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Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | J 796.6082 MAC | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Take a lively look at women's history from aboard a bicycle, which granted females the freedom of mobility and helped empower women's liberation. Through vintage photographs, advertisements, cartoons, and songs, Wheels of Change transports young readers to bygone eras to see how women used the bicycle to improve their lives. Witty in tone and scrapbook-like in presentation, the book deftly covers early (and comical) objections, influence on fashion, and impact on social change inspired by the bicycle, which, according to Susan B. Anthony, "has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world."
NCSS-Notable Social Studies Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies 2012
School Library Journal Best Books of 2011
Finalist YALSA Excellence in Non Fiction for YoungAdults
SLJ's 100 Magnificent Children's Books of 2011
Amelia Bloomer List
Author Notes
SUE MACY is the author of Bulls-Eye- A Photobiography of Annie Oakley; Swifter, Higher, Stronger- A Photographic History of the Summer Olympics; Freeze Frame- A Photographic History of the Winter Olympics; Play Like A Girl- A Celebration of Women in Sports; Winning Ways- A Photohistory of American Women in Sports; and A Whole New Ball Game- The Story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She brings a consciousness of the history of women in sport to the story of sharpshooter Annie Oakley and carries this mythic and historic figure gracefully into modern light. She has won numerous awards and starred reviews for her books. Winning Ways and A Whole New Ball Game were both named ALA Best Books for Young Adults and NCSS-CBC Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies.
Reviews (4)
Horn Book Review
Macy offers a solid argument for the bicycle's part in advancing women's suffrage in the U.S. Along the way, she profiles notable individuals and emphasizes just how bold women were to defy conventions. Each chapter is followed by a two-page section that touches on late-nineteenth-century cycling culture. Accompanying sidebars and informatively captioned archival photos, reproductions, and mocked-up newspaper clippings enhance the narrative. Reading list, timeline, websites. Ind. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Macy revisits a topic she touched on in her excellent Winning Ways: A Photohistory of American Women in Sports (1996) in this engaging look at the emancipating impact that bikes had on late-nineteenth-century U.S. women. The eye-catching chapters, filled with archival images of women perched sidesaddle on their steel steeds and racing furiously in bloomers on velocipedes, zero in on the profound ways that bicycles subverted traditional notions of femininity; according to one wary social commentator, The bicycle is the devil's advance agent morally and physically in thousands of instances. A veteran nonfiction writer, Macy seamlessly weaves together research, direct quotes (sourced in an appendix that includes a time line and resource list), and historical overviews that put the facts into context, while sidebars expand on related topics, from cycling songs to standout female cyclists, including trailblazers Marie Curie and Annie Oakley. The narrow focus on cycling will open up broader thought and discussion about women's history, making this a strong, high-interest choice for both classroom and personal reading for adults, too.--Engberg, Gillian Copyright 2010 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
A terrific debut from Viva, an award-winning illustrator and frequent cover artist for The New Yorker, this sleek and stylish travelogue follows a lone cyclist on a continuous path that runs from first page to last. With the road a glossy ochre snaking through a matte four-color backdrop, the book has a distinctive look (and, to a toddler, feel). The cyclist's travels from seashore to cityscape and back will inspire both tricyclists and early riders to push on. RED WAGON, written and illustrated by Renala Liwska. 32 pp. Philomel. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 3 to 5) When Lucy, a wide-eyed fox with a pink ribbon, gets a brand-new wagon, all she wants to do is play. But first, her mother insists she take her wagon to the market to stock up. With help from her woodland friends, Lucy transforms chore into adventure: an unexpected downpour is reimagined as pirate-infested waters; the long trip runs through both the Old West and railroad country; and she market itself is a circus tent. With her softly fuzzy critters, Liwska ("The Quiet Book," "The Loud Book!") illustrates the triumph of imagination over impatience. CARS GALORE, by Peter Stein. Illustrated by Boh Staake. 32 pp. Candlewick. $15.99. (Picture book: ages 4 to 8) Like a rewed-up hybrid of Richard Scarry's "Cars and Trucks From A to Z" and P.D. Eastman's "Go, Dog. Go!" this book for those obsessed with all things automotive will also make them laugh. The rhyming text is upbeat and offbeat. "Jazz car, soul car, rock 'n' roll car. Blues car, song car. Sing-along car!" accompanies all manner of vehicles jammed with a saxophone-playing tiger, a kids' band , "The Spahhnkies" and a singer in a shoe-shaped car. (Ignore the ominous final line, "Someday YOU'LL drive!") NEW RED BIKE! written and illustrated by James E. Ransome. 32 pp. Holiday House. $16.95. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8) Every child knows the fine line between a stolen bike and a "borrowed" one. Ransome, winner of a Coretta Scott King award for illustration, writes here about the joys of cycling and the perils of the lost bicycle, and ultimately about the rewards of sharing and riding hikes among friends. With sweet illustrations and simple text, the message will work especially well with the training-wheel set. TILLIE THE TERRIBLE SWEDE How One Woman, a Sewing Needle, and a Bicycle Changed History. By Sue Stauffacher. Illustrated by Sarah McMenemy. 40 pp. Knopf. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 5 to 8) "In the old days, most girls came 10 America with a dream, but all Tillie Anderson had was a needle," begins this winning account of a Swedish immigrant who desires to cycle and to pedal fast - "the speedy, scorchy, racy kind of riding." Anderson, who went on to become the women's racing champion of the world, is a figure fit for admiration, and her story, set against the bicycle craze of the 1890s - and matched with superb illustrations - will rivet readers. WHEELS OF CHANGE How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way). By Sue Macy. Illustrated. 96 pp. National Geographic. $18.95. (Middle grade/young adult; ages 10 and up) "Let me tell you what I think of bicycling," Susan B. Anthony said in 1896. "I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world." In telling the interconnected stories of women's rights and women's cycling, Macy, the author of several nonfiction books profiling notable women, delivers a first-rate account. With archival photographs and reproductions of cycling posters, "Wheels" is as attractive and diverting as any "lady cyclist." PAMELA PAUL
School Library Journal Review
Gr 6-9-Mac's informative and interesting look (National Geographic, 2011) at the history of the bicycle chronicles not only the development of this self-propelled contraption, but also its liberating effect on the lives of women. Listeners will be amazed to learn about the lack of rights afforded women in the late 1800s. In an era characterized by restriction, the bicycle helped to liberate women by giving them the ability to travel without supervision, earn a living, and break loose from societal constraints. The author provides intriguing facts, such as how Katharine Wright, sister of Orville and Wilbur, assisted in the design and development of bicycles in their now famous bicycle shop. Meredith Orlow's narration provides excellent pacing, and her engaging tone will maintain listeners' attention. Pair the audio with the book so students don't miss the delightful photos and illustrations of early cycle concepts, attire, and advertisements. This is a brilliant high-interest nonfiction choice that will encourage plenty of discussion about the bumpy road these courageous women rode as they forged the way for future generations.-Lisa Hubler, Charles F. Brush High School, Lyndhurst, OH (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Excerpts
Excerpts
"Many a girl has come to her ruin through a spin on a country road." -- Charlotte Smith, Brooklyn Eagle, August 20, 1896 It was June 29, 1896, and Charlotte Smith was beside herself with concern for the young women of the United States. Smith, the 55-year-old daughter of Irish immigrants, had spent the last decade and a half fighting for the rights of female workers. But now all of her worries about their health and well-being were focused on one wildly popular mechanical object: the bicycle. "Bicycling by young women has helped to swell the ranks of reckless girls who finally drift into the standing army of outcast women of the United States," wrote Smith in a resolution issued by her group, the Women's Rescue League. "The bicycle is the devil's advance agent morally and physically in thousands of instances." Smith's resolution called for "all true women and clergymen" to join with her in denouncing the bicycle craze among women as "indecent and vulgar." She set her sights on New York City as the laboratory for her reform efforts, opening a branch of her Washington-based organization there with the goal of ultimately limiting the use of the bicycle by women. Smith blamed the bicycle for the downfall of women's health, morals, and religious devotion. Her accusations brought a swift and impassioned response. The Reverend Dr. A. Stewart Walsh, a respected clergyman in New York City and a cyclist himself, wrote a letter to the editor of the Brooklyn Eagle declaring. "I have associated with thousands of riders...and I have not seen among them . . . anything that could begin to approach the outrageous and scandalous indecency of the resolutions of the alleged rescue league." Ellen B. Parkhurst, wife of another New York minister, celebrated the advantages of bicycle riding in Washington's Evening Times. "Of course I do not believe that bicycling is immoral," she said. "A girl who rides a wheel is lifted out of herself and her surroundings. She is made to breathe purer air, see fresher and more beautiful scenes, and get an amount of exercise she would not otherwise get. All this is highly beneficial." In fact, the impact of the bicycle on the health and welfare of its riders was the subject of a great deal of discussion in the 1890s. At first, the popularity of the safety drew mostly praise as its use seemed to usher in a new era of robust living. Medical literature linked cycling to cures for everything from asthma and diabetes to heart disease and varicose veins, while one study credited the decreasing death rate from consumption (tuberculosis) among women in Massachusetts to their increasing use of the bicycle. Cigar sales took a hit -- one industry estimate suggested people were buying as many as one million fewer cigars per day -- because cyclists were too busy exercising to indulge in the smoking habit. And in Chicago, bicycling evidently caused a drop in the use of the painkiller morphine. "The morphine takers have discovered that a long spin in the fresh air on a cycle induces sweet sleep better than their favorite drug," reported the British Medical Journal in November 1895. Excerpted from Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires along the Way) by Sue Macy All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.