WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

In 1981, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution establishing National Women’s History Week. The week was chosen to coincide with International Women’s Day, March 8. In 1987, Congress expanded the week to a month. Every year since, Congress has passed a resolution for Women’s History Month, and the U.S. president has issued a proclamation.

The theme for National Women’s History Month, March 2008 is Women’s Art: Women’s Vision. The 2008 Honorees were selected “based on their art, their vision, their art form, their cultural background, the region in which they live and the quality and passion of the nomination submitted. For the list of the nominees, go to the National Women’s History Project at http://www.nwhp.org/whm/honorees.php

As we have done for the past 15 years, our branch assists local schools in celebrating National Women’s History Month by donating materials to be displayed and utilized during March to raise student’s awareness of women’s contributions to history and their communities. Materials provided to date have totaled over $5000. For 2008, the Lansdale AAUW is donating the following books to the North Penn District schools:

A.M. Kulp, Bridle Path, General Nash, Gwyn Nor, Gwynedd Square, Hatfield, Inglewood, Knapp, Montgomery, North Wales, Oak Park, Walton Farm and York Avenue Elementary Schools

"What to Do About Alice?: How Alice Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove her Father Teddy Crazy!" by Barbara Kerley - A beautifully illustrated book about Theodore Roosevelt’s irrepressible oldest child. It outlines Alice Roosevelt’s childhood and her outrageous hijinks as a tomboy, as well as the loving relationship she enjoyed with her renowned father. Prose and pictures spring across the pages to celebrate a maverick American heroine.

Pennbrook, Penndale and Pennfield Middle Schools

"Ladies First: 40 Daring American Women Who Were Second to None" by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel - Ladies First introduces young readers to 40 American women of achievement who were first in their field. A full-page portrait begins each informative three-page profile. The life stories of these women are as inspiring as they are diverse.

North Penn High School

"Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History" by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich - Ulrich focuses on three accomplished women who did not behave according to the standards of their times - Christine de Pizan, a fourteenth century author, suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and twentieth century novelist Virginia Woolf. They worked in entirely different settings; however, they disturbingly encountered the same problems facing women.

Celebrate Women Throughout the Year!

February 7 - National Girls and Women Sports Day
March 8 - International Women’s Day
April 24 - Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day
May 11 - Mother’s Day
July 19 and 20 - First Women’s Rights Conference
August 26 - Women’s Equality Day - Anniversary of Women in the U.S. winning the right to vote

International Women’s Day - March 8^th

The theme for International Women’s Day 2008 is: Investing in Women and Girls.

In 1975, during International Women's Year, the United Nations began celebrating March 8th as International Women's Day. Two years later, in December 1977, the General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International Peace to be observed on any day of the year by Member States, in accordance with their historical and national traditions. For the United Nations, International Women's Day has been observed on March 8th since 1975. The day is traditionally marked with a message from the Secretary-General. For additional information go to http://www.un.org/womenwatch/feature/iwd/2008/

List of donation selections from this and previous years and other strong female books:
Purchases from Amazon via these links benefit AAUW.

What to Do About Alice?: How Alice Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove her Father Teddy Crazy!	Barbara Kerley	A beautifully illustrated book about Theodore Roosevelt’s irrepressible oldest child. It outlines Alice Roosevelt’s childhood and her outrageous hijinks as a tomboy, as well as the loving relationship she enjoyed with her renowned father. Prose and pictures spring across the pages to celebrate a maverick American heroine.
Ladies First: 40 Daring American Women Who Were Second to None	Elizabeth Cody Kimmel	Ladies First introduces young readers to 40 American women of achievement who were first in their field. A full-page portrait begins each informative three-page profile. The life stories of these women are as inspiring as they are diverse.
Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History	Laurel Thatcher Ulrich	Ulrich focuses on three accomplished women who did not behave according to the standards of their times - Christine de Pizan, a fourteenth century author, suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and twentieth century novelist Virginia Woolf. They worked in entirely different settings; however, they disturbingly encountered the same problems facing women.
Marvelous Mattie: How Margaret E. Knight Became an Inventor	Emily Arnold McCully	The story of the first woman to receive a U.S. patent for designing a machine to make flat-bottomed, paper bags.
Factory Girl	Barbara Greenwood	A recreation of the life of working children in North American cities in the early part of the twentieth century and the impact that one girl can make.
Madame Secretary: A Memoir	Madeleine Albright	The memoirs of Madeleine Albright, the highest ranking woman in the history of U.S. government. During the eight years of the Clinton administration, Albright served as U.N. ambassador and then as Secretary of State.
Changing Our World: True Stories of Women Engineers	Sybil E. Hatch	Celebrates the contributions of women engineers to every aspect of modern life.
A is for Abigail	Lynne Cheney
In Her Footsteps: 101 Remarkable Black Women from the Queen of Sheba to Queen Latifah	Annette Madden
100 Women Who Shaped World History	Gail Meyer Rolka
Young Women of Achievement: A Resource for Girls in Science, Math and Technology	Frances A. Karnes and Kristen R. Stephens
The Reader's Companion to U.S. Women's History	edited by Wilma Mankiller, Gwendolyn Mink, Marysa Navarro, Barbara Smith, and Gloria Steinem
Remember the Ladies	Cheryl Harness	A beautiful timeline of 100 famous women who made important contributions to this country since its founding. Includes Alice Paul, Grace Hopper, Mary McLeod Bethune, and others girls may not know.Ages 6 - 14.
Madame President	Catherine Thimmish	An awesome new book in which a girl decides she wants to be President and is encouraged instead to be a senator, a president's wife,etc For each suggestion, it tells about women from history. Guess who doesn't give up her dream?! Ages 8 - 14.
Girl's Guide to Life	Catherine Dee	An indispensable manual for girls from 10 to 14.Fun,easy-to-read advice on everything from the media to sports to the beauty myth.
Best of Girls to the Rescue	Bruce Lansky	Fabulous collection of 26 fairy tales and folk tales from around the world where GIRLS are the heroes! Third grade reading level chapter book, good for ages 6 to 12.
I Like Me	Nancy Carlson	Simple, but powerful, self esteem book about a pig who likes herself and takes charge of her life. Ages 2 - 6.
Stephanie's Ponytail	Robert Munsch	Stephanie wears her hair the way she wants to, despite peer pressure.Very funny. Ages 4 - 8.
Cinder Edna	Ellen Jackson	Cinder Edna has the same things happen to her as the helpless Cinderella, but she takes charge of her life! Ages 4 - 8.