I can be like a raging storm
Don't go asking me for apologies
I’ll sing 'till you hear my song
This time you better believe that there'sNo way I'm holding back anymore
I'm slaying like the queen of swords
-Idina Menzel, Queen of Swords
My dear readers,
Here's another round of recommendations for Women's History Month. Again, please note the age rating for each medium and beware of some spoilers.
idina. by Broadway Actress and Singer Idina Menzel⚔️
Age Rating: All
Age Rating: All
Famous for her roles as Maureen from Rent, Elphaba from Wicked, and Elsa from Frozen, actress and singer Idina Menzel never ceases to captivate audiences with her unique vocals. Back in 2016, she released this eponymous studio album containing one of my favourite songs, Queen of Swords.
This album is a must-have for fans.
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| Source: Amazon.com |
If you're still not convinced, watch this music video for Queen of Swords.
Hair Love: An Oscar-Winning Short Film๐ง๐ฟ๐ฉ๐ฟ๐ง๐ฟ
Age Rating: All
"And remember, the road ahead might look rough, but you can make the journey with a little bit of work and a whole lot of love."
-Angela
Back in 2017, African American director Matthew A. Cherry launched a Kickstarter campaign that brought to life an Oscar-winning animated short film which you can either read as a picture book or watch online for free.
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| Written by the director and illustrated by Vashti Harrison |
It's a big day for little Zuri, so her father, Stephen, attempts to style her hair by watching a tutorial video on Hair Love, a blog made by a very special woman named Angela (Issa Rae).
High-Five to the Hero: 15 Favourite Fairytales Retold with Boy Power by Vita Murrow๐คด๐ป๐คด๐ผ๐คด๐ฝ๐คด๐พ๐คด๐ฟ
Age Rating: 5+
In this follow-up to Power to the Princess, Vita Murrow and Julia Bereciartu have teamed up once more to retell and illustrate fifteen more fairy tales, this time with the heroes in non-stereotypical roles.
Join King Arthur, Jack, Anansi, Hercules, and other leading men, including Prince Charming, as they show you how a heart of gold is all it takes to save the day.
This book is for anyone who has read Power to the Princess and wants a new and different take on the classic stories.
Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman๐ง๐ป๐ค๐ฉ๐ฟ
Age Rating: 15+
In 2015, Ian Edginton and artist John Aggs adapted British author Malorie Blackman's book Noughts and Crosses into a graphic novel.
When she published Noughts and Crosses back in 2001, Blackman answered the question: What if it was the Africans who colonized Europe and enslaved the Caucasians?
A boy named Callum McGregor and a girl named Sephy Hadley are childhood friends. However, their families and society disapprove of their relationship. Why? Because the Hadleys are Crosses, the dark-skinned upper-class that rules the nation. The McGregors, on the other hand, are Noughts, the light-skinned lower-class constantly denied by the Crosses of their rights. As their segregated homeland descends into persecution and rebellion, Callum and Sephy become more than friends... and suffer the consequences.
A boy named Callum McGregor and a girl named Sephy Hadley are childhood friends. However, their families and society disapprove of their relationship. Why? Because the Hadleys are Crosses, the dark-skinned upper-class that rules the nation. The McGregors, on the other hand, are Noughts, the light-skinned lower-class constantly denied by the Crosses of their rights. As their segregated homeland descends into persecution and rebellion, Callum and Sephy become more than friends... and suffer the consequences.
Listed as one of the best novels published in the 21st century, Noughts & Crosses (AKA Black & White in the US) is the most entertaining and unique anti-racist stories since Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.
After two years in the making, the BBC has aired a six-episode TV adaptation starring Jack Rowan (Peaky Blinders, Born to Kill) as Callum and Masali Baduza as Sephy.
The Baby-Sitters Club by Ann M. Martin☎️
Age Rating 9+
In 1986, American author Ann M. Martin launched The Baby-Sitters Club. Consisting of books that have sold over 100 million copies, a TV series, and a film adaption, the franchise has gained a following for generations and is the author's best known work.
Since 2006, Scholastic has been reprinting the classic books for new readers and adapting them into graphic novels, first illustrated by Smile author Raina Telgemeier, and currently by Gale Galligan.
Stoneybrook, Connecticut is home to four girls who run a local baby-sitting service called the Baby-Sitters Club, or BSC for short. With Kristy Thomas as President, Claudia Kishi as Vice President, Mary Anne Spier as Secretary, and Stacey McGill as Treasurer, the girls baby-sit their neighbours' children, and deal with all sorts of events that come with their job. Whether it's diabetes, rivals, bossy siblings, strict parents, or naughty children, the baby-sitters aren't afraid to tackle them because they are what they are: best friends.
Wishing for nostalgia? Read this series.
The Baby-Sitters Club by Ann M. Martin☎️
Age Rating 9+
In 1986, American author Ann M. Martin launched The Baby-Sitters Club. Consisting of books that have sold over 100 million copies, a TV series, and a film adaption, the franchise has gained a following for generations and is the author's best known work.
Since 2006, Scholastic has been reprinting the classic books for new readers and adapting them into graphic novels, first illustrated by Smile author Raina Telgemeier, and currently by Gale Galligan.
Stoneybrook, Connecticut is home to four girls who run a local baby-sitting service called the Baby-Sitters Club, or BSC for short. With Kristy Thomas as President, Claudia Kishi as Vice President, Mary Anne Spier as Secretary, and Stacey McGill as Treasurer, the girls baby-sit their neighbours' children, and deal with all sorts of events that come with their job. Whether it's diabetes, rivals, bossy siblings, strict parents, or naughty children, the baby-sitters aren't afraid to tackle them because they are what they are: best friends.
Wishing for nostalgia? Read this series.
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The graphic novel adaptation of the book that started it all.
Kristy Thomas: "The Baby-Sitters Club. I'm proud to say it was totally my idea, even though the four of us worked it out together. "Us" is Mary Anne Spier, Claudia Kishi, Stacey McGill, and me." |
Age Rating: 13+
"I don't know if I should even be writing this... Maybe it'd be better if all this just died with me. But I thought you should know about your family. And the history you're a part of."
-Edith Finch
After her mother died, 17-year-old Edith Finch inherits her childhood home to which she returns for the first time in years. Towering above her like a giant, the house, built by her great-grandparents, seems happy to have her back. Casting her fears aside, Edith enters the abode to discover her family history.
Exploring the rooms via secret passageways, Edith documents five generations of family members' names, careers,... and deaths. For over five centuries, the Finches have had a family curse: every generation, one child outlives their siblings who die in freak accidents. Then after they've had grown up and had their own children, the Finch parent also meets an untimely demise. And young Edith herself is the last Finch alive.
Full of stunning graphics, fun interactions, and deep quotes, What Remains of Edith Finch is a beautiful video game about how storytelling affects a family as it learns about the past, lives in the present, and wonders about the future.
This generational saga is perfect for anyone who has read One Hundred Years of Solitude or watched American Pop.
Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home by Nora Krug๐
"I don't know if I should even be writing this... Maybe it'd be better if all this just died with me. But I thought you should know about your family. And the history you're a part of."
-Edith Finch
After her mother died, 17-year-old Edith Finch inherits her childhood home to which she returns for the first time in years. Towering above her like a giant, the house, built by her great-grandparents, seems happy to have her back. Casting her fears aside, Edith enters the abode to discover her family history.
Exploring the rooms via secret passageways, Edith documents five generations of family members' names, careers,... and deaths. For over five centuries, the Finches have had a family curse: every generation, one child outlives their siblings who die in freak accidents. Then after they've had grown up and had their own children, the Finch parent also meets an untimely demise. And young Edith herself is the last Finch alive.
Full of stunning graphics, fun interactions, and deep quotes, What Remains of Edith Finch is a beautiful video game about how storytelling affects a family as it learns about the past, lives in the present, and wonders about the future.
This generational saga is perfect for anyone who has read One Hundred Years of Solitude or watched American Pop.
Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home by Nora Krug๐
Age Rating: 13+
In her illustrated memoir, German immigrant Nora Krug returns to her homeland to research on her family members' possible roles in the Holocaust. Along the way, she comes to terms with what defines a home, and how people continue to be affected by events that happened years before they were born.
If you want something new to read after Anne Frank's diary or Art Spiegelman's Maus, this book will do just that.
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Nora Krug: "How do you know who you are, if you don't understand where you come from?" |
A is for Audra: Broadway's Leading Ladies from A to Z by John Robert Allman๐ผ
Age Rating: All
Age Rating: All
This children's book, written by John Robert Allman and illustrated by Peter Emmerich, introduces young (and old) readers to nearly seventy actresses who have wowed critics and audiences with their performances on the Broadway stage.
From Audra McDonald to Liza with a "Z," you'll be singing, dancing, and demanding for an encore.
This book is the perfect gift for theatre fans, as recommended by the stars themselves!
Emily Carroll, Horror Comics Artist๐ฑ
Since 2010, Canadian comics artist Emily Carroll has been shocking readers with her (NSFW) horror stories which can be found on her website.
If you are interested, you can order the graphic novels she herself had illustrated.
Age Rating: 10+
A quintet of short stories explaining why you shouldn't enter the woods... ever.
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| "It came from the woods. Most strange things do." |
Age Rating: 10+
Estranged from her widowed father and missing her late grandmother, a young woman named Masha decides to be an assistant to the famous witch from Russian folklore.
Always be careful what you wish for, kids.
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Baba Yaga: “I am a witch, after all.”
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Age Rating: 13+
In this adaptation of the groundbreaking YA novel, high school freshman Melinda must find the courage to speak about the night she got sexually assaulted before she gets silenced forever.
This book is for all who support the #MeToo movement.
This book is for all who support the #MeToo movement.
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| "Speak up for yourself—we want to know what you have to say." |
Fatal Throne: The Wives of Henry VIII Tell All; Edited by Anne Schwartz๐ฐ
Age Rating: 15+
"But these women had lives of their own. They had dreams and hopes. Ideas. Opinions. Ambitions. They were fighters. Thinkers. Politicians. Strategists."
-Jennifer Donnelly
From 1509 to 1547, England was ruled by Henry VIII (M.T. Anderson), a king who was so desperate to have a son that he married six times and initiated the English Reformation.
“Humble and Loyal”
The first wife was Katharine of Aragon (Candace Fleming); a devout Roman Catholic and mother of Mary I, the king had their twenty-four year marriage annulled and banished her from the court.
“The Most Happy”
The second wife was Anne Boleyn (Stephanie Hemphill); the mother of Elizabeth I, she was beheaded on charges of adultery and incest.
“Bound to Obey and Serve”
The third wife was Jane Seymour (Lisa Ann Sandell); the king called her his “true wife” because she gave birth to his long awaited son, Edward VI.
“God Send Me Wel to Kepe”
The fourth wife was Anna of Cleves (Jennifer Donnelly); her marriage to the king was annulled after only seven months.
“No Other Will Than His”
The fifth wife was Catherine Howard (Linda Sue Park); a teenage bride, her infidelity resulted in her suffering the same fate as her cousin, Anne Boleyn.
“To Be Useful in All I Do”
The sixth and last wife was Kateryn Parr (Deborah Hopkinson); she was a Protestant author of devotional works, a kind stepmother to her stepchildren, and the most-married English queen.
Written by a septet of popular American authors, Fatal Throne is a YA historical fiction novel that retells the lives of King Henry VIII and his six wives, and transports readers back to the Tudor era, a time of religious persecution, corruption, drama, and death.
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Anne Schwartz: “The world in the 1500s was shockingly similar to what’s happening today.”
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Six: The Musical by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss๐๐๐๐๐๐
Age Rating: 15+
"Welcome to the show; to the historemix
Switching up the flow as we add the prefix
Everybody knows that we used to be six wives
Get your hands up! Get this party buzzin'!
You want a queen bee? Well there’s half a dozen
Everybody knows that we used to be six wives…!
... But now we’re ex-wives!"
-Full Company
Similar to Fatal Throne, Six is an Olivier-nominated British musical that retells the lives of King Henry VIII’s wives, but with a modern twist.
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| Source: Amazon.co.uk |
The six queens compete to form a pop girl group with the role of lead singer to be awarded to the one who had the worst experience being Henry VIII’s wife. During the contest, the ladies tell the audience their side of history, and show why they’re more than just ex-wives.
Listen to the opening number to get yourself moving.
Smaller and Smaller Circles by F.H. Batacan๐ต๐พ♂️๐ต๐พ♂️
Age Rating: 15+
There are no serial killers in the Philippines, right? Fathers Gus Saenz and Jerome Lucero, Jesuit priests and protagonists of F.H. Batacan’s novel, beg to differ.
For the past several months, the faceless corpses of impoverished boys have been found in a dumpsite in Payatas. Fathers Gus and Jerome, and investigators race against time to catch the murderer before he ends another innocent life.
Full of action, thrills, and twists, Smaller and Smaller Circles is a crime novel for those familiar with the goings on in Philippine politics, religion, and journalism.
In 2017, the novel was adapted into a live action film starring Nonie Buencamino as Father Gus and Sid Lucero as Father Jerome.
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood♀️
Age Rating: 15+
There are no serial killers in the Philippines, right? Fathers Gus Saenz and Jerome Lucero, Jesuit priests and protagonists of F.H. Batacan’s novel, beg to differ.
For the past several months, the faceless corpses of impoverished boys have been found in a dumpsite in Payatas. Fathers Gus and Jerome, and investigators race against time to catch the murderer before he ends another innocent life.
Full of action, thrills, and twists, Smaller and Smaller Circles is a crime novel for those familiar with the goings on in Philippine politics, religion, and journalism.
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| The Serial Killer: "We are all powerless in face of evil. No, no, that’s not true.” |
In 2017, the novel was adapted into a live action film starring Nonie Buencamino as Father Gus and Sid Lucero as Father Jerome.
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood♀️
Age Rating: 15+
In light of recent political events, Margaret Atwood has published The Testaments, the long-awaited sequel to her bestselling novel The Handmaid's Tale.
Agnes is a Gileadian girl whose stepmother has aranged for her marry a Commander old enough to be her grandfather. To escape such a terrible fate, she has one option: become an Aunt.
Daisy is a rebellious teenager living in Canada with her overprotective parents. When she expresses her hatred for the corruption that is Gilead, she opens a Pandora’s box.
Aunt Lydia is a formidable force in Gilead and Handmaid trainer. Unbeknownst to the men who literally rule her life, she is a woman with two lives.
As three seemingly different women testify, a battle begins for the future, a time that will be brought about by anger, war, lies, secrets, and hope.
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Margaret Atwood: "Dear Readers: Everything you've ever asked me about Gilead and its inner workings is the inspiration for this book. Well, almost everything! The other inspiration is the world we've been living in."
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The Great List of Everything: a Canadian Web Series
Age Rating: 12+
Based on a popular comic book, best friends Cathon and Iris discuss the facts and their opinions about the Great List of Everything. Did you know that the first cell phone took over ten hours to charge? Or that the first fishing rod lacked a hook? Or that women were jailed for wearing pants? Or that Thomas Edison didn’t invent the light bulb? Or that the art of stamp collecting is called philately?
This year’s blog post on women’s month recommendations is done, but remember: Don't believe everything you hear.
-A. Eleazar
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Women’s March by Shyama Golden
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References:
- Allman, J. R. (2019). A is for Audra: Broadway's Leading Ladies from A to Z. New York City, New York: Doubleday Books for Young Readers.
- Anderson, L. H. (2018). Speak: The Graphic Novel. New York City, New York: MacMillan Publishers.
- Annapurna Interactive. (2018, December 10). What Remains of Edith Finch | Accolades Trailer [Video file]. Retrieved November 21, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-8OcHFlF4A
- Atwood, M. (1985). Handmaid's Tale, The. Toronto, Canada: McClelland & Stewart.
- Atwood, M. (2019). Testaments, The. Toronto, Canada: McClelland & Stewart.
- Batacan, F.H. (2002). Smaller and Smaller Circles. Diliman, Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press.
- BBC. (2020, February 14). Noughts + Crosses: Trailer - BBC [Video file]. Retrieved February 14, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTEJ4KJh4Ug
- Blackman, M. (2001). Noughts & Crosses. United Kingdom: Random House.
- Blackman, M. (2015). Noughts & Crosses: Graphic Novel. United Kingdom: Penguin UK.
- Boudreau, I. & Papillon, F. (Directors). (2019). Great List of Everything, The [Web series]. Montreal, Canada: National Film Board of Canada.
- Carroll, E. (2014). Through the Woods. New York City, New York: Simon & Schuster.
- Cherry, M. A. (2019). Hair Love. United States: Kokila.
- Fallik, M. & Nelson, A. (Producers), & Dallas, I. (Director). (2017). What Remains of Edith Finch [Video game]. West Hollywood, California: Annapurna Interactive.
- Foxe, K. J. (Producer), & Martin, R. (Director). (2017). Smaller and Smaller Circles [Motion picture]. Philippines: TBA Studios.
- Golden, S. (2018). Women’s March [Image file]. Retrieved November 9, 2019, from https://shyamagolden.com/womens-march
- Knobel, J. (Producer), & Adom, K. & Holmes, J. (Directors). (2020). Noughts + Crosses [Television series]. United Kingdom: BBC.
- Krug, N. (2018). Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home. New York City, New York: Scribner
- Marlow, T. & Moss, L. (2018). Six: The Musical. London, England: West End.
- Marlow, T. & Moss, L. (2019). Six: The Musical (Studio Cast Recording) [Audio CD]. London, England: Absolute.
- Martin, A. M. (1986). Baby-Sitters Club, The. New York City, New York: Scholastic, Inc.
- McCoola, M. (2015). Baba Yaga's Assistant. Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press.
- Menzel, I. (2016). Idina. [Audio CD]. Los Angeles, California: Warner Brothers Records.
- Menzel, I. (2016, August 16). Idina Menzel - “Queen Of Swords” [Video file]. Retrieved October 18, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqwHmdrR-Gs
- Murrow, V. (2019). High-Five to the Hero: 15 Favourite Fairytales Retold with Boy Power. United States: Quarto Knows.
- Newton, S. et al. (Producers), & Cherry, M. A. (Director). (2019). Hair Love [Motion picture]. Culver City, California: Sony Pictures Animation.
- NFB. (2020, February 21). Great List of Everything (Trailer), The [Video file]. Retrieved February 29, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CJfxhvxjds
- Schwartz, A. (Ed.). (2018). Fatal Throne: The Wives of Henry VIII Tell All. New York City, New York: Schwartz & Wade Books.
- Six. (2018, August 8). Ex Wives - Audio Only [Video file]. Retrieved October 27, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_KY9iVWpI0
- Sony Pictures Animation. (2019, December 5). Hair Love | Oscar®-Winning Short Film (Full) | Sony Pictures Animation [Video file]. Retrieved March 2, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNw8V_Fkw28
- TBA Studios. (2017, September 29). Smaller and Smaller Circles - Official Trailer [Video file]. Retrieved November 8, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gsy18f6VbI
- Underlined. (2018). Meet the Editor of Fatal Throne: The Wives of Henry VIII Tell All! Retrieved October 23, 2019, from https://www.getunderlined.com/perks/meet-the-editor-of-fatal-throne-the-wives-of-henry-viii-tell-all/
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