Explorers

Children's Literature - Beverly Kobrin

We've done our best, but we still could do more, for women today hold only about 30% of the available professional positions. To encourage girls to focus on science, introduce them to the "Women in Profile" series. This particular title features six explorers: Isabella Bird Bishop, world explorer; Amelia Earhart, pilot; Mary Kingsley, explorer/anthropologist; Annie Smith Peck, mountain climber; Freyda Stark, explorer/travel writer; and Valentina Tereshkova, astronaut, plus brief profiles of eight more women explorers. Each title in the series consists of eye-catching portrait-covers, colorfully photo-illustrated, magazine-style biographies that contain sidebars with "Key Events" and "Backgrounder" columns as well as pertinent quotations. Readers easily overwhelmed by large blocks of type will be particularly attracted to this series, which includes Explorers, Writers, Scientists, Political Leaders, Musicians, and Nobel Prize Winners.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-6-These attractive titles each feature six women who have had an impact in their fields. Many names will be familiar but each book also includes some women who are less well known. The biographies, generally three to five pages in length, are divided into sections that discuss each woman's "Early Years," "Developing Skills," and "Accomplishments." Sidebars, "Key Events," "Quick Notes," and boxed quotes provide additional facts and background. Each book concludes with brief notes about the contributions of 13 to 15 other women. An abundance of appealing black-and-white and full-color photographs and occasional maps and drawings illustrate the text. Although these books do not include the detailed information found in the "American Profiles" series (Facts On File), they will be useful for short reports or to supplement other resources.-Ann M. Burlingame, North Regional Library, Raleigh, NC