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My Name is Not Isabella

by Jennifer Fosberry
pictures by Mike Litwin

Many (many) years ago, when I was in grade school, I had a fascination with Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman doctor. I happened to pick up a book in the library about her, and little factoids about her were permanently stuck in my brain.

My Name is Not Isabella is the story of a little girl who happens to know a lot about a quite a few famous ladies in the past. When she wakes up she tells her mother that her name is not Isabella, it's Sally, and she's an astronaut! When her mother asks her to eat her breakfast, her name is now Annie, and she's the greatest sharp shooter there ever was! Isabella pretends to be Rosa Parks, Marie Curie, Elizabeth Blackwell and her own mother, before getting ready for bed and deciding she's Isabella again. It's a great story that introduces little girls to great women in history in a fun, playful setting with great illustrations.

At the end of the book, there's a paragraph about each of the women Isabella pretends to be during the day. Just to refresh your memory, in case you forgot from your grade school days, just who Elizabeth Blackwell was.

Want to Know What I Think?

I love this book! I'm putting it up for Maddie until she's a little older and won't try and eat the beautifully illustrated pages. It is a fun way to introduce groundbreaking women into your child's life without it being a strict history lesson. As they get older it can inspire further research and a little girl to dream big to become a woman famous for something groundbreaking.

Available From Amazon.com

We Are Girls Who Love To Run/Somos Chicas y A Nosotras Nos Encanta Correr

By Brianna K. Grant
Illustrated by Nicholas A. Wright

This book is written in English and Spanish, which I really liked. The Spanish is under the English on each page. The story is told in first person, and is about a girl who, duh, likes to run. She talks of the enjoying the time during her runs, how it is hers. Each set of paired pages starts with a declarative sentence and then it  expounds on the thought in a short paragraph.

I am a girl who loves to run. I am beautiful, I am a good friend, I am loveable, I am successful, I am peaceful. The story becomes much more than about running, it's about being confident in your abilities and not being afraid to say good things about yourself. In these days of self depreciation, it's nice to see a book about a self confident, self aware girl. At the end of the book there's a page of personal quotes from girls from 6 1/2 to 73 on running.

The illustration are dreamy watercolors that add to the ambience of the book wonderfully.

Want to Know What I Think?

An inspiring book for any young or young at heart reader. This book helps inspire confidence in yourself and has beautiful images to bring the words to life. A very nice book for any girl who needs a little boost in their self confidence. 5% of profits from the sale of this book is donated to running programs in the US.

Available through Amazon for $14.03.

In the Shadow of the Sun King

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By Golden Keyes Parsons

The author found a dusty and dilapidated volume of family history that after a great aunt passed away.  The history shared in the volume was fascinating to the author and told the story of her Huguenot ancestors and their struggles in France during the reign of King Louis XIV. The Edit of Nantes was issued in 1598 by King Henri IV, but persecution of the Huguenots was renewed with increased vigor by the Louis and the Catholic church. In their efforts to "unify" the kingdom under one religion, the assembly of the clergy first closed all the Protestant colleges and hospitals, declared that no Protestants could hold public office, and required that all children be taken from their parents and "reeducated" in Catholic monasteries. As a final injustice, all mixed marriages we declared null and the children of those marriages made illegitimate.

Officers of the king's army took to the countryside demanding that the subjects feed and house them while the occupants were being persecuted for their faith. These soldiers were particularly ruthless in their enforcement of the king's orders and it was not uncommon to find houses ransacked, burned to the ground, servants and livestock murdered.

In the Shadow of the Sun King revolves around a family of Huguenot nobility living in the countryside. The Clavells have three children, two of which they hide away in a cave when the soldiers arrive at their estate. As the soldiers move in, Mrs. Clavell realizes that the situation is becoming more and more desperate after she realizes that the problem is not going away. The family is banking on the age of their young daughter to insure her safety and keep her from being taken to the convent for "reeducation."

Mrs. Clavell's only hope is to visit the king and beg for mercy. Her family was once held in high esteem in the court of the the king. She was his "serious girlfriend," for lack of a better term. The relationship became complicated when he was required to marry for political reasons. Her family left court and her husband does not go to court on a regular basis as expected of a man in his position because of this prior relationship.

Madeline Clavell decides to travel to Versailles to request leniency for her family. Instead, she enrages the king because she refuses to become his mistress.  She rushes home to try and stop the inevitable, but when she arrives, her house has been burned to the ground, her daughter taken away, her servants missing or dead and her husband gone.

The remaining family is forced to flee to Switzerland and is thrown upon the mercies of the church. Madeline never stops looking for her family.

I really enjoyed the story. The author fleshes out the characters and provides adequate back story to draw the reader in. The descriptions of Versailles are excellent. The author also provides a french to English dictionary in the beginning of the book which allows her to inject some realistic dialogue into the story.

I very much enjoyed the story. The characters are believable and the glimpse into Louis XIV's court was fascinating. I was not aware the upheaval during this time period concerning the church, and it was a very personal way to delve into the subject. This is a meaty book, full of historical facts but with a great story wrapped in the vivid descriptions and heartfelt emotions of a mother trying to recover the family that was torn apart because of their religious beliefs.