. Selina Boyce, the daughter of Barbadian immigrants, is caught between the struggles of her hard-working, ambitious mother, who wants to "buy house" and educate her daughters, and her father, who longs to return to the land in Barbados. Selina seeks to define her own identity and values as she struggles to surmount the racism and poverty that surround her.
Morrison, Toni. Sula.
As girls, Nel and Sula are the best of friends, only children who find in each other a kindred spirit to share in each girl's loneliness and imagination. When they meet again as adults, it's clear that Nel has chosen a life of acceptance and accommodation, while Sula must fight to defend her seemingly unconventional choices and beliefs.
Neely, Barbara. Blanche Among the Talented Tenth
When Blanche White—domestic worker extraordinaire turned accidental sleuth—managed to get her kids into a private school, she didn't know they'd be getting as much attitude as education. So she jumps at the chance to spend time with them at Amber Cove, an exclusive, all-black resort in Maine, where she can observe them with their wealthy friends—and keep them from turning into people she doesn't want to know. While some of the guests—including her own daughter—are giving Blanche an insider's view of the color and class divisions within the black community, the godson of a feminist commits suicide, another one of the guests has a fatal encounter with a radio while taking a bath. When Blanche is enlisted to use her considerable wiles to find out if these events are connected, she discovers a web of secrets that someone may be willing to kill for—and a man determined to sweep her off her feet no matter how much she weighs.
Neely, Barbara. Blanche Cleans Up
The funny thing is, Blanche had just been thinking that her life had finally settled down. It's been three years since she had to grab the kids and scurry out of Farleigh, North Carolina. Now they've all settled into life in the Roxbury section of Boston, and Blanche herself is feeling like she may finally be free to enjoy life -- at least a little. But before Blanche can say, "Breakfast is ready," she gets suckered into standing in as cook-housekeeper to one Allister Brindle, a Boston Brahmin politician, and his do-gooder wife. Blanche is quickly enmeshed in a festering canker of scandal that moves from the Brindles' house (a.k.a. Prozac House) to her own black community as she tries to figure out the truth behind the swimming-pool death of a young black man who knew a little too much. With life suddenly getting just a bit too interesting on both the home and work fronts, Blanche finds herself dealing with a love triangle with bent angles, teen pregnancy, phony spirituality, environmental skulduggery, homophobia, a letter she wishes she hadn't read, a friend whose life she might have saved, and at least one person who doesn't mean her any good.
Neely, Barbara. Blanche Passes Go
After three years in Boston Brahmin territory, Blanche White is finally returning home to Farleigh, North Carolina for an entire summer. And, like a sign from above that she's indeed headed in the right direction, she's already lined up a date with the handsome train conductor she met somewhere between Boston and Baltimore. The summer holds lots of promise—including a long-awaited reunion with best friend, Ardell, as she helps out with Ardell's new bustling catering business. Then, like a slap in the face on her first night back, Blanche is reminded of a part of home she'd rather forget: David Palmer, the man who raped her eight years ago and who has tormented her mind and spirit ever since, shows up as a guest at her very first catering event.The time has finally come...she must exact her revenge so that she can finally move on. Then a young woman is murdered and there are signs that David Palmer may be involved. So Blanche sets off on a hunting expedition—for clues she hopes will help convict David Palmer and put an end to his legacy once and for all.
Olsen, Tillie. Yonnondio: From the Thirties.
Yonnondio follows the heartbreaking path of the Holbrook family in the late 1920s and the Great Depression as they move from the coalmines of Wyoming to a tenant farm in western Nebraska, ending up finally on the kill floors of the slaughterhouses and in the wretched neighborhoods of the poor in Omaha, Nebraska.Mazie, the oldest daughter in the growing family of Jim and Anna Holbrook, tells the story of the family's desire for a better life. Anna's dream that her children be educated and Jim's wish for a life lived out in the open, away from the darkness and danger of the mines. At every turn in their journey, however, their dreams are frustrated, and the family is jeopardized by cruel and indifferent systems.
Rivenbark, Celia. We're Just Like You, Only Prettier.
What does a Southern woman consider grounds for divorce? When Daddy takes the kids out in public dressed in pajama tops and Tweety Bird swim socks. Again.What is the Southern woman's opinion of a new "fat virus" theory? Bring it on! We've got a lot of skinny friends we need to sneeze on.Want to become honest-to-Jesus white trash? Spend two weeks' salary on hair extensions and pancake makeup for your three-year-old so she can win a five-dollar trophy in the Wee Tiny Miss pageant and the adoration of, well, nobody much.What does the Southern woman think of Paul McCartney's marriage to a model thirty years younger? We're not surprised. Statistically speaking, it's almost impossible for billionaires to discover that their soulmates are fifty-five and restocking the shampoo end caps at Kmart.In this wickedly funny follow-up to her bestselling Bless Your Heart, Tramp, Celia Rivenbark welcomes you, once again, to the south she loves, the land of "Mama and them's," "precious and dahlin," and mommies who mow. Ya'll come back now, you hear.
Ryan, Terry. The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio.
Stepping back into a time when fledgling Madison Avenue ad agencies were active partners with consumers and everyday people saw possibility in every coupon, Terry Ryan tells the story of her mother, Evelyn, who kept her family afloat writing jingles and contest entries. It is a compelling drama of a woman who defies the church, her husband, and antiquated views of housewives to seize every opportunity to secure a happy home for her ten children.
Shea, Suzanne Strempek. Hoopi Shoopi Donna.
Donna Milewski is a relatively content 14-year-old--until her parents decide to adopt her cousin, six-year-old Elzbieta--the daughter of Donna's father's brother, who can no longer support his family back in Poland. Donna is ambivalent about the newcomer (called Betty in Massachusetts), but when Betty follows Donna on her first date and gets them both hit by an out-of-control truck, her happy existence abruptly ends.
Thom, James Alexander. Follow the River.
Mary Ingles was twenty-three, married, and pregnant, when Shawnee Indians invaded her peaceful Virginia settlement, killed the men and women, then took her captive. For months, she lived with them, unbroken, until she escaped, and followed a thousand mile trail to freedom--an extraordinary story of a pioneer woman who risked her life to return to her people.
Viramontes, Helenamaria. Under the Feet of Jesus.
The family of 13-year-old Estrella, and the others with whom they travel and work, burn under 109-degree heat until the backs of their necks sting; women nurse their babies in the backs of pickups. Viramontes depicts this world with a sensuous physicality, as when Petra, Estrella's mother, digs a fingernail into the melting tar of a blacktop highway. And the close quarters in which her characters are forced to live promotes a collective intimacy that Viramontes evokes with a sure hand, conveying the solace to be found in solidarity while never losing sight of the fact that these people enjoy absolutely no privacy. Slow and wandering at the outset, the novel picks up after a small plane releases a white shower of deadly pesticide, which washes over the face of Alejo, a teenager who is perched in a peach tree, busy stealing the soft, ripe fruit.
Walker, Alice. Living by the Word.
This collection of recent prose reflects Walker's belief in the spiritual connections among all peoples and between them and the earth that sustains them. It further examines how this precept, and themes of race, gender, sexuality, and political freedom, illuminate her life and the lives of friends, family, and ancestors. Entertaining and often stirring, it ranges widely, moving from observations made on trips to China, Bali, and Jamaica to Walker's views on her connection with San Francisco's lesbian and gay communities and her valuable insights into the controversies surrounding the filming of The Color Purple . Included are public addresses, letters, and journal entries published for the first time.
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple.
Celie is a young girl, a victim of incest, pregnant with her father's child. Ugly and unloved, separated from her children and her sister, Celie's only option is marriage to an abusive, philandering husband who treats her little better than a slave. Her life changes forever when her husband brings his mistress, a beautiful blues singer named Shug into the house.
Walker, Alice. You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down.
These fourteen provocative and often humorous stories showwomen oppressed but not defeated.These are hopeful stories about love,
lust, fame, and cultural thievery, the delight of new lovers, and the rediscovery of old friends, affirmed even across self-imposed color lines.
Waters, Sarah. The Night Watch
Waters (Fingersmith) applies her talent for literary suspense to WWII-era London in her latest historical. She populates the novel with ordinary people overlooked by history books and sets their individual passions against the chaotic background of extraordinary times. There are Kay, a "night watch" ambulance driver; her lover, Helen; two imprisoned conscientious objectors, upper-class Fraser and working-class Duncan; Duncan's sister, Viv; Viv's married soldier-lover, Reggie; and Julia, a building inspector-mystery novelist. The novel works backward in time, beginning in 1947, as London emerges from the rubble of war, then to 1944, a time of nightly air raids, and finally to 1941, when the war's end was not in sight.
Weeks, Yvonne. Deep in the Blueness of Me.
A collection of poetry and prose.
Wells, Rebecca. Little Altars Everywhere.
Little Altars Everywhere, the first novel by Rebecca Wells, is the bittersweet story of the Walker clan of Thornton, Louisiana. Vivi Abbot Walker, the mother, is the eye of the hurricane. Her husband, Shep, is a cotton planter, and the two of them have four children: Siddalee, Little Shep, Baylor, and Lulu, who is named for Tallulah Bankhead, one of her mother's patron saints.Each member of this funny, charming, and wounded family describes the view from his or her perch on the family tree.
Winterson, Jeanette. Oranges are not the Only Fruit.
Jeanette is a bright and rebellious orphan who is adopted into an evangelical household in the dour, industrial North of England and finds herself embroidering grim religious mottoes and shaking her little tambourine for Jesus. But as this budding missionary comes of age, and comes to terms with her unorthodox sexuality, the peculiar balance of her God-fearing household dissolves. Jeanette's insistence on listening to the truths of her own heart and mind - and on reporting them with wit and passion - makes for an unforgettable chronicle of an eccentric, moving passage into adulthood.
Winterson, Jeanette. Written on the Body.
he unnamed narrator falls for a married woman called Louise. Louise leaves her husband but when she finds she has cancer, she leaves her new lover too. Written on the Body is a journey of self-discovery made through the metaphors of desire and disease.
Wolitzer, Meg. The Position.
Paul and Roz Mellow are enthusiastically in love—so much so that in 1975 they write a how-to sex book, Pleasuring, that features illustrations of them in every imaginable position. The book becomes a runaway bestseller. When the children find the book and read it together, they're forever traumatized, in ways both serious and comedic. Flash forward 30 years: Paul and Roz are long divorced and remarried, and Paul, in particular, remains bitter; the grown children fumble through their lives on the eve of the publisher's reissue of the sex classic.
Yezierska, Anzia. Bread Givers.
Sarah, the narrator of Bread Givers, describes with urgency and in detail the lives she, her sisters, and her mother live to support their revered, torah-reading father: their crowded shared rooms so he can study undisturbed; the numerous jobs all but he work to maintain the family and support his books, charities, and manner of dress; his constant and often impossible demands.
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