Review: Rosie, A Detroit Herstory Shows Strength of Women During World War II

Do you know what women did when men went to fight in World War II? They said: “We can do it!”  I got this book Rosie, A Detroit Herstory by Bailey Sisoy Isgro from Wayne State University Press. It explains what the women meant when they said that. (My review first ran on the website of fellow kid blogger, Bridget and the Books, but I wanted to post it on my website, too.)

In April 1939, Germans crossed over Poland’s territory line. President Franklin D.  Roosevelt wanted America to help out. So, as men were sent off to war to fight against Germany, someone needed to fill in their jobs. Those someones were women! Women invented new ways get the factory job done, like rolling on roller skates to retrieve parts faster. This inspired women today to be just like the icon, Rosie the Riveter, who said to all women in America, “We can do it!” You HAVE to read the book to find out what happened after men came back from war.

This story was written in a poetic and rhythmic way. It made the story flow smoothly. The illustrations were really cool and stood out a lot.  I  noticed how the artist, Nicole Lapointe,  would color something important and then put other things in a shadow on some pages. And I really loved the last illustration that showed that today women can be anything they dream of. The photo had such a diverse group of women!

I loved that this book was a history lesson for me. I learned about Detroit and I also learned a lot of new words like luftwaffe, Axis powers and isolationist. I also learned the word Nazi. It’s a scary and sad word.

I recommend this book to anyone who needs to know there is no such thing as “the wrong sex” and everyone should be accepted to do anything, no matter the gender.

I give this book 4 out 4 roses.