Published by Calkins Creek

Summary:  Jeannette Rankin was a take-charge girl from the start, helping out on her Montana ranch wherever she could.  Traditional female roles didn’t appeal to her, but social justice did, and she moved from working at a settlement house to campaigning for women’s suffrage.  After a victory for the cause in Montana, Jeannette decided to expand her influence by running for Congress.  On November 7, 1916, Jeannette won the election, becoming the first U.S. Congresswoman.  Five months later, she took her seat in the House of Representatives as a representative from Montana, declaring, “I may be the first woman member of Congress, but I won’t be the last.”  40 pages; grades 1-5.  Includes additional information about Jeannette Rankin, a timeline of her life, and additional resources.

Pros:  I’ve been working on a picture book biography of Jeannette Rankin off and on for the last few years, and this book is far better than anything I’ve been able to come up with.  The writing and illustrations are lively and capture Jeannette’s can-do spirit.

Cons:  To me, one of the most interesting things about Jeannette is that she voted against both World War I and World War II (the only member of Congress to do so for WWII), which was political suicide but supported her pacifist beliefs.  This part of her career is relegated to the back matter.