Women are rad, yes! And RadWomen are Everywhere – all around us, us. We don’t need to look too hard for them; we just need to recognize them – in the women around us; and for those women readers who are reading this – in ourselves.

Today’s post includes our thoughts on these two books featured today for National Women’s History Month. And don’t forget that this month is also National Read Aloud Month – so you can read these to those younger ones! These books made me realize that and awed, wowed, inspired us (and more)!

Women truly are rad!

This post contains affiliate links below. If you purchase through an affiliate link, I may get a commission at no extra cost to you. Please see the full disclosure for more information

Rad Women Worldwide

I absolutely loved the diversity in this book – across continents, across roles women played, and across timelines. From ancient Mesopotamia (Enheduanna – the world’s earliest known author – a woman!) to modern Pakistan(Malala Yousafzai); from those women who achieved great heights (like Junko Tabei – the first woman to climb Mt.Everest) to those rad women organizations (like the Guerrilla Girls); from those nameless stateless unknowns to the famous and popular; from housewives and teachers to pharaohs and pirates – this book covers a whole lot; and does it admirably.

Each woman’s story starts off with a brilliant and colorful X-Acto paper-cut illustration. It then includes a totally rad quote from her, and a bio of about two pages of the featured woman. Though short, each bio is chock-full of information; and the telling is crisp, concise, and easy to grasp as well. More to the point, it does not bore you at any time!

I loved that the author notes that it is impossible to include all the rad women in the world; she then includes an additional list of 250 women around the world. (A wonderful project for the reader to research and learn more)

With accessible language that appeals to wide audiences and the bright paper-cut illustrations that seem to pop with color on every page, this book is sure to be a great addition to any home or library.

Rad American Women A-Z

As the title says, this book goes through the letters of the alphabet highlighting one (or more) woman for each letter. Each of these women have made their mark on the world. A short biography introduces us to the featured woman and lets us know why she is rad; and is accompanied by a colorful paper-cut-out illustration of the woman.

I love the list of ’26 Things That You Can Do to Be Rad’ at the end of the book; this provokes the reader to think about how each one of us can make a difference.

Both text and illustration are perfect for the target audience, yet will appeal to more wider audiences as well. The additional resources included at the end – the list of books, links for reference, as well as other information – make it easy for the reader to discover more about these women and others like them. There is something in this for everyone.

And Our Thoughts on Both Books:

Both books today are written by Kate Schatz and illustrated by Miriam Klein Stahl. As part of the Rad Women series, these books educate, inform, and inspire!

Both my teen daughter and I read these books. These books made me realize just how ignorant I am, but don’t feel bad for me.. I needed this eye-opener. As I read the names in the books, the fact that I recognized just a few shamed me (I am not telling you how few).

A couple of those I did recognize include Malala(of course!), Temple Grandin and Wangari Mathai, among others.

But I am sooooo glad we read these books, because now: we not only the names of more wonderful inspiring women who deserve to be known, we now so much more about them – their whys, whats, hows, whens and wheres. Which also means that, I now know what each one of us is capable of doing, and what I can inspire (myself and) my kids to do as we go forward. If the women featured in these books could achieve what they did, each of us can too.

“Don’t tell me women aren’t the stuff of heroes.” 

The letter X in the A-Z book and the last in-verse section in the Worldwide book totally tugged at our heartstrings….

Like my dd said of these books – “I realized that no matter how big or small the change or movement we bring about, it matters and it makes an impact, sometimes bigger than we thought it could; so we should all do what we can to better the world“. (and that is why she makes me smile!)

In Summary: RadWomen are Everywhere!

A wonderful series for readers transitioning from picture books to chapter books, for people who love biographies and love to be inspired, for just about everyone! A MUST-Read!

RadWomen are Everywhere!

Each of these books is so many wonderful hashtags in one package (And more as well)- #MakeWhatsNext #AchieveGreatDreams #WeShallOvercome #WeNeedDiverseBooks #WomensHistoryMonth #RadWomen

Disclaimer: Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC of the ‘Rad American Women A-Z’ book

And these books have so many giftable options!

Post-cards, posters, a journal, and an additional book in the series! Click on the links or the images below to order any of these items. For the books themselves, check the links next to the images of each book above.

Pin Me

Linking to Its Monday What Are You Reading over at Teach Mentor Texts