about the book
Elizabeth Blackwell was a tiny wisp of a girl, but she was intelligent, curious, and never walked away from a challenge. She carried her older brother over her head until he backed down from a fight, slept on the bare hard floor to toughen herself up, and climbed onto the roof to see what was happening on the other side of town. She never took no for an answer.
When she got older, she still pushed boundaries, especially the one that said women could do only certain things. Society in the 1830’s said they could marry and have children, and maybe, just maybe, they could be teachers or seamstresses.
Elizabeth had another plan for her life.
She wanted to be a doctor—but the old twerps in tailcoats told her that women were far too delicate, physically weak, and unintelligent to learn medicine and handle the work. She tried to get into 28 medical schools and received 28 rejections. She did get into the 29th but everyone there treated her like she was destined to fail.
But Elizabeth didn’t fail. She proved every detractor wrong and graduated the top of her class. She went on to have a brilliant career and opened her own medical schools for women. This strong-willed woman opened the doors for all the female doctors to come. Elizabeth Blackwell’s story of determination, sense of self, and courage will surely inspire every little reader to go for their dreams.
about the author
Tanya Lee Stone has been writing and making up stories since she was a kid. She studied English and music at Oberlin College and worked as an editor for many years.
After earning a Master’s in Science Education, she donned high rubber boots to give shots to harbor seals and hopped about with kangaroos in Australia. Then she moved to England and began writing her first book. Since then she has published many nonfiction books for kids and teens.
Tanya likes variation in her work. “Somehow my brain functions better if I’m working on more than one project during the day. I usually work for a few hours on a fiction project and then switch over to a non-fiction project.”
Her ideas for nonfiction books often come from something she’s interested in. Something will pique her curiosity, and she’ll want to know everything there is to know on the subject. Writing fiction is different for her. “Fiction is more mysterious. My ideas usually come from a character who has a distinct voice I need to listen to.”
She encourages young writers to experiment. “Don’t worry that what you write down isn’t perfect. Get what’s in your head on to the paper and revise it later. And always revise! Revision is the bulk of what writers do.”
Sources:
Author biography: Amazon
Author interview : School Library Journal
Author video interview: AdLit
Book trailer: Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors?
Also by Tanya Lee Stone:
The House That Jane Built : A Story about Jane Addams. Henry Holt. 2015.
Sandy’s Circus : A Story about Alexander Calder. Viking Juvenile. 2008.
about the illustrator
When she was a young girl, Majorie Priceman’s family took long family vacations. Packed into a Chevy Malibu, they visited the sea shores, historic sites, national parks, museums, monuments, planetariums, movie studios, petting zoos, amusement parks, and every roadside attraction and souvenir stand along the way.
Now all grown up and an acclaimed writer/illustrator, she always includes in her books all the educational facts, but just like those car trips longs ago, she includes enough odd-ball stuff to make each reader’s “trip” totally enjoyable.
Whatever she is doing, it is working! She has illustrated more than 37 children’s picture books including two Caldecott Honor books. Her watercolor illustrations are easily recognizable for their free-flowing lines and whimsical humorous spirit. Since she began writing her own books, she now finds illustrating someone else’s manuscript isn’t half as much fun as illustrating her own!
Marjorie currently lives in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.
Sources:
Illustrator biography: Random House Kids
Illustrator biography: JRank
Also by Marjorie Priceman:
Miracle on 133rd Street by Sonia Manzano. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. September 2015.
Cold Snap by Eileen Spinelli. Knopf Books for Young Readers. 2012.
Jazz Age Josephine by Jonah Winter. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. 2012.
The Ride : The Legend of Betsy Dowdy by Kitty Griffin. Atheneum Book for Young Readers. 2010.
Paris in the Spring with Picasso by Joan Yolleck. Schwartz & Wade. 2010.
How to Make a Cherry Pie and See the U.S.A. Alfred A. Knopf. 2008.
Hot Air : The Mostly True Story of the First Hot Air Balloon Ride. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. 2005.
read more!
Fearless : The Story of Racing Legend Louise Smith by Barbara Rosenstock
Louise Smith: first woman NASCAR legend. She lived for the thrills of the racetrack, going faster and faster. She overcame society’s beliefs about women in a time when women were not allowed to drive. Even in her elderly years, Louise flew down the country roads outside her home. Read this book to learn more about a racing legend.
Hot Air : The Mostly True Story of the First Hot Air Balloon Ride by Marjorie Priceman
This picture book describes the (mostly true) version of the historical first flight of a hot-air balloon. Important people gather on the grounds of the palace of Versailles on September 19, 1783. Inventors Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier are about to send their very first hot-air balloon up into the skies with its first group of (perhaps the world’s bravest) passengers-a duck, a rooster, and a sheep. You’ll never guess the (frightful and comical) adventures these (very befuddled) passengers encounter during that historical flight.
The House That Jane Built : A Story about Jane Addams by Tanya Lee Stone
From an early age, Jane Addams wanted to improve the lives of the poor. In 1889 she established Hull House, a community refuge where people could come for food, a bath, to find work, and for a social acceptance. She also built Chicago’s first playground. In the 1920s, 9,000 people a week visited the Hull House buildings. And it all started because a girl wanted to help others!