Rebel in a Dress: Cowgirls

by Sylvia Branzei, Melissa Sweet (Illustrator)

Overview

For the rebel in every girl's heart, this series presents the achievements of extraordinary, relevant, and inspiring women throughout history. Through quotes, narratives, photographs, illustrations, and fact-filled side-bars, each book tells the story of twelve bold and courageous women.

The Wild West and the rodeo are not the only places where the cowgirl spirit can be found. From the sharpshooting Annie Oakley to the legendary Calamity Jane, these female cowgirls came from all walks of life, but share an irrepressible spirit and dedication to pushing the boundaries. Featured cowgirls include Georgie Sicking (cowboy poet), Charley Parkhurst (stagecoach driver), Tillie Baldwin (rodeo cowgirl), Tad Lucas (rodeo's First Lady), Lucille Mulhall (steer roper), Charmayne James (barrel racer), Lillian Riggs (rancher), Sally Skull (horse trader), Johanna July (horse tamer), and Mary Fields (pioneer and mail driver).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762443840
Publisher:	Running Press Book Publishers
Publication date:	10/25/2011
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	96
File size:	7 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Sylvia Branzei has written five books in the international bestselling Grossology series. She is the author of the Ickstory series and co-author of Dinosaur Store, Outer Space Place, and "The Soap Opera" Science on Stage Anthology. She has also written articles for many educational magazines. Sylvia lives in Southern Oregon with her husband, Byron Velasquez, Sox Dog, and Buster Cat. Please visit her at branzei.com/syl.

Melissa Sweet illustrated the Caldecott Honor book A River of Words and more than forty other books. Melissa lives in Rockport, Maine. Please visit her at melissasweet.net.

Editorial Reviews

Booklist
“With a sassy, scrapbooklike multimedia approach that uses both period photographs and portraits by Caldecott winner Sweet, the book chronicles infamous characters like Annie Oakley and Calamity Jane, along with some lesser-known women such as Lucille Mulhall, an expert hog-tier and horsewoman…These women, who were happy to “cowboy up” and marshal all of their fortitude to trust their instincts and accomplish great things in spite of criticism, are not just extraordinary gals—they are extraordinary people and realistic role models.

From the Publisher

Gr 4–7—Adventurers provides 6- to 8-page biographical sketches of 12 women who are "the stuff of legends." Each one is identified with a character trait, e.g., balloonist Sophie Blanchard is "Intrepid" and Margaret Bourke-White is "Relentless," although most of the adjectives could apply to every subject, as Branzei makes plain. Some familiar names are here, like Amelia Earhart and Nellie Bly, but the treat is in reading about lesser-known adventurers like Iditarod winner Susan Butcher and Seven Summits skier Kit Deslauriers. Cowgirls profiles 12 sketches of working cowgirls and rodeo riders from the 19th century through the present day. The term "cowgirl" also covers other Western types: stagecoach driver Mary Fields is here, along with outlaw Sally Skull and "Little Sure-Shot" Annie Oakley. "Lady cowboy poet" Georgie Sicking will probably be new to most readers; one of her poems is included. In both books, Sweet's fun and folksy illustrations and the scrapbook-style design add appeal. Point these books out to readers looking for informative, inspirational leisure reads; the ever-standardized biography assignment will probably not be fulfilled by the material presented here.—Rebecca Donnelly, Loma Colorado Public Library, Rio Rancho, NM

School Library Journal