Women’s rights

Picture Book Review for Women’s History Month – Loujain Dreams of Sunflowers

 

 

LOUJAIN DREAMS OF SUNFLOWERS:
A Story Inspired by Loujain AlHathloul

Written by Lina AlHathloul & Uma Mishra-Newbery

Illustrated by Rebecca Green

(mineditionUS; $18.99, Ages 4-8)

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Available now in time for Women’s History Month is Loujain Dreams of Sunflowers. This new picture book introduces children to the young main character in the morning when she’s squeezing her eyes shut to recall her favorite dream. In this scene, she dreams of being able to fly, soaring above “a place her baba described as the carpet of a million sunflowers.” While having flying dreams is not uncommon, readers soon see more of the fantasy element come into play when, after getting up, Loujain joins her father to get their wings out of the shed.  The joy in Loujain’s face as she makes believe she can fly is palpable. But in reality, she’d never fly anywhere because she was a girl, and girls were forbidden to fly. How could this possibly be fair?

 

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Interior spread from Loujain Dreams of Sunflowers written by Lina AlHathloul & Uma Mishra-Newbery and illustrated by Rebecca Green, minedition ©2022.

 

The sunflowers Loujain fantasized visiting were in a picture taped to her wall and she was determined to see them. While her father knew the harsh reality, her mother did not want to discourage her daughter. But at school kids teased Loujain for thinking a girl could fly when only boys were allowed. Loujain pleaded with her father to give her lessons. His wife told him, “Why should flying be only for boys?” Especially, she added, “if we all can use wings?”

 

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Interior spread from Loujain Dreams of Sunflowers written by Lina AlHathloul & Uma Mishra-Newbery and illustrated by Rebecca Green, minedition ©2022.

 

Loujain had the good fortune to have open-minded, caring parents and a father who clearly agreed that it was not right to keep girls from spreading their wings and taking to the skies.  Her baba lovingly trained her and after preparing her, they set out the very next day on the journey to see the amazing sea of sunflowers.

 

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Interior art from Loujain Dreams of Sunflowers written by Lina AlHathloul & Uma Mishra-Newbery and illustrated by Rebecca Green, minedition ©2022.

 

The powerful symbolism conveyed in this story will not be lost on children who perhaps in their lifetime have experienced or heard about gender bias whether in sports, academics, employment, the arts, or in other fields. Of course in this case it’s a metaphor for the real-life Loujain AlHathloul who made history for challenging the ban on women’s right to drive cars in Saudi Arabia and was imprisoned because of it. She is no longer in prison, but her restrictive release conditions and her dream of bringing more freedoms for girls and women are described in the authors’ note.

 

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Interior art from Loujain Dreams of Sunflowers written by Lina AlHathloul & Uma Mishra-Newbery and illustrated by Rebecca Green, minedition ©2022.

 

Loujain Dreams of Sunflowers invites multiple reads and discussions in the context of women’s rights/gender bias and discrimination, perseverance and persistence as well as pursuing one’s dream. Green’s gorgeous and energetic art, created in acrylic gouache and colored pencil adds to the enjoyment of each read. I love her varied composition from page to page and the glorious color palette she’s chosen. Every spread, especially ones with the sunflowers, feels so expansive and full of possibility, just right for this hopeful and empowering picture book.

Follow Lina AlHathloul on Twitter here.

Find out more about Uma Mishra-Newbery here.

Find out more about Rebecca Green here.

Learn more about the #FreeJoujain campaign here.

 

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Suffrage: How Women Won the Vote

On this presidential election day, Debbie Glade reviews a book about the history of women voting in the USA.

Now is the perfect time to read Rightfully Ours: How Women Won the Vote; 21 Activities ($16.95, Chicago Review Press, Ages 9 and up) by Kerrie Logan Hollihan. Young readers will learn about the important struggles women of America faced for rights from the cradle of American history through the early 1920s when they were first allowed to vote. They will be introduced to the term, “suffrage,” the act of voting, and will become familiar with the most important figures in women’s voting history.

What I realized when I began reading this book is that there is a lot I didn’t know about the history of women’s rights in America. Sure, I was aware that women struggled for rights, but the details were always lacking in my education. I’m sure many other Americans can say the same.

This book proved to be so very inspiring for me. Women have been fighting for their rights in America since the very beginning of its history. It took great courage and resilience for them to stand up for what they believed in, in a time where their opinions were not respected. Had it not been for the efforts of: Lucy Stone, the first woman to earn a college degree in the state of Massachusetts; Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, organizers of the first women’s rights convention; Harriet Tubman, an organizer of the Underground Railroad; Harriet Beecher Stowe, who wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin and many other prominent female figures in the women’s rights movement, we as women would not have the rights we do today. Readers will understand more about the sacrifices our ancestors made that shaped American history and perhaps they will be grateful for their own civil rights.

As with all Chicago Review Press for Kids Series, there are 21 wonderful activities that accompany this book’s theme. Among my favorites are: crafting your own soap, which reminds us of the way women used to make their own from grease; making an oil lamp with a glass jar; staging a reader’s theater for suffrage; finding out how “comfortable” a corset may be; and making a coat hanger banner similar to those that suffragists marched with to promote their cause. In the back of the book are excellent resources for further learning – books, places to visit and websites of interest.

In October, 2011, I interviewed the author  of this book, Kerrie Logan Hollihan for her impressive Elizabeth I, the People’s Queen: Her Life and Times, 21 Activities book. She has also written, Isaac Newton and Physics for Kids: His Life and Ideas with 21 Activities and Theodore Roosevelt for Kids: His Life and Times, 21 Activities. I so admire Hollihan’s dedication to writing these factual historical books on such important subjects for children which take a great deal of time and passion and I look forward to her next book.

Check out all the Chicago Review Press Kids Series books here.

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