Children's Literature
- Annie Laura Smith
Wilma Mankiller was sworn in as the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, the second largest Indian tribe in the United States after the Navajos. A "Contents" page details the scope of the materials. The respective eight chapters cover her legacy in detail, while sidebars emphasize historical events. A "Timeline" chronicles the dates of events. Sections on "Source Notes", "Further Information", and a "Bibliography" provide excellent references for further research. The "Index" gives easy navigation through the text. Black and white and color photographs show the Cherokee nation during her leadership. This book is part of the "Leading Women Series" which explores the lives of women leaders of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The other women include Benazir Bhutto, Shirley Chisholm, Hillary Clinton, Golda Meir, and Eva Peron. This series celebrates the impact that women in leadership roles have made across cultures. Although Wilma Mankiller is an individual biography, the information contributes to the overcall concept of women in leadership positions and how they made an indelible mark on history. Reviewer: Annie Laura Smith
School Library Journal
Gr 6–10—These books illuminate the lives of their extraordinary subjects and the important roles they played in history. Meir survived pogroms in Russia as a child and became prime minister of Israel. Readers learn about Bhutto's student years at Radcliffe College and her rise to prime minister of Pakistan, the first woman to lead a Muslim state. Chisholm, who grew up in Brooklyn, NY, was the first black woman elected to Congress, and she also ran for the Democratic presidential nomination. The story of Mankiller's lifelong work for the Cherokee Nation and her role as its first female principal chief will absorb readers. The women's lives are revealed within the political and historical context of their times and include quotes from autobiographical material. Sidebars describe important events such as the Civil Rights Movement (Chisholm), and color and black-and-white photos are included in each volume. The books close with a summation of the lasting impact of the subjects' political careers. The compact size, chronological organization, and accessible writing styles make these biographies good resources for reports.—Ragan O'Malley, Saint Ann's School, Brooklyn, NY
