Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony

Gr 6 Up—These women met on a street corner in Seneca Falls, NY, in 1851. Their sympathy for one another was instantaneous, despite their differences—Stanton a married mother of five and Anthony an unmarried career woman—and their association would result in immense changes for American women. Beginning with alternating chapters on her subjects' early years, the author builds clear portraits of both figures, leading to the momentous 1851 meeting. The impact of the abolition movement and the cross over between freedom for slaves and equal treatment for women is clearly delineated. Subsequent chapters deal with their joint history at the tiller of the suffrage movement. Building the characters of the individuals through their experiences and their own words, Colman has created nuanced pictures of both Stanton and Anthony, as well as of the sociopolitical climate in which they functioned. Readers will be surprised by the limits on women's rights and informed as to the nearly martial nature of the (still ongoing) struggle to attain equality. Including black-and-white photographs of major figures of the time, an epilogue, a detailed chronology, a list of places to visit, source notes, and a lengthy bibliography, this volume will take a bit of promotion to ensure circulation. Presenting a lively story along with a sound dose of history, it's a unique title that's worth the effort.—Ann Welton, Helen B. Stafford Elementary, Tacoma, WA