Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History

One Black History Month, Vashti Harrison illustrated one African American woman from history every day and posted the portraits online along with a small biography. It resulted in this beautiful and profound book, which chronicles the struggles and achievements of historic and contemporary black women. Though it’s a noticeably US-focused selection, there are British women featured among the 50 too, such as Diane Abbot, Tessa Sanderson and Shirley Bassey, which is nice to see. 

It’s excellent that children can get an introduction to lesser-known African American women such as abolitionist Mary Prince and sculptor Augusta Savage, alongside the better-known Rosa Parks and Sojourner Truth. A collection of 50 great black women is also very welcome for any school library or shelf at home.

Not just for girls, this is an inspiring book for any child as it shows how a determined nature, ambition and hard work can make important change in the world.