Book Review: The Rebel Girls Handbook

This colorful, engaging book provides an introduction to 300-plus notable women throughout history, along with a few facts about each of them and what they’ve accomplished. I’d suggest gifting this book to a young girl along with a packet of Post-It page markers. Encourage the girl to enjoy the book, and to place a page marker next to the women she’d really like to learn more about.

The strength of The Rebel Girls Handbook is how it tackles “you can’t know what you don’t know” syndrome. Most young girls are aware of the poet Amanda Gorman, as she’s young and contemporary, but have they learned about Bessie Coleman, the first African American and Native American woman to get a pilot’s license, back in 1921? Do they know that Joan Jett, rock icon of the 80s, was turned away 23 times by record companies before deciding to start her own indie label?

Armed with a Post-It marked copy of the Handbook, a young rebel reader can scour the library and the internet to learn more about these women – or engage in meaningful conversations about them with older friends and family. This is why I call books of this type “jumping off” books. They provide the introduction – you take what interests you and run with it.

Three stars for content plus two stars for providing helpful inspiration equals five stars!

My thanks to Rebel Girls and NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital advance review copy of this book. This review is my honest and unbiased opinion.