I recently happened upon the Boston Women’s Memorial on Commonwealth Avenue Mall in Back Bay Boston.
Note that these three women are not placed on a pedestal, but rather use it as a support. That’s a deliberate decision on the part of the artist Meredith Bergmann.
I plan to take a closer look at each of the three women: Abigail Adams, Phillis Wheatley, and Lucy Stone. Because I was unfamiliar with Lucy Stone, let’s start with her today.
Lucy Stone was born in Brookfield, Massachusetts, and was one of the first women in Massachusetts to earn a graduate degree. She dedicated her life to fighting for the rights of others including the women’s vote and the abolishment of slavery.
March 8, 1913, front page of the Woman’s Journal and Suffrage News depicting the Woman Suffrage Parade of 1913 (from Wikipedia)
She had to fight for the right to speak in public, a privilege not afforded women of the time, and became a noted orator. She also founded the Woman’s Journal, the most important women’s suffrage publication of its era.
Married to Elizabeth Blackwell’s brother, she broke with tradition and kept her maiden name, as well as omitted the reference to obey her husband.
In 1869, Stone broke with suffragists Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and others over passage of the 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution, which granted voting rights to black men but not to women. Stone was willing to accept this measure for her abolitionist goals while continuing to work for women’s suffrage.
(from National Women’s History Museum)
Perhaps it was because she broke from Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony that Lucy Stone did not receive the same attention in history. My book list today is dedicated to those who were left out of the history books.
If you have any suggestions for children’s books about Lucy Stone or anthologies that include her, please leave a comment. I’d love to grow this list. Thank you!
Suffragists Left Out of History
Around America to Win the Vote: Two Suffragists, a Kitten, and 10,000 Miles by Mara Rockliff, illustrated by Hadley Hooper
In 1916, Nell Richardson and Alice Burke drove across America to advocate for women’s voting rights. This was during a time when roads weren’t paved, and driving was an adventure. The endnote puts it into perspective: “Alice and Nell’s journey may have sounded long and hard, but it was quick and easy compared to the journey American women undertook to win the vote.” [picture book, ages 5 and up]
Emmeline Pankhurst: Little People, BIG DREAMS by Lisbeth Kaiser, illustrated by Ana Sanfelippo
Emmeline was born into privilege, but at a young age, became an activist advocating for women’s rights including the right to vote. Her daughters joined her in this lifelong fight both in England and in the United States. it wasn’t until after WWII that Emmeline and her suffragette army achieved success. [picture book, ages 5 and up]
Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: A Graphic History of Women’s Fight for Their Rights by Mikki Kendall, illustrated by Aster D’Amico
This anthology details the feminists who found on many diverse fronts including abolition, suffrage, labor, civil rights, LGBTQ liberation, and reproductive rights for women’s rights. [anthology nonfiction graphic novel, ages 8 and up]
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Biography Book Lists for Kids
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Fabulous Flying Females: Books on Female Aviators
Great Books on Jane Goodall for Women’s History Month
African-American Pioneering Female Musicians
5 African Americans Who Excelled in the Arts
Gordon Parks: Black History Month
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My books:
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
- California Eureka Non-Fiction Gold Award
- Junior Library Guild Gold Selection
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Violeta Encarnación
- ⭐ Starred review from Kirkus
- ⭐ Starred review from School Library Journal
- Kirkus: The Most Anticipated Children’s Books of Spring 2026
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
The Traveling Taco:
- California Eureka Non-Fiction Silver Award
- Reading Rockets’ Summer Reading Guide 2025
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
We Sing from the Heart: How the Slants® Took Their Fight for Free Speech to the Supreme Court
- ALSC Notable Children’s Book
- 2025 Carter G. Woodson Book Award Middle Level Honoree
- Orbis Pictus Recommended Book for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
- 2024 Julia Ward Howe Prize for Children’s Literature Winner
- California Eureka Non-Fiction Award Honor Book
- Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)
- Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year 2025
- Recommended Reading for the Social Justice Literature Award 2025 (International Literacy Association)
- Junior Library Guild Gold Selection
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- ⭐ Starred review from School Library Journal!
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Massachusetts Book Award Long List
- dPICTUS 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
- Green Earth Book Award Long List
- Nautilus Silver Winner, Nonfiction Children’s Picture Book
- Sunshine State Young Readers Award Orange Blossom List for Nonfiction
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Bank Street College’s The Best Children’s Books of the Year
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Timely post. Thanks for sharing books about the women left out of the coverage. Enjoyed your photographs. I have a book from Candlewick — “Suffragette: The Battle for Equality” by David Roberts that focuses on the the American and British women involved in the movement. Lucy Stone is mentioned in a blurb with her picture. Most of the women I don’t know.