Lives of Extraordinary Women: Rulers, Rebels ~ and What the Neighbors Thought by Kathleen Krull

Lives of Extraordinary Women: Rulers, Rebels ~ and What the Neighbors Thought Reviews

• 
  Antonella

  short nonfiction with facts some known and unknown about twenty historical women figures
• 
  Brandi

  The lives of the 20 women discussed in this book were indeed extraordinary. Each entry is kept brief enough that it can be read in a single sitting, but not so brief as to leave the reader wondering, “Wait. Who was that lady again?” The book is formatted chronologically, which makes the progression logical and easy to follow.
  The illustrations also help readers absorb additional information about the text. Illustrations by Kathryn Hewitt include many beautiful full-page drawings that have the subject along with many significant items from her life. There are also smaller drawings within the text that illustrate specific events being discussed. For example, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine’s entry beings with a full page illustration of her riding a horse across the European continent, holding a book in an outstretched hand. In her time it was rare for a woman to be able to read, ride a horse, or be a capable ruler. A few pages into the article the text is interrupted with a small illustration of a jester’s hat and tools. This is right after a paragraph discussing how Eleanor had moved herself out of her husband’s castle and set up her own court which included many musicians, jugglers and artists.
  In the introduction Kathleen Krull states clearly that although many of the women she wrote about in this collection would make excellent role models, many of them may not. All of them were strong and significant in their time. Even the biographies of women of questionable morality are still appropriate for older elementary students. Queen Nzingha kept a harem of young men around, but Krull does not go into the nitty-gritty details.
  At the end of each entry is a section called “Ever After.” This section consists of a few bullet point facts generally about how their actions affected history. These parts are not as narrative in nature as the early parts of the text, but are extremely informative. They cover any important details that were not included otherwise. Many of them are about how the actions of the subject continue to influence the world today. An example of which is Elizabeth I’s love of poetry who, despite her personal challenge of creating it herself, allowed many great works to be created under her reign. Artists who, under a different ruler would have had their talent crushed, were allowed to blossom and have their work shared by all.
  This is not a collection of only ancient historical women. Many of the later subjects are still living. Several are still fighting for their causes and suffering hardships because of it. Aung San Suu Kyi, at the time this book was written, was still under house arrest because of her fight for democracy in the Burmese government.
  This would be a great book for older elementary students up through middle school. Even high school students could find value within these pages. Teachers could use the book in its entirety, but could also use select passages to augment other lessons. Many different countries and time periods are covered, so it should be fairly simple to find an appropriate entry for a variety of topics. If being used for a research assignment a bibliography of the resources the author found most useful is included in the back.
  The biographies in this book include: Cleopatra, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Joan of Arc, Isabella I, Elizabeth I, Nzingha, Catherine the Great, Marie Antoinette, Victoria, Harriet Tubman, Tz’u-hsi, Gertrude Bell, Jeannette Rankin, Eleanor Roosevelt, Golda Meir, Indira Gandhi, Eva Perón, Wilma Mankiller, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Rigoberta Menchú.
  
• 
  Charlynn

  In the introduction to her book, Krull states that her subjects' personalities could sometimes seem “larger than life.” This is then reflected by Hewitt's illustrations of dis-proportioned women whose heads and bodies dwarf their surroundings, giving the images a rather cartoonish, unrealistic perspective which fails to reflect the serious nature of the work. While the ambition of the book – to present stories of women triumphing over adverse conditions, attitudes, beliefs, and customs in a light which portrayed them as flawed humans rather than either good or bad – is laudable, Krull includes a ridiculous, inordinate amount of superfluous details such as what these influential women wore and the food they preferred. Additionally, though she provides her audience with a list of further reading material, the information in the text is without references, and the author fails to establish her authority as a reliable source of knowledge.
• 
  Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance

  Krull turns her talents yet once again to lives of
  extraordinary people, this time the lives of extraordinary women.
  She examines such well known women as Eleanor Roosevelt and Queen
  Elizabeth I along with less well known women such as Rigoberta Menchu
  and Nzingha. Each chapter is filled with fascinating details about
  the women.
• 
  Brittany

  A brief book giving quick introductions to 20 extraordinary ladies. Some of these ladies I didn’t know, such as Jeannette Rankin who was the only woman to give women the right to vote and stated if she could live her life over she’d be nastier. She was my favorite story, but they are all good ones. Just wish there was more information included.
• 
  Nicole

  I've loved this book since I was a kid! It also inspired my recent blog post on Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress:
  https://wp.me/pafNQ7-1h
  
  Entertainingly written, with fun illustrations about these bad-ass women!
• 
  Tyler Jones

  Perhaps a little out of date on some entries (Aung San Suu Kyi is still under house arrest) but overall a good, if very brief, introduction for young people to some of the most famous and infamous women of history and modern times.
• 
  Edy Gies

  I like the way the author showed the positive and the negatives about the woman featured here and why it matters to the way history played out. I would recommend this to anyone interested in reading about female leaders.
• 
  Cris

  Mini stories to tempt readers into delving into reading more about some amazing women in history! I have to admit I even I learned about some women I didn’t know about and learned something’s about some women I do!
• 
  Desirae

  3.5 Stars
• 
  Lauren

  Definitely a good book but I want more information! Doesn’t feel like there was enough. Granted, it’s a children’s book.
• 
  Dionne

  Short bios on some amazing women.
• 
  Sue

  I did not find this totally accurate, and once the discrepancies continued to mount I lost interest. The drawings were cute.
• 
  Cris

  I found the tone to be rather condescending. The individual entries are overly simplistic and frequently focus more on trivialities than accomplishments.
• 
  Heather Hoyt

  I liked learning more about history in the first part, but the whole second part was completely uninteresting and I'm probably not going to remember any of it.
• 
  Lexi

  A good introduction for youngsters. A bit dated. Not particularly nuanced.
• 
  Samantha

  An overview of a bunch of different women. A good launching point to learn about further women.
• 
  Sara

  NF- Biography
• 
  Mandolin

  We learn from history, but how hard it is to interest today's youth in long-dead people when the biographies often included in textbooks are ones laden with dates and boring facts that seem to have little relationship to today's world. Even the lives of queens and powerful female rulers hold little interest when portrayed in that gray light. How refreshing it is, then, to read this book by Kathleen Krull and learn about the much spicier aspects of the lives of various women, ranging from a few obscure personalities often forgotten by standard textbooks to those more prominent ones known by most. Women who dressed as boys and led armies (Joan of Arc), who were the original Paris Hiltons of their day, starting fashion trends with each new change of wardrobe (Marie Antoinette), who remained single all their lives but had hordes of suitors (Elizabeth), who had full rooms dedicated to their extensive wardrobes (Eva Peron) and who kept their thrones by killing off their siblings (Cleopatra.) Admittedly, the book is full of more sensational and "fluffy" tidbits about these amazing women, but isn't that just what is needed to entice girls (and boys!) to want to learn more about them? Though this aspect has been criticized by several reviewers, I don't believe the book was meant to be a compilation of serious biographical sketches like those found in textbooks but rather a conglomeration of snapshots like those you'd find in one of today's celebrity magazines. If given the choice, which do you think a normal teenager today would choose to read? If I were a teacher, I'd be glad if my students at least began with this book to whet their appetites for more in-depth study! I certainly enjoyed it and would recommend it to adults and teens alike.
• 
  Sara Thompson

  I am not really one who reads non-fiction cover to cover. I really prefer getting all my non-fiction via Discovery Channel. This book, however, is a great exception.
  Lives of Extraordinary Women covers the lives of 20 women who influenced history. Some are quite familiar such as Cleopatra and Joan of Arc but others are lesser known such as Wilma Mankiller and Jeannette Rankin. I was impressed by the cultural variety of the book as well as the realistic picture painted of these women. Some were not your fairy tale women who fought proudly - some were actually quite vile when it came to women's rights or the way they lived. I could really appreciate the work the author did. She even clarified some more fictional aspects of some of these women's lives.
  I really appreciated how she wrapped up their lives in a few short pages - giving enough detail to understand the woman's significance without droning on. It gave me a taste to learn more which is always a good thing. I don't think this is the ultimate report writing book but enough to give a child a chance to find someone of significance. The book is somewhat in chronological order since some of these women were alive at the same time. Some were in politics, some were political activists and others were explorers. I can't imagine there isn't someone in the book that won't strike a cord with every reader.
• 
  Sally

  The book consisted of 2-4 page vignettes on women from ancient times to modern. The author tells it like it is; she's irreverent and funny.
  
  For example, Cleopatra married her much younger brother, because it was expected of her. Yet she was probably responsible for at least 2 of her brothers' deaths. Eva Peron, knowing that Mr. Peron (forgot his name) had a girlfriend, made the bold move of having the girlfriend moved out and all of Eva's things moved in one day while Mr. Peron was at work. It went without a hitch. Eleanor Roosevelt, after discovering her husband's unfaithfulness, dove into work that made her happy, stayed married so he could keep his career, but lived a loveless marriage. Details like that are prevalent.
  
  I learned about several very important women; we just don't learn about influential women, even today, in today's world, so it's a good book for that reason.
  
  The phrase in the title "and what the neighbors though" refers to how people reacted to bull-headed women with unusual habits, which describes most women who have "made a difference" in the world.
  
  Women, traditionally, have had to make greater sacrifices than men to make the same kind of difference in their world, and this book illustrates that as well.