Troublemakers in Trousers

This is a cute children’s book, Troublemakers in Trousers by Sara Albee.
Much like the books about famous women that are out there for children, including the Rebel Girls , and Little People, Big Dreams series. And like those two series, this is a mix of very famous women, and probably women you have never heard of, and should have.

Much more detailed than Rebel Girls, which tends to be one pagers, and LIttle People, Big Dreams, which tends to be very short picture books, this volume has a five or six page section for each woman, explaining why the women had to wear trousers, and what happened when she did.

So, we have Joan of Arc, Harriet Tubman and Amelia Bloomer, who we have all heard of, thand then we have Marguerite Johnson, and Jeanne Baret, who I would expect most of you have never heard of. Jeanne Baret was the first woman, in disguise, to circumvent the globe. Marguerite Johnson was the first black streetcar conductor in San Francisco in the 1940s, and was the childhood name of Maya Angelou, celebrated writer.

Delightful illustrations, and side notes on what was going on at the time of each woman highlighted make for a very informative book.


<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

I had some idea about the events mentioned but not THIS MUCH!
Oh and I am so glad I got this ARC now. I was busy thinking about the issues faced by the characters of Heartstoppers by Alice Oseman having watched its recent adaptation. Now I am convinced again that this issue of gender limiting is not something new and it will go on for generations to come.

This book is such an eye opener for so many things when it comes to gender and the different stereotypes attached to it.

I love how effortlessly I read the book and at the same time gained so much knowledge, cleared up so many things I have been thinking about making me see how different people have struggled throughout the ages just because they are classified under a distinct gender and opportunities were limited for them.

I can guess the efforts put in by the team in compiling this collection, the artist contributing this much gorgeous artwork, the script that must have been edited over and over again to bring out a book this perfect. Also, reliable sources and references are given for further reading as well.

I appreciate how the book has some precious real rare photographs. This was really unexpected!

Revolutionary I say. Kudos to each and every person involved in the production of this book. You all deserve recognition.

Thank you, Charlesbridge, for the advance reading copy.

This book tells the story of a number of women who made history for doing exactly what they were not supposed to do! From Joan of Arc to Harriet Tubman and many more, each chapter tells the story of a woman who pushed boundaries, faced adversity and still made her way into (some) history books! Each chapter is about 5-10 pages long, includes both photographs and detailed illustrations and has text boxes with interesting facts. It is a really neat book and I think it would be a great option for young girls who want some pretty intense historic role models!

My only caution is that some of the content would be a bit concerning for some parents of younger readers. While it is not graphic, there is mention of things like being burned at the stake or prostitution. As a result, I would recommend this book for children and teens in the 11-15 age range, but I wouldn't stop a mature grade 4 or 5 student from reading it, I think it just might need some discretion on the part of the parents/adults. The content in these stories is very interesting and I think this book is perfect for families and teachers wanting to give young history lovers a chance to learn about some important people who aren't always on the front of textbooks or starring in our history lessons! Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this awesome book!

A very entertaining account of the lives of twenty mould-breaking women from different periods and countries, told chronologically and in a manner that makes it easy for young audiences to grasp the importance of what these women did, with succinct summaries of the historical context for each woman so it's easy to see in what ways their behaviour (and dress!) was subversive, and accompanied by colourful illustrations by Kaja Kajtez for each.

The list begins with a name you might have heard: Hatshepsut, the first female Pharaoh of Egypt, and ends with one you might not have: Marguerite Johnson, the first female streetcar driver in San Francisco. Well, you might have heard of the latter with her more famous name, Maya Angelou. But famous or almost unknown, each woman in "Troublemakers in Trousers" has a very interesting life, all were courageous, and didn't let something like their gender and the social expectations to stop them, they defied it through their actions and their clothes. Women like Joan of Arc, Frida Kahlo, and Anne Bonny are here. Rulers, feminist activists, pirates, warriors, you name it.

At the beginning, there's a chapter that sets up the historical context of crossdressing throughout history, how it was viewed socially and legally, and what compelled a number of women to adopt transgressive clothing styles, and what it said about them. And at the end, there's a bibliography for further reading, in case some of the women caught your eye and you'd like to read more about them. I know I liked a few I'd definitely read more about. And also a bit about the author, her story, and her motivation to write this book. The package is pretty thorough and complete for a book aimed at young readers, which makes it a quality book for personal read or for schoolrooms, but it also is great for adult readers that'll both enjoy this and learn a thing or two about the women that made it possible for us to have more rights and opportunities in life than their times allowed them.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It is a quick and easy read. Some names were new to me, other names I already knew, but it still made for an interesting and informative book.

The stories in this book have a great amount of information and variety. I expected from the description that this would be a collection of historical warrior women and not much else. I was pleasantly surprised to find a wide variety of different types of women within the pages of this book. I was particularly drawn to the stories of the artists, writers, scientists, and general feminists.

I'm not the biggest fan of the writer's style, it's a bit too chummy and glib for my taste, a little "hey there fellow kids" if you know what I mean? BUT I am not the target audience for this book and I suspect that this style might be perfectly suited to the age demographic it was written for. I think this book would be a great addition to many classroom shelves and home collections. The sections are long and quite detailed though, so don't think that this will be a quick bedtime read.

One problem I did have was when the author compared Amazons to fictional warrior women like "Mulan or Xena Warrior Princess". While it might be an accurate description, it felt a tad dismissive to reduce a cherished folk hero who was likely based on some kernel of truth like Mulan to a completely fictional, modern creation like Xena. There were a few other moments like this in the book, where it felt a little reductive. Perhaps that is the nature of writing for children, but I can't help thinking that the subject matter might have been better served by having a variety of voices author the book rather than a lone white woman.

I also was mildly frustrated by how much time men were given in each section. It's understandable to have a sentence or two for general comparison, but some of the stories gave several paragraphs to the men of the era when it didn't feel necessary. We have lots of men's histories to read. They don't need to take up so much space in a women's history book intended for young girls. Why do I need to know details on everyone's husband, but openly gay Rosa Bonheur just "lived with her friend" for 40 years? Just say lesbian.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC

Troublemakers in Trousers is an anthology that celebrates people of history who chose to go beyond the gender binary to achieve great things, especially via clothing. I learned a lot, and even learned some names I haven't heard of before. People have had to hide their queer* identities for a long time, so it's always great to learn about people who aren't forgotten to history and makes you wonder about how many out there we don't know about who made a difference. I thought this was really interesting and enjoyed it a lot! I like the setup and the illustrations and that the book provides a little more than just surface level information.

*Of course not everyone who ever swapped a dress for trousers through the centuries falls under the queer umbrella, but...

Thank you to netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The concept of women in trousers is really good and sets the book apart from the other children’s books on women.

I like the mention of gender being a spectrum and not knowing fully if the people mentioned in this book would have used female pronouns.

The biographies are hefty in such a short period of time and incredibly well-written. I found that I didn’t know a lot of the women mentioned in this book and I was so happy to see that. I’ve read a lot of children’s books like this so it’s kind of difficult to find someone I didn’t know already.

While I read the ebook, I think the hardcover/physical copy would be the better choice, if possible. The artwork is beautiful and I absolutely adored it, but I can imagine it’s even more incredible to witness on a physical copy.

This book is obviously a children’s book, but I would say it’s geared toward a child from 10 to 12 years old. It’s not so much the content, but the biographies are too long for a child who’s just learning how to read.

I really enjoyed reading the biographies of women who wore trousers to enable them to reach a goal. What I especially appreciate is how the author also deals with the process of historical thinking--speculating when only incomplete evidence is available, acknowledging conflicting accounts and speaking directly to the reader to establish a connection. The book is very well written and illustrated. It is also highly informative. It's an excellent choice for read alouds, for group discussion, and for history and social studies classes. I also like the mix of well-known women in history and not so well-known women. (at least to me!).

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review Troublemakers in Trousers by Sarah Albee.

This is a very sweet, but also comprehensive book! It covers a lot of women from different parts of the world and does it's best to be pretty inclusive. While this book is geared towards children, I know that an adult reading along won't find this one boring or lacking.

A fascinating look at 21 women who broke barriers (and some laws). Their stories span the globe over centuries. Readers will learn new details about formerly known heroines and discover some new ones. This is an engaging and informative book that is sure to surprise and inspire.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this middle grade nonfiction. Here is my honest review.

"Troublemakers in Trousers: Women and What They Wore to Get Things Done" is an excellent book, and I highly recommend it for middle grade and young adult readers. Adults will learn from the book as well. The premise is to highlight forgotten women in history who were high achievers, perhaps gender fluid, and who made a difference in the lives of their people. Oh, by the way, these women also wore trousers, bloomers, or other garb that was considered only appropriate for males.
Twenty women were featured. Here are a few of them:
*Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) - We all know who Frida was
*Ellen Craft (1826-1891) - Successfully escaped slavery by posing as a wealthy white man
*Khutulun (1260 - ?) - Mongolian warrior, undefeated in wrestling, great granddaughter of Genghis Khan
*Lilian Bland (1878-1971) - First woman to "design, build, and fly her own motor-powered aircraft"
*Marcenia "Toni" Stone (1921-1996) - "the first woman to play professional major league baseball"
*Lady Mary Montagu (1689-1762) - Promoted variolation (similar to vaccinations) in Great Britain, even convincing the Princess of Wales to have her children variolated. This was 17th and 18th century!

I am very impressed how thoroughly Sarah Albee researched these woman troublemakers. There are chapter notes, an index, a bibliography, as well as image credits. She uses copies of primary resources, including photographs, playbills, and paintings.

The illustrations by Kaja Kajfez are absolutely gorgeous. Each woman's chapter begins with a full-page illustration by Kajfez which jumps off the page and challenges the reader. We know these are bold woman through Albee's writing and definitely through Kajfez's pictures. She truly captures the spirit of these troublemakers in trousers.

I love this book and plan to send a copy to all of my grandnieces and nephews!

This collection of tales about women defies the norm when it comes to her-story books. Featuring an introduction about the reality of clothing for each gender. And then it goes into the women with far more detail than most nonfiction books do when they feature multiple individuals. It was comprehensive and diverse, and the illustrated images that accompanied the summaries were breathtaking. There were additional pictures of the real person, as well as pictures of artifacts and other relevant items. One phenomenal and informative book.

NOTE: I read this book courtesy of NetGalley (and a recommendation from my friend Jan), but all opinions and comments are mine and mine alone.

I inhaled this book. Every chapter was chock full of information I didn’t know, told in a charming mix of formal English and current slang. This is listed as being Children’s non-fiction, but I think it should be included in any adult collection as well. Seriously, information is presented in a most engaging manner, and the sidebars are relevant. Also, the artwork is wonderful, with jewel-like colors that draw attention.

Several times, I paused reading to share a fact or other information with my wife - the retired reference librarian - and was surprised at how much of the info I shared was news to her.

One small caveat: The bibliography the book presents has made my poor TBR list explode with fascinating new things to explore.

Caveat aside, I highly recommend this book, especially if you can get a hard copy. And I hope Ms. Albee and Ms. Kajfez are planning a few more books of this sort and caliber.

Wow, Troublemakers in Trousers is such an incredible piece of nonfiction. This will be a must purchase for my classroom because of the thoroughly researched and expertly written biographies of so many wonderfully diverse women of history. Each biography quickly hooks the reader and offers context and well as important details to help the reader understand the historical significance of each women included in this book. There are also blurbs with additional information included in each chapter as well as beautiful illustrations throughout. My history teacher heart grew a size each and every time Sarah Albee included primary sources and cited where the information she was using to tell each story was from. This book was a delight and I highly recommend it for classrooms and young history enthusiasts. I'm so grateful to have received this ARC from NetGalley so I could read this title prior to publication.

Illustrations, women-centered history, photographs of artifacts, this book has it all. Each historical figure's section includes a brief explanatory timeline of the woman's past, giving readers a window into their lives.

I loved learning about so many women in history who didn’t conform to society! It was great to see them present from all parts of the world and ways of life. Some were women I had never heard of before. This book is so informative in an approachable way. This was a joy to read and something I would suggest for teachers and parents!

I received an arc via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

This book was fantastic, and I can't thank Sarah Albee and Kaja Kajfez enough for creating it. There was so much information in this book, but it didn't feel textbook-like or long winded at all! It was well crafted, illustrated beautifully, and an important book for middle grade readers.

I received an electronic ARC from Charlesbridge through NetGalley.
Albee shares biographies of twenty historical women and a vignette from her own life that explains her passion. Each woman took on stereotypes, biases, -isms to be who they knew they could be. They come from all over the world and various points in history. Albee brings them to life for middle grade readers and pulls them into the worlds they inhabited. I appreciated the informative text boxes included with several of the chapters as well. They offered further understanding of the culture surrounding each woman. The illustrations were vividly colored and captured each woman (or a best guess of the woman). Looking forward to sharing this with my grandchildren.

'Troublermakers in Trousers' by Sarah Albee is a brilliant and comprehensive book championing the stories of women throughout history who have ignored the expectations of what they should wear and role women should play and caused good trouble. I read some of these stories aloud to my nine-year-old and although some parts needed more explanation to her, she found it really engaging. We loved discovering stories of women we had never heard of and further detail about those we had. We thought the illustrations were beautiful too.

I think this would be appropriate for 10+, perhaps a little younger if reading with an adult to help understand geographical details and with pronunciation, of names in particular.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was one amazing book to read. Richly illustrated, deeply researched, this is an excellent book on women in the past who chose their own path and raised a ruckus along the way [mostly by wearing =GASP= P A N T S!!!!]. I only knew about 4-5 of the women and the rest were all new to me and what an amazing time I had reading about each one of them and the amazing things they accomplished [some of them were completely mind-blowing]. I am not going to go into anymore detail as this is a book that needs to be experienced with no expectations or previous knowledge - go in cold and prepare to LEARN!!

Everyone [girls AND boys] should be reading this book; even adults will learn something [as I can attest; in fact, I have already added it to my book wish-list]. What an amazing classroom tool and a amazing way to continue teaching kids at home. I cannot recommend this book highly enough! Well done!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Albee, Kaja Kajfez - Illustrator, and Charlesbridge for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A fun and inspiring history/biography of women who wore trousers, were labelled troublemakers, bucked the role society told them they were suppose to follow, and became famous (and sometimes infamous). Not all were law-abiding but they decided to make what they could of life and not just live in the confines of what others told them they were suppose to do.

The majority of people are from Western society but it includes people of various ethnic backgrounds, from Europe, North America (which includes Mexico), and Asia, Native Americans, African-Americans and native speakers of languages other than English are represented (I don't know if they ever spoke English or not and that isn't important, their actions are).

This is very readable. Each biography is only 4-8, 9 pages long but is packed with interesting facts of the person's life as well as society at the time. This isn't your middle school or high school text book.. Asides with very current perspectives and language liven up the narrative and pictures richen the experience.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This book was so interesting and informative. Sarah Albee did a very good job explaining all the lives of these impressive women succinctly and enticingly. I liked the bonus snippets of information, and all the illustrations preceding each chapter. I love when a book can keep me interested while I continue to learn about history and all these important women that came before me.

This is an amazing work of kids nonfiction. Fun, inspiring and informative.

I can see this working extremely well in classrooms and school librarys.

The illustrations are beautiful, and interspersed with historical photos and art as well.

Definitely a bit denser than your average childrens book but its done in an easily accessible way. This book is packed with information. I can also see it having good rereading potential.

Definitely going to be recommending to teachers, parents and young ones looking for a good historical Nonfiction in this age group.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for providing me with an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is so very cool! I enjoyed reading about the many women featured throughout this book, including:

those I thought I knew well (and now I know them better)
others I had heard about,
and many more I had not known until I opened this book.
I know I have said it before; but this discovery of amazing people, places, and things in our world is what draws me to nonfiction. And children’s nonfiction seems to have a way of doing it in a tiny powerhouse of a package!

Both artwork and the storytelling in this book are full of details and just awesome.

Disclaimer: I received a digital ARC of all this book from NetGalley, and these are my honest opinions of the book.

Troublemakers in Trousers by Sarah Albee is a great look back through history at women who defy the rules of their time and exceed expectations. The illustrations are lovely.

The theme of this collection of profiles should be fairly evident from the title. I like the balance between women who wore challenging clothing in order to make change and those who made changes and just happened to do it in pants. If you're interested in change-makers this one is worth a read.

This was fantastic. It was an informative exploration of some of the female trailblazers and how they were perceived as troublemakers. I read some of the stories to my students and they were able to connect to people they hadn’t previously heard of. I recommend to all feminists (and by that I mean women and men) who want to learn more, and/or want to show young people how to a “troublemaker” in the best possible way. These women paved the way for the better world women now inhabit while giving incentive for future troublemakers to keep fighting for further change!

While I enjoyed this book and thought the concept was very cool and interesting, I did find that the illustrations were not my style. I don't think this detracted from my reading, as there aren't many illustrations, but I did notice that my eyes lingered more on the other photos included in the book that were not by the illustrator. Definitely a book I'd recommend to kiddos interested in fashion, history, famous women, etc.

This excellent book introduces 21 women throughout history who have dared to do something different, despite being blocked from work, the arts, leadership, and more, all because of their sex and gender. Sarah Albee and Kaja Kajfez offer a vibrant glimpse into these women and their histories.

First off, I want to really praise Kaja Kajfez's gorgeous illustrations. While I read this in ebook format, I'm really looking forward to adding a physical copy to my library. Good illustrations can make or break this type of book, and Kajfez's illustrations go above and beyond.

I also really appreciated Sarah Albee's care and intention that went into her research behind each of the women highlighted. Sometimes it is hard to find women throughout history, not because they didn't exist, but because they are often not mentioned, or deliberately excluded. I also really appreciated the diversity of women included from multiple disciplines.

The writing style was good for its target demographic, though a parent might need to help their child with some details if the reader is a bit younger.

I think my main critique of the book was how much men and their perspective took up space for some women's stories. A few times I wondered if the story was about a man, rather than the woman it was trying to highlight.

All in all, I think this is an excellent addition to any library, and I'll definitely be buying a physical copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this eARC. All opinions and comments are my own.