Lives of Extraordinary Women

Lovely lady, thirteen, zestfully zipped through Lives of Extraordinary Women: Rulers, Rebels (And What the Neighbors Thought) written by Kathleen Krull and illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt. Lives of Extraordinary Women offers nutshell biographies of twenty politically powerful women from different historical periods and cultures. Each 2-3 page bio is accompanied by a well-done humorous caricature and followed by a short "Ever After" section containing 2-3 additional facts about the woman and her legacies. Lovely lady's favorite: Elizabeth I. She said, "She was outrageous!"

Lives of the Artists: Masterpieces, Messes (And What the Neighbors Thought), also written by Krull and illustrated by Hewitt, was another library find about three weeks ago. I didn't assign this book, but I did have to hunt for it so that we could return it on library day. I skimmed through this one a bit too, one artist at a time. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about each artist, and Hewitt's caricatures are fun to look at. Initially I was a bit disappointed that there weren't pictures of actual works of each artist included with each bio, but about halfway through the book (which was as far as I got before we had to return the book, since it disappeared into the lovely lady's room) I came to the conclusion that I preferred the focus on the artist's life.

The bios in both books are interesting and short, offering a quick overview of each person's life rather than in-depth information. Perfect for an introduction to, for example, the subject of women in history. And a great way to spark further exploration. Lovely lady is chomping at the bit to get to Elizabeth I's reign in our history studies. I ended up tracking down the works of an artist I found particularly interesting. (Mary Cassat, right about the time I made this post.) Lovely lady has requested that we look for Lives of the Writers: Comedies, Tragedies (and What the Neighbors Thought) the next time we go to the libary. I'd like to see if our branch library offers the rest of the series as well: Lives of the Musicians, Lives of the Presidents, and Lives of the Athletes.