I'm a Cokie Roberts fan, so I was delighted to discover that she had written a collection of short biographical sketches of influential women during the American Revolution with young readers in mind.

ABC and NPR correspondent Roberts and Caldecott Honoree Goode forge an attractive and compelling version for young people of Roberts’ adult book of the same title.

Goode’s illustrations are often breathtaking. On the endpapers, she has reproduced in sepia tones with antique pens some of the source documents that allow readers to know these women. Roberts’ lively text is illuminated with flourishes and curlicues along with winsome or whimsical portraits in what looks like ink and watercolor. Some women get two-page illustrated spreads, like Esther DeBerdt Reed, who wrote one of the endpaper pieces and who raised thousands of dollars for Washington’s troops. They bought linen for 2,000 shirts for the soldiers, and into each was sewn the name of the woman who made it. There are briefer vignettes on women writers and women warriors, as well as an illustrated timeline from 1765 to 1815. Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison and Martha Washington are included of course, and there’s also Mercy Otis Warren, who wrote letters and poems championing the cause of freedom, and Eliza Lucas Pinckney, whose “little schemes” included raising silkworms and cultivating indigo as a cash crop. Roberts’ “Letter of Introduction” sets the stage, and the acknowledgments from writer and illustrator tell a compelling story of research and support.

It is a wonderful package, adding the women who made it work to the men we thought we all knew. (websites) (Nonfiction. 8-12)

-Kirkus Review

This book remembers the strong women of the American Revolution and salutes them of there unique places and roles of service during the War. ( )

The book is about the different ladies from 1765-1815. It talks about how they all helped throughout revolutionary war and the starting of the American people. This would be helpful in teaching students about the war. It would also help with young girls showing them that they're were more than men that helped in the revolution.

his is a collection of short (one-two paragraph) biographies of important women from the Revolutionary War. Robert’s include the obvious (Martha Washington, Abigail Adams) but I was pleased that she also included Mercy Otis Warren, Eliza Lucas Pinckney, and other less well-known women. The volume contains lively illustrations by Diane Goode and excellent resources for further learning.
I would be careful of considering this historically accurate. Roberts tells the most popular version of the life and stories of these women. These stories often overlook some of the more unpleasant truths about our founding mothers. This book is a good starting point but should not be the sole or absolute source for information on these extraordinary women. Worth owning for any child, but particularly excellent for young girls. ( )