Troublemakers in Trousers: Women and What They Wore to Get Things Done

by Sarah Albee, Kaja Kajfez (Illustrator)

Overview

Meet twenty-one women throughout history who broke fashion and norms to do something groundbreaking in this unique middle-grade collection that celebrates trailblazers and troublemakers.

Girls and women have historically been denied access to work, been blocked from the arts, refused the opportunity to lead and fight, and much more, simply because of their gender. From Hatshepsut to Joan of Arc to Frida Kahlo, Troublemakers in Trousers highlights twenty-one women who, for different reasons, wore men’s clothing, pretended to be men, and broke the rules in order to do something they wanted—or needed—to do.

The perfect modern-day introduction to women throughout history who broke boundaries and pushed the limits set by society.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781632898531
Publisher:	Charlesbridge
Publication date:	10/25/2022
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	83 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Sarah Albee is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 100 books for kids, including Accidental Archaeologists: True Stories of Unexpected Discoveries. Prior to being a full-time writer, Sarah worked at Children’s Television Workshop (producers of Sesame Street) for nine years. She played basketball in college, and then a year of semi-professional women’s basketball in Cairo, Egypt. She lives in Connecticut.

Kaja Kajfež developed her love of drawing as a child, and she earned a degree in multimedia, design, and application at University North in Croatia. She focuses on illustration, lettering, and surface pattern design. She loves exploring different historical periods, looking through old picture books, and spending time with her dog. www.izptica.com

Table of Contents

Introduction vii

Suit Yourself

Chapter 1 King of Queens 1

Hatshepsut

Chapter 2 Amazon Prime 9

Hypsicratea

Chapter 3 Vested Interest 15

Khutulun

Chapter 4 The Maid in Armor 21

Joan of Arc

Chapter 5 The Chic of Araby 29

Lady Mary Montagu

Chapter 6 Partners in Crime 37

Anne Bonny and Mary Read

Chapter 7 Bound and Determined 43

Deborah Sampson

Chapter 8 Around the World in Three-Thousand-and-Something Days 49

Jeanne Baret

Chapter 9 Native Fighter 55

Running Eagle

Chapter 10 East Beats West 61

Lakshmibai

Chapter 11 A Hostile Makeover 69

Amelia Bloomer

Chapter 12 Leading the Way 77

Harriet Tubman

Chapter 13 Skirting the Issue 85

Rosa Bonheur

Chapter 14 Frocks and Bonds 93

Ellen Craft

Chapter 15 No Reservations 101

Lozen

Chapter 16 For She's a Jolly Good Fellow 109

Vesta Tilley

Chapter 17 Winging It 117

Lilian Bland

Chapter 18 Viva La Frida 125

Frida Kahlo

Chapter 19 Playing Hardball 133

Marcenia "Toni" Stone

Chapter 20 The Most Riveting Riveter 141

Marguerite Johnson

Author's Note 146

My Checkered Past

Acknowledgments 148

Notes 150

Select Bibiliography 155

Image Credits 159

Index 161

Editorial Reviews

It wasn’t until 2013 that France finally repealed a law against women wearing pants. The prolific Albee explores the impact of social mores in which women had to break the law, confounding social order to achieve their goals—in pants. With such an engaging premise, the stories of 20 women are detailed, from Queen Hatshepsut to Marcenia “Toni” Stone, the first woman to play major-league baseball. Women disguised themselves as men for many reasons: fighting for freedom, supporting their families, and creating art. Well-chosen insets broaden the historical context that triggered their choices. Fascinating facts like “silk wouldn’t tear if an arrow pierced the body, making it easier to yank the arrow out” informed Mongol soldier Khutulun’s fashion choices. Readers learn of the ­hostility toward women and discover the lengths they went to—such as walking 150 miles to enlist in the Union army, as Deborah ­Sampson did. Kajfez’s colorful, full-page portraits open chapters in a carefully detailed, cartoon style that counters the primary source images. Illustrations, photos, maps, and carefully selected visuals authenticate the subjects, although captions are occasionally too brief. The strength of these short biographies is the subjects themselves; a ­diverse, international, and exceptional group.

­VERDICT Albee delivers in-depth portraits enticing enough to inspire further study; for all middle grade nonfiction collections.

–Janet S. Thompson, School Library Journal

From the Publisher

08/01/2022

Gr 4–9—It wasn't until 2013 that France finally repealed a law against women wearing pants. The prolific Albee explores the impact of social mores in which women had to break the law, confounding social order to achieve their goals—in pants. With such an engaging premise, the stories of 20 women are detailed, from Queen Hatshepsut to Marcenia "Toni" Stone, the first woman to play major-league baseball. Women disguised themselves as men for many reasons: fighting for freedom, supporting their families, and creating art. Well-chosen insets broaden the historical context that triggered their choices. Fascinating facts like "silk wouldn't tear if an arrow pierced the body, making it easier to yank the arrow out" informed Mongol soldier Khutulun's fashion choices. Readers learn of the hostility toward women and discover the lengths they went to—such as walking 150 miles to enlist in the Union army, as Deborah Sampson did. Kajfez's colorful, full-page portraits open chapters in a carefully detailed, cartoon style that counters the primary source images. Illustrations, photos, maps, and carefully selected visuals authenticate the subjects, although captions are occasionally too brief. The strength of these short biographies is the subjects themselves; a diverse, international, and exceptional group. VERDICT Albee delivers in-depth portraits enticing enough to inspire further study; for all middle grade nonfiction collections.—Janet S. Thompson

School Library Journal

2022-10-26
Twenty capsule biographies of historical women who wore trousers or men’s clothing.

The women portrayed in these short, illustrated narratives wore traditionally male clothing for different reasons. Harriet Tubman found skirts to be a hinderance when helping enslaved people escape; Vesta Tilley was an English-born drag performer during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many of the women disguised themselves as men so they could work in professions forbidden to women, while Ellen Craft disguised herself to escape slavery. The pharaoh Hatshepsut portrayed herself as male because that’s what pharaohs were, and if Frida Kahlo were alive today, “we might describe her as gender fluid.” Historical photographs and paintings add interest, although with descriptions pushed to endnotes, their often intriguing context is hard to find. A contemporary, slangy voice wavers between forced and quite funny, and the sidebars that pepper the collection (on everything from smallpox to the gender spectrum to “How To Start Up a Model T”) are informative and mostly rather interesting. About half of the subjects are White, though Black, Native American, Mongolian, and Indian women are covered as well. Almost all are from the 18th and 19th centuries in the United States or Western Europe. The final biography (of Marguerite Johnson, streetcar conductor) has such a satisfying reveal that it brings thematic closure to the whole collection.

Colorful, fun, relatable tastes of history that may tempt readers into further research. (author’s note, notes, bibliography, image credits, index) (Nonfiction. 9-11)

Kirkus Reviews