Product Description

Lynne Cheney and Robin Preiss Glasser collaborated on America: A Patriotic Primer, which captured the imagination of American children and became a national best-seller. Now they turn their hands to A is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Women and bring the great women of American history to life. Filled to the brim with words and pictures that celebrate the remarkable (although often unmarked) achievements of American women, this is a book to relish and to read again and again.

Mothers, daughters, schoolchildren, generations of families -- everyone -- will take Abigail Adams's words to heart and "remember the ladies" once they read the stories of these astonishing, astounding, amazing American women.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #119490 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09
• Released on: 2003-09-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 48 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780689858192
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
Soldiers, scientists, performers, writers, entrepreneurs, politicians, quilt makers, pilots... as author Lynne Cheney writes, "America’s amazing women have much to teach our children--and much inspiration to offer us, as well." Coming on the heels of America: A Patriotic Primer (Cheney’s previous collaboration with illustrator Robin Preiss Glasser), A Is for Abigail celebrates the achievements of women in American history, with a special emphasis on the individuals who helped win equal rights for women. As with America, Cheney uses an alphabet book format to introduce hundreds of remarkable real women: "O is for SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR and others who were first." In addition to the first woman Supreme Court Justice, the "O" page includes Wilma Mankiller, first woman chief of the Cherokee Nation; Jeannette Rankin, first female member of Congress; and Nellie Tayloe Ross, first woman governor. Glasser’s playful illustrations are lively and busy, inviting readers to explore Abigail Adams's farm or the crowded city block that houses "V is for VARIETY," with its DNA lab, dance studio, dentist office, and "PERSONS at WORK" sign. Snippets of information about each featured woman give a taste; ideally, readers will seek more in-depth biographies about the historical figures who pique their interests. (Ages 6 to 9) --Emilie Coulter

From School Library Journal
Grade 2-4-Similar in design and concept to America (S & S, 2002), this alphabet book is attractive and fun to read. Through it, Cheney hopes to educate children about a number of strong individuals who contributed to American society, and, in many cases, helped women to gain their civil rights. With rare exceptions, the profiled women were born before 1950. For each letter, a page features a person or a concept. The "E" page, for example, discusses six educators. The letter "J" is associated with Anna Jarvis, advocate of the Mother's Day holiday. Information about each figure is given in a phrase or one-sentence reference to her major achievement. The colorful, cartoonlike illustrations make this book particularly engaging, and the detail and varied design of the pages are additional enhancements. Some of the pages have borders containing the names of the women who fit the letter category, such as the authors listed in the borders on the "W" page, which cameos Edith Wharton and lauds women as writers. All of the people are shown in active postures. A double gatefold producing the effect of an opening theater curtain reveals an array of performers ranging from Mary Martin as a flying Peter Pan to Mahalia Jackson singing. While the information is limited, the overall effect creates an awareness of the totality of American women's achievements.
Lynda Ritterman, Atco Elementary School, Waterford, NJ
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 2-4. Hundreds of quotes, snippets of biography, and tiny line-and-watercolor portraits celebrate athletes, scientists, writers, suffragettes, inventors, entrepreneurs, and other trailblazing American women through history. The title pages show preschool girls playing dress up in all kinds of roles, and it's clear that the large volume is intended for sharing with children. But the overcrowded design with numerous small vignettes on every page will have limited appeal for the picture-book set. In fact, a few selections seem more for adults--among them, the double-page spread "P for the performers," with flaps that open out to reveal Ginger Rogers, Bette Davis, and many others of that vintage. This isn't a first purchase, but the sheer numbers and mix of subjects make this lively fun for browsing and a good starting point for classroom projects and family read-alouds. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Abigail Adams and hundreds of other American women
You might think that from the title of "A is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Women," that Lynne Cheney (yes, the wife of the Vice President of the United States), is going to introduce us to twenty-six women, one for each letter of the alphabet. You might be wondering if Cheney is going to go by first names or last names, since Abigail is Abigail Adams (the wife of the first Vice President of the United States) and you could go either way. The answer to the second question is the Cheney uses last names but more importantly on the first point she introduces us to a lot more than twenty-six American women. For example, "D" is for Emily Dickinson, the country's greatest poet, but the names of other poets from Edna St. Vincent Milay to Sylvia Plath, while "F" is for the First Ladies from Martha Washington to Laura Bush, and includes a great quotation from Barbara Bush's great commencement speech at Wellesley College in 1990. Then you should see the four page spread that opens up to show all the performers for "P," from Carol Burnett to Katharine Hepburn, or everything that is crammed into the two pages on "U" for US history.

The back of this book includes Notes on the Text that provides details about all 28 of those poets and some of the First Ladies. The illustrations are by Robin Preiss Glasser, who collaborated with Cheney on "America: A Patriotic Primer." Hopefully one day young readers will be able to appreciate the details that Glasser puts into her art, such as having Carol Burnett in the infamous curtain dress from the "Gone with the Wind" parody and doing the painting of Mary Cassatt in the style of a Mary Cassatt painting. This book intends to bring to light the "remarkable (although often unmarked) achievements of American women." Young readers should be captivated just by what they learn about Abigail Adams on the opening spread of this engaging volume, and if what little they learn here about Althea Gibson, Elizabeth Peabody, Jane Addams, Nellie Bly, Anne Sullivan and the rest of these American women inspires them to find out some more details about even a half-dozen of them, that would certainly be a step in the right direction.

Abigail to John: Don't forget the women
When John Adams began considering what laws should be made, his wife Abigail wrote from the family farm: "I desire you would remember the ladies." A familiar line in American history, but here is the rest of it: "If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound to any laws by which we have no voice or representation."

Is it any wonder that Writer Lynne Cheney and illustrator Robin Preiss Glasser begin their alphabet Almanac of Amazing American Women with Abigail Adams? Cheney, herself the wife of a Vice President and accomplished children's writer, and Glasser, a former ballet soloist and professional children's illustrator, have jointly produced several books about Americana: Our 50 States: A Family Adventure Across America and America : A Patriotic Primer. This one about women throughout American history is dear to the hearts of both women.

Because Abigail is first in many ways, she gets a two-page spread filled to the edges of the pages with depictions of life on the Adams farm, which Abigail ran single-handedly while John helped found a country. Glasser's illustrations are a delight to the eye. A child could spend quite a while on each of these pages, just reveling in the details of the lively illustrations.

B is for Elizabeth Blackwell, the center figure and the first woman to earn a medical degree, with four other healers in the four corners, plus names of nine other written in the empty spaces. It is fun to follow the trails of words and count the extra names. There is a fabulous home-spun illustration representing Emily Dickinson, America's "greatest poet," along with names of other women poets tucked in here and there in the rose-entwined trellis lining all four sides.

F for First Ladies is another two-page spread with Glasser depicting each first lady on a teacup, teapot, sugar bowl, creamer. It is quite elegant and prettified. Barbara Bush is quoted: "Somewhere out in this audience may even be someone who will one day follow in my footsteps and preside over the White House as the president's spouse. I wish him well!"

And so the book goes. The P section is a fold out of four pages illustrating performers: Sarah Caldwell (conductor), Tina Turner, Maria Tallchief (ballerina), Gilda Radner, Mahalia Jackson, just to give a flavor of the names.

Other letters: Trailblazers, W for Edith Wharton and women writers, X marks the ballot, Z for Babe Didrikson Zaharias and other strong women, N for Louise Nevelson and other creators of beautiful things, and K for Mary Kies and other inventors and entrepeneurs.

If you cannot tell I think this is an absolutely fabulous book for children, then I did not gush enough. Oh, in case you didn't know, in 1924 Gertrude Muller started a company to market the potty seat she had invented. Glasser's illustration is too precious.

Very highly recommended for all ages.

Great book, all kinds of women - even scientists and inventors
A reviewer below seems to be harboring some kind of hateful grudge against the author stating that it does not offer us women involved in science or chemistry. Yet the book itself offers us Mary Kies for "K" - the first woman to receive a patent, and on the same page other people like Stephanie Kwolek, the inventor of Kevlar (certainly a fine feat of chemical engineering). Other pages offer women from all walks of life, from businesspeople to writers to public figures of great import.

It's a shame that people see fit to dismiss authors and their works just because of who they marry and are not actually open minded enough to read the works before commenting.

But you the reader can see for yourself - I recommend you browse a few pages using the Amazon "Search Inside" feature (select "surprise me" in the book viewer to see an illustrated page from the book) and see what a terrific job the illustrator has done throughout in addition to the great range of women selected.