33 Things Every Girl Should Know About Women's History: From Suffragettes to Skirt Lengths to the E.R.A

by Tonya Bolden (Editor)

Here’s the perfect book for anyone interested in learning more about girls and women in the United States from the 18th century to the present. Featuring contributions from a wide variety of women, including well-known nonfiction writers, a children’s librarian, historians, and many more, this latest addition to the 33 Things series provides an engaging, inspiring, informative look at the role women have played in shaping American history.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Feminism, Womens, Childrens, Parenting, Gender

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Author and publisher Tonya Wilyce Bolden was born on March 1, 1959, in New York City to Georgia Bolden, a homemaker, and Willie Bolden, a garment center shipping manager. Bolden grew up in Harlem in a musical family and loved to read; she attended Public M.E.S. 146, an elementary school in Manhattan, and then graduated from the Chapin School, a private secondary school, in Manhattan in 1976. Bolden attended Princeton University in New Jersey, and, in 1981, obtained her B.A. degree in Slavic languages and literature with a Russian focus. Bolden was also a University Scholar and received the Nicholas Bachko, Jr. Scholarship Prize.

Upon graduating from Princeton University, Bolden began working as a salesperson for Charles Alan, Incorporated, a dress manufacturer, while working towards her M.A. degree at Columbia University. In 1985, Bolden earned her degree in Slavic languages and literature, as well as a Certificate for Advanced Study of the Soviet Union from the Harriman Institute; after this she began working as an office coordinator for Raoulfilm, Inc., assisting in the research and development of various film and literary products. Bolden worked as an English instructor at Malcolm-King College and New Rochelle School of New Resources while serving as newsletter editor of the HARKline, a homeless shelter newsletter.

In 1990, Bolden wrote her first book, The Family Heirloom Cookbook. In 1992, Bolden co-authored a children’s book entitled Mama, I Want To Sing along with Vy Higginsen, based on Higginsen’s musical. Bolden continued publishing throughout the 1990s, releasing Starting a Business from your Home, Mail-Order and Direct Response, The Book of African-American Women: 150 Crusaders, Creators, and Uplifters, And Not Afraid to Dare: The Stories of Ten African-American Women, American Patriots: The Story of Blacks in the Military from the Revolution to Desert Storm and The Champ. Bolden became editor of the Quarterly Black Review of Books in 1994, and served as an editor for 33 Things Every Girl Should Know, in 1998. Bolden’s writing career became even more prolific in the following decade; a partial list of her works include:, Our Souls: A Celebration of Black American Artists, Maritcha: A Nineteenth Century American Girl, MLK: Journey of a King, Take-Off: American All-Girl Bands During World War II, and George Washington Carver, a book she authored in conjunction with an exhibit about the famous African American inventor created by The Field Museum in Chicago.

(source; http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biogr...)

Reviews

[Noninuna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's really informative about the history of all kind of movement to get equality in many aspects like voting, labour payment, owning property, education, sport etc. The contents presented in the form of essays, graphics, pictures, poems and lists.

Some parts are really interesting and I have learned a lot about major events like the 1911 Triangle Waistshirt Factory fire. There is a part where it shows how women's fashion evolved from the Puritans' time to the latest century. Another part gives a list of books about women in history (oh I love to try one of those books!). On another hand, few parts are too plain with too many words that I had to push myself to keep going. For non-American, fair warning that this book centred around America & their history.

Overall, I appreciate the information but I can't really relate because it's not my history. I need to find books that tell stories about our Malaysian women history and this book spark that interest in me!

[Christine Lopez]

Tonya Bolden was born on March 1, 1959 in New York City. She attended elementary school and private school through her childhood years. She wasn’t planning on being a writer at all, but she always loved reading. Once Tonya was done with college, she graduated with a bachelor's degree in Slavic Language and Literature in 1981. She taught at a few universities and her work was in national magazines and newspapers. Most of Bolden’s books are based on African American history. In the book 33 things every girl should know about women’s history, many of the articles portrayed how women should act.
The plot of the book has many informative poems such as Past Is Prologue. The poem talks about how every girl can be themselves, fighting for their rights, and have the same jobs as men. Then it goes into how Abigail received a letter from John Adams talking about how they were working on the Declaration of Independence for the women to have equal rights. But this didn’t happen until the 1920s that they have the right to vote.
The book 33 things every girl should know about women’s history by Tonya Bolden describes different feminist aspects. This book illustrates women’s rights, clothing styles, and the feminism troubles that the women went through. Women during this time period liked wearing makeup and stylish clothing such as dresses. They wanted to have rights to vote and be able to choose on what they thought is best for them or their families.
One section of the book shows how there are different ways to show your inner self. Women can have different aspects for judging someone else, by talking about how they look on the inside and the outside. Women in the twentieth century wanted to be change their image. They go on diet to be healthier, and exercise today. During this time period we think differently about our bodies that were given to us instead of appreciating of what we have.
I found this book to be some what hard to analyze. Many of the stories were very disturbing. I don’t understand how some of the women could survive, with what they went through. They were very strong in spirit, soul, and mind. Those women were very determined.
The book 33 things every girl should know about women’s history is very informative. Each sections explains what that the women went through. It shows different timelines in the 18th century for fashion and the events in that time period. The book is very inspiring and provides a lot of information. It has diaries, photographs, and some of famous people that tell you what was happening in their life. I would recommend this book to other women.

[Cara Ball · Rating 3 out of 5]

A "just right read" on the history of women in the United States for high school and middle schooler in your life. If I had a classroom library or a school library, this would definitely be acquired for it.

[Alexis Scholbrock · Rating 4 out of 5]

33 things every girl should know is more than one story. It’s a mixture of poems, stories, and diary entries. It is written by 33 Extraordinary women and was edited by Tonya Bolden. Although there are many different stories written in this book, they are all the same in a way. Although not every woman is the same, they differ in their own unique way.

There are so many greats about this book it's hard to pick a few to use. Some of the greats are that they can relate to any girl in many different ways. Starting with, parents not seeing things from your point of view. Another one is that it’s easy to follow and stick with. The quotes that get used throughout the book is awesome. Not only do they relate to the real world but it almost feels like you said it yourself.

Now on to the lousy in the book. Although some books are supposed to be easy to follow, in this case, it's not that easy. One major thing for me is that the book is all over and not very easy to follow. For some people, it could be what they want but for others, it is not. A book that is not easy to follow can be hard to understand. Another lousy is some of the wording in it. In some parts of the book, it was very hard to understand what was trying to be said or trying to get the point across.

I would recommend this book to someone who wants a quick read book and for someone who wants time to go by very fast. More so someone interested in something in science, murder mystery, and a bunch of other interesting topics.

A great book especially in a nonfiction book the authors need to include quotes that real people would have said. For example, in one of the stories, someone had said “Hey, half of America is over 45 years old and half are women, home about the models over 30? In eighty years of American magazines, this was a brand-new idea.” Something meaningful as well. The more the reader can feel related to the book the more the audience will want to read and keep going on the book. This book by far is one of the best nonfiction books I have ever read. While all women are not the same, they differ in their own unique way.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book starts with an introductory poem that asks, subtly demands, if we’ve heard about influential names in women’s history. Unsurprisingly, we haven’t, unless we’ve studied the subject. It mocks us slightly for knowing more prominent male names, enticing us to further read this knowledgeable book.

Although the book absolutely touches on and engages on the subject of what women have done to earn the rights and privileges we have today in America, it is repetitious, and is my only gripe. There were many other subjects, and subsequently women, the book could have touched on.

Regardless, it sings the uplifting praise of the women who sacrificed, were ridiculed, and struggled to give us the rights we have today. It uplifts us to continue that struggle and to fight for the oppressed.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a good intro to womens history, or a good first book for someone to read. I really liked how it told about different women that i hadnt heard about before and organizations, and not just white women. A good book for young girls and grown adults

[Karen Mayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's 2nd time I read it... it's an excellent refresher. It's history of feminism in America.

[Pegi Ferrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dated and repetitive.
Great for reading sections instead of the entire book.
Have the book banners missed this?

[thevalkyriereader · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to women's history in a general sense. I won't write a long review and give away the goods but it is a book that encompasses stories from most perspectives. solid four stars.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was okay, but nothing spectacular. While I did enjoy learning about various aspects of women's history, there was a lot of the text that was just plain boring. There were several essays and discourses, even poetry, that just did not appeal to me. The small nuggets of information scattered about were what I found the most interesting. I have no idea why the editor decided on 33 things for the title; most of the chapters had many different issues that were discussed. And many items were repeated, even multiple times, in various sections, which made it all the more boring.

[Equine Dragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I consider myself knowledgeable on the topic of feminism- but this book taught me some things I didn't know.
I really am not sure how this book wound up on my shelf I assume ordered it from book outlet or something but I enjoyed it. The format was good and it covered a wide variety of topics. It was published in 2001 or 2002 and so it is rather dated but it's still a great book. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about feminism, or someone who is just starting to learn about it.

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book was well put together and there were some very interesting sections but some that are meh. I wanted to see what there might be that I didn't know and this book is more introductory than I thought it would be. I guess I thought there was more that I didn't know, I was introduced to some new people/facts just not as much as I would have liked. The Yellow Wallpaper short story is really weird, just a warning. I enjoyed the quotes sections and places to visit the most.

[Karla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for students/people that want to learn about feminism. I wouldn't recommend this to someone that is a "seasoned" feminist because than the information would probably be redundant. I'm more of an intermediate feminist because a lot of stuff I already knew but some things I didn't. Definitely a great supplemental introduction book for feminism. This is why I'm rating it a 5.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm kind of in the middle of it. I decided to read it because I know hardly anything about women's history which is pretty shameful considering I am a woman and I went to a women's college. I just wish I could retain it all.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book. I found the topics interesting and well researched. Each author presents fine detail. This would be an excellent book to compliment high school American History textbooks.

[JMRL]

Uses essays, poetry, short stories, and personal narratives to tell the history of women from the time of the founding of the United States to the present day.

Find it at JMRL: http://aries.jmrl.org/record=b1191238~S9

[Allegra]

Anybody read this?

[Barb Terpstra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't finish this book, but, I think a teenage girl would benefit from the history of women as it is recorded here.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's true, you SHOULD know these things about women's history. It has come a long way. While reading this book, you should be taking notes, I regret not doing so.

[Jody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating mix of fact and fiction, and fictionalized facts. Great primer on women's history. Found through ALA's Amelia Bloomer Awards.

[no · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book! Really inspiring and a must read for everyone. :)

[Alix Laing · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED THIS

[H. Dair Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only wish that this had been published more recently. Other than that, it's a winner! Great gift for young girls.

[Keri Murcray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book with lots of information about women's history. I learned a lot and am inspired to learn more.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting snippets from women's history. A little difficult to follow at times.