Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. The opinions written are completely honest and my own.

Books like this need to be in the library to help show girls the woman who battled so things like wearing pants are comimon. I thought the story was swell and can see it being used in my classroom for sure

This is a juvenile non-fiction biography of Luisa Capetillo, a Puerto Rican writer and women’s rights activist. It’s not quite a true biography in the sense that the story skips around to focus on her rebellious act of wearing pants. It doesn’t give a lot of other information about her life and accomplishments, so this is best for much younger children who are getting their first experiences with biographies.

This was a gorgeously illustrated book and would be easily integrated into a lower and upper elementary setting. Personally, I would use this book during Women's History month. Gorgeous and well thought out!

Isern's picture book illuminates a bit of the life of Luisa Capetillo, a Puerto Rican labor leader known, among many other things, for being the first woman in Puerto Rico to wear pants in public (in 1915.)

While in general I enjoyed this book, and I think the art in particular is beautiful, expressive, and has a particularly good feel for motion and composition, I do have some reservations.

The book starts in a classic juvenile biography style, with some basic info on where Capetillo was born, what her mother and father did, and her early education, which led me to expect this sort of biographical narrative to continue. However, once we get to the point where Capatillo decides to try out pants, we leave almost all of this biographical detail behind and focus more broadly on her pants-wearing and the general reactions it caused.

Suddenly we're being told she's reading to workers at "the factory" (I really did a double take here) but no factory was ever mentioned previously, so we are left to infer the life events that actually led to her being there. A similar moment happens soon after when we are told she is stopped by police "while traveling in Cuba" (how? why? what does this Capetillo even do? if only a juvenile biography would tell me!) for her pants-wearing, but then is let go by the judge after she explains that she always wears pants.

So that was going to be my only gripe, but then I happened to look at Capetillo's Wikipedia entry before writing this review to see who she actually was, and uh...this book contains a big inaccuracy? Now to be fair the source cited in the Wikipedia article is no longer available, and I have not dug deeper, but per that entry: "In July 24, 1915, she challenged the mainstream society by becoming the first woman in Puerto Rico to wear pants in public. Capetillo was sent to jail for what was then considered to be a 'crime', but the judge later dropped the charges against her. She would repeat this act of rebellion again stepping off the boat into Cuba where the judge was not so lenient leading to her serving time."

The like...climax of this book is the judge in Cuba specifically letting Capetillo go. Perhaps the author has chosen to combine these two events, but then why go out of the way to mention it was in Cuba, particularly when I already mention that feels kind of out of left field in the first place? I also learned a bunch of things she actually did from Wikipedia, like her work in women's rights and labor activism, that I felt should have been at least mentioned briefly here, in some sort of concrete way, so that readers would actually get a sense of who this person was besides "pants girl."

Some people — although not enough — have heard about Amelia Bloomer, who popularized what was called the Turkish dress for women and what we would call harem pants. But those were not real trousers. For popularizing real pants for women, we must turn to Luisa Capetillo, a Puerto Rican writer, labor leader, anarchist and women’s rights activist from the turn of the 20th century.

As a child, free-thinking Luisa borrowed her father’s trousers, which allowed her to climb trees, run and get around much more easily than the heavy skirts worn by women and girls in the 19th century. As in the United States with bloomers, at first people mocked her, but by the 1920s, most people had come around. That’s how change works. Highly, highly recommended to readers of all ages!

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley, Publisher Spotlight and NubeOcho in exchange for an honest review.

This was so good! The illustrations were wonderful, and the story inspiring. I think kids and parents alike are going to really enjoy reading this book. It was short, but it did well communicating enough detail to help readers understand the history presented within the pages. Overall, a really great read that I can't wait to recommend to young readers!

I adored this book. It is so inspirational, with its overarching message about defying discriminatory gendered customs. Young girls need more books like this, to show them how much of a difference one girl's bravery can make.

Overall, the book was well written and I did really enjoy it. Thank you for this advance reading copy!

Thank you to NetGalley and NubeOcho for providing me with this arc in exchange for my honest review.

This beautifully illustrated picture book tells the story of Luisa Capetillo, one of the first women to wear pants. This story is a great reminder that customs created long ago and upheld just because "that's how it has always been" can be changed. It also encourages readers to be brave in the face of scrutiny.

I was left wanting more. More of the story or more information about the real history.

This isn't the first children's book aimed at telling the story of a girl who defied gender norms, but it's certainly a great one. The Girl Who Wore Pants tells (at least a portion of) the story of Luisa Capetillo, who I'd never heard of before! With the help of truly lovely illustrations by Gili, Isern follows Capetillo through her life as she takes matters into her own hands and decides that she, and no one else, will dictate what she wears and what she does. Despite the rude looks, gossip, and even landing in front of a judge, Capetillo never loses her sense of self-determination.

The *only* downside to this book is that I hoped the end would have some kind of info/photo about the actual Luisa Capetillo, who Google describes as an "anarchist writer, activist, labor organizer who fought for workers' rights, women's rights, free love, and human emancipation." (Sign me up for THAT book!)

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A beautiful story showing how just because something is a norm, does not mean it always is the right way for all to abide by. While this story is about girls wearing pants, it opens the readers eyes to other aspects of life and shows the possibility of different ways of looking at the world. Why uphold a custom that is impractical and uncomfortable, just because that’s how it’s always been. Great story and amazing illustrations to represent the text. Hope to see many more from Susanna Isern and Ester Gili!