This powerful rhyming poem honors influential women who have changed history and inspires young girls to impact the future. The text of this book is fairly simple and seems to appeal to 2nd and 3rd graders. The book itself does not explain what specific impacts any of these women have made, but references them in the illustrations. While this is a beautiful book with impactful words, the readers it appeals to likely would not recognize the figures represented or know their impacts without further teaching or explanation.

In an interview, the author said she wanted to “set up the idea of that chain of ancestors upon whose shoulders we stand, so it felt very right to me to start with the child’s own support system. The book moves from the women who care for you, to the women in your world, to the women in our past. And to have these words told from those older voices felt important to me.”

Thus this story of a mother and grandmother of color talking to a child begins with the older women sharing photographs with the little girl:

“Come sit with us, child,
We have stories to tell.
Listen closely.
You come from a deep, deep well.

Our mothers and all those
Who’ve gone before,
Paved a freer path,
And opened a wider door.”

The verses continue, speaking of the “Legends whose lives made way for yours.” They note, “When you speak their names, they live on in YOU.”

[While the illustrations by Laura Freeman illustrate a select and diverse group of legendary women throughout the text, the women are not, in fact, named, until the back matter. There, readers will find a series of thumbnail photos with legends telling a little about each woman shown in the book.]

The older women point out to the little girl that all these famous women were once little girls too, “just like you.” “We are ALL standing on their shoulders," they say, and they conclude by asking, “Who will stand on YOURS?”

The collages by Laura Freeman use bold colors to help tell the story. Her artwork is simple, but includes many clever but subtle touches to enhance the depictions of women to whom the book alludes.

Evaluation: This book for ages 4 and over is a bit vague, which makes it less engaging than it could have been, but adults can help fill in the blanks. The book can be used as a starting point in school; children can be assigned to find out more about the women in each picture. ( )