1st through 4th Grade
The Amelia Bloomer Book List

From the perspective of a young girl following Susan B. Anthony and the fight for Women's suffrage, this story illustrates how men and women are equal, looking at the dynamics within a family, all while simultaneously being rooted in history. It shows newspapers, timelines, and historically accurate depictions of events. I would use this book in a 4th-5th grade setting, maybe even during Women's History month, and start the discussion of the movement for Women's rights and influential women throughout history. ( )

This story is based on the real experiences of a 10-year-old girl’s political awakening after being introduced to Susan B. Anthony at a suffrage tea

Based on a real person, this story follows Bessie as she joins Susan B. Anthony in the fight to gain women equality and the right to vote because she was not treated the same as her brothers. This story shows the struggles that women faced that made them fight for suffrage as well as the struggles they faced when trying to gain suffrage. The book hits points on family hierarchies, child labor, education, feminism, and politics. This book would be good in a social studies classroom as a tool to talk about voting, feminism, protest movements, or to have children research historical figures. This book is also good because it has additional resources in the back including a short biography of Susan B. Anthony and a timeline of the suffrage movement. ( )

Bessie is frustrated when she isn't allowed to go hiking with her father and brother, only because she's a girl. She's stuck staying at home with her mother, but little did she know, the suffrage tea she attended that day would change her life! Upon meeting Susan B. Anthony and hearing about the fight for equal rights, Bessie is inspired to join her mom, her aunt, and Anthony to help fight. She gets her friend to join her helping at the suffrage headquarters. When Bessie sees the countless girls working in a factory, unable to attend school due to poverty, she is rattled by their willingness to give a donation. Bessie paints banners, marches at rallies, fold pamphlets, and everything else she can do. Some men are rude, some even throw eggs at her, but thankfully, her father is supportive of her ventures. They find out that the women lost the vote, her mom asks Bessie to teach her to ride a bike, saying that riding a bike gives women freedom and relating never giving up when learning to ride to fighting for suffrage. Bessie is still upset, but her father even offers to take her hiking with her brothers and to come with her and her mom to the next suffrage campaign.

I tagged this book as K-gr. 3, but it would definitely be geared for second grade and up with support. There are difficult concepts (such as sexism) and a lot of historical background knowledge (such as the suffrage movement and Susan B. Anthony that kids would most likely need help understanding. I liked that the author chose to write the book about a real ten-year-old girl who was inspired by Anthony to take action, showing students that we can all make a difference. This book was inspiring, and I liked how they showcased the inherent sexism of the time period by little comments such as saying girls aren't strong enough to hike and that the father counts every penny for her friend's household. ( )