Member Reviews
My apologies for the late review…in tidying up my netgalley shelf I realized I had not done a review! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learned a lot. It was great reading about influential and powerful women I had forgotten about
I loved this short biography of different Canadian Women from past and present. I like how they mirror women from the past and what they had done for Canadian history to what women can do now. I knew a few of the women, but some were new to me. I wrote down the names so I can read more on these women. I think this is a great children;s biography for young people to start learning about these amazing women.
Canadian Women Now + Then is a collection of illustrated biographical vignettes of over 100 Canadian women from the past and present. Released 7th April 2020 by Kids Can Press, it's 80 pages and available in hardcover format.
This would make a superlative classroom/library resource, homeschool aid, or a fun and interesting entertaining read. The biographies are as varied as the subjects and are grouped thematically: engineers, mathematicians, cultural icons, musicians, athletes and many more. Each of the categories is represented with two short biographies; one who is currently active and one from the past. The biographies include birthdates, active years, awards and recognitions, as well as a short biographical write-up and an illustration. There are no photographs but the illustrations are quite well done and appealing. There are also mentions of other noteworthy women in each category for further reading. The book includes a useful index as well as resources for further reading.
It's aimed at middle school readers (ages 9-12) and the information provided in the biographies is relayed honestly and in an age-appropriate manner.
Five stars. Well written and appealing, I learnt quite a lot from this short collection.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
When you get a familiar concept for a book, you start looking for novelty. There are plenty of collections of profiles, especially of noteworthy women. This one has two things that make it stand out. It's the first I've seen to focus on Canadians. Even more novel is the "now and then" element. MacLeod introduces us to both a modern and an historic Canadian who is noteworthy in a variety of fields. Some are quite specific, others more general. There are a fair number of first nations women in this collection. A pretty cool, quick read.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. It will published April 7, 2020, by Kids Can Press.
You should preorder it.
This book is teaming with fabulous Canadian women, all who have achieved greatness in one way or another.
It is organized into categories that are arranged alphabetically. These groupings include artists, athletes, doctors, environmentalists, lawyers, poets, politicians and many more. Each category highlights at least two women: a one page biography of a woman who was a groundbreaker in her field, (then) and a one page biography of a woman renowned for her work in the same field today (now). Each is accompanied by a realistic colour portrait by Maia Faddoul. Some categories add another woman who fits both of these criteria. Most of the categories have an information box that lists other important women in that field. The book finishes with ten more pages of shorter biographies of additional inspirational women. The back matter includes a timeline of important dates in Canadian Women’s History, a bibliography and an index.
I liked the layout a lot. The categories are colour coordinated. The clean lines in Maia Faddoul's illustrations add just the right touch of extra colour. I also liked the straightforward writing style. It was a joy to read.
What I appreciated most about this book is that it highlights the diversity of women in our country. Some are indigenous, some are immigrants and others are children of immigrants. There are women from different cultural and religious backgrounds. They represent different abilities, sexual orientations and gender expectations. They all contribute to, or contributed to making this country a better place for all of us.
One woman I wish I could thank for her work is Susan Olivia Poole, who invented the jolly jumper. She was the first Indigenous woman to receive a Canadian patent in 1957. I really appreciated having one when my sons were young, and my grandkids both loved theirs when they were babies. I'm sure that parents around the world agree with me.
As much as I enjoyed reading about all of these women, I have to admit that this book makes me feel old. While some of these 'then' women are from the distant past, some from the now and then categories are about my age!
I would like to see this book in all school and public libraries in Canada. (and in other countries too) It’s a fabulous reference book to use as a start to do more research. As well as providing mentor text for students writing their own essays about important people in their lives, it provides role models for how they can become successful individuals in their own right.
This is an amazing book. It shows women who have done historical things who are Canadian. There are women from all walks of life, and indigenous, black and white women.
There are women we have heard of, and women who are more obscure.
Short, brief histories of each of these women, and what they did, and why it was important.
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Well written, and amazing stories of women in the past and now, for each thing that they are famous for. From Doctors, to Lawyers, to sports athletes, to movie and YouTube stars.
All in all, a good to book to add to any collection of women and history.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
Canadian Women Now and Then is a fantastic read the shines light on important women throughout Canada’s history. This book is well written and the blurbs are quick and engaging which is super important when gearing towards a younger audience. I also really enjoyed the art style and was excited to read about women I’d never heard of before!
Thank you to NetGalley and the pusblishers for providing me arc for an honest review :)
When I was younger and we were asked in girl guides to pick a female hero and write about her there wasn’t that much information about women who impacted the world. Even though there were many women they were just not reported on or spotlighted the way men were. I always chose Roberta Bondar. She was an incredible woman and she has been to space. That for me was incredible.
This book is amazing. All of these women of the past and present who have made such big impacts on Canada and the world. That my daughter and son and my niece and nephew have these women to look at as positive feminine role models is so awesome.
I want to have this book in my life and send it to everyone I know. It is so fresh to have a book about empowering women.