A True Tale with A Cherry On Top
A uthor: Tanya Lee Stone
and Illustrator: Marjorie Priceman
C haracter: Elizabeth Blackwell
O verview from the jacket flap:
"In the 1830s, when a brave and curious girl named Elizabeth Blackwell was growing up, women were supposed to be wives and mothers. Career options were few. There were certainly no female doctors. But Elizabeth refused to accept these common beliefs and would not take no for an answer.
This inspiring story of the first female doctor in America shows how one strong-willed woman opened the doors for all the female doctors who followed."
This inspiring story of the first female doctor in America shows how one strong-willed woman opened the doors for all the female doctors who followed."
T antalizing taste:
"The teachers had let the students vote on whether or not to allow Elizabeth to come. And the boys, figuring the school would never really accept a girl, said yes. They planned to turn the whole thing into a big joke.
But the joke was on them!"
But the joke was on them!"
and something more: As always, I'm fascinated by the Author's Note in picture book biographies. In Who Says Women Can't Be Doctors, Tanya Lee Stone explains that after Elizabeth Blackwell graduated from medical school "with the highest grades in the whole class" in 1849, "no one would hire her to work as a doctor." Thank goodness Elizabeth Blackwell "refused to give up. She was as stubborn as a mule. Quite rightly!" I didn't realize that her sister also became a doctor and together they started The New York Infirmary for Women and Children - "the first hospital run by women, for women." Thanks to Tanya Lee Stone for sharing this true tale of perseverance.
