Special Collections
Great girls and wonderful women
Description: Books about women and girls who changed the world, join them and be one too!
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Girls Who Rocked The World
by Michelle Roehm McCann and Amelie Welden"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams" Eleanor Roosevelt Get ready to meet some incredible young women who made their mark on the world before turning twenty and prove that when it comes to having an impact, there's no such thing as too young! Whether designing famous momuments, fighting for their countries' freedom or being political pioneers these gutsy girls have changed the way we view the world and ourselves. From Florence Nightingale to Anna Pavlova, Coco Chanel to Eva Peron, The Bronte Sisters to Indira Gandhi, this book features women from across history and around the globe, who have all achieved remarkable things. Interspersed with the amazing accounts of girls throughout history are stories of powerful young women who are changing the world right now - girls like Winter Vinecki, the creator of the non-profit organization Team Winter, and Jazmin Whitley, the youngest designer to show at L. A. Fashion Week. It's never too soon to start making a difference - be inspired and empowered by this fun collection that shows girls really can rock the world!
Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World (PDF)
by Kate PankhurstNominated for the CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Children's Book Awards 2018. Kate Pankhurst, descendent of Emmeline Pankhurst, has created this wildly wonderful and accessible book about women who really changed the world. Discover fascinating facts about some of the most amazing women who changed the world we live in. Fly through the sky with the incredible explorer Amelia Earhart, and read all about the Wonderful Adventures of Mary Seacole with the number one best-selling children's non-fiction title in the UK market this year. Bursting full of beautiful illustrations and astounding facts, Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World is the perfect introduction to just a few of the most incredible women who helped shaped the world we live in. List of women featured: Jane Austen, Gertrude Ederle, Coco Chanel, Frida Kahlo, Marie Curie, Mary Anning, Mary Seacole, Amelia Earhart, Agent Fifi, Sacagawa, Emmeline Pankhurst, Rosa Parks, Anne Frank
One Indian Girl
by Chetan BhagatHi, I'm Radhika Mehta and I'm getting married this week. I work at Goldman Sachs, an investment bank. Thank you for reading my story. However, let me warn you. You may not like me too much. One, I make a lot of money. Two, I have an opinion on everything. Three, I have had a boyfriend before. Okay, maybe two. Now if I were a guy, you'd be cool with it. Since I am a girl, these things don't make me likeable, do they? Bestselling author Chetan Bhagat, writing for the first time in a female voice, brings to you One Indian Girl, the heart-warming story of a modern Indian girl.
The Story of Anne Frank (Life Times)
by Stewart RossEach book in this series features the life story of a person who has made an impact on the last century, people who have struggled against oppression to become symbols of the human rights movement. This book focuses on Anne Frank.
The Girl Savage (PDF)
by Katherine RundellWilhelmina Silver's world is golden. Living half-wild on an African farm with her horse, her monkey and her best friend, every day is beautiful. But when her home is sold and Will is sent away to boarding school in England, the world becomes impossibly difficult. For lions and hyenas are nothing compared to packs of schoolgirls. Where can a girl run to in London? And will she have the courage to survive?
The Story of Anne Frank (Life Times) (PDF)
by Stewart RossEach book in this series features the life story of a person who has made an impact on the last century, people who have struggled against oppression to become symbols of the human rights movement. This book focuses on Anne Frank.
My Story
by Patricia C. MckissackClotee is a slave in a Virginia plantation. To her, freedom is the greatest word in the world. In the slave quarters, people pray for freedom, or as they call it 'heaven'. But when will it come? 9781407156514
The Match Girl and the Heiress
by Seth KovenNellie Dowell was a match factory girl in Victorian London who spent her early years consigned to orphanages and hospitals. Muriel Lester, the daughter of a wealthy shipbuilder, longed to be free of the burden of money and possessions. Together, these unlikely soulmates sought to remake the world according to their own utopian vision of Christ's teachings. The Match Girl and the Heiress paints an unforgettable portrait of their late-nineteenth-century girlhoods of wealth and want, and their daring twentieth-century experiments in ethical living in a world torn apart by war, imperialism, and industrial capitalism.In this captivating book, Seth Koven chronicles how each traveled the globe—Nellie as a spinster proletarian laborer, Muriel as a well-heeled tourist and revered Christian peacemaker, anticolonial activist, and humanitarian. Koven vividly describes how their lives crossed in the slums of East London, where they inaugurated a grassroots revolution that took the Sermon on the Mount as a guide to achieving economic and social justice for the dispossessed. Koven shows how they devoted themselves to Kingsley Hall—Gandhi’s London home in 1931 and Britain’s first "people’s house" founded on the Christian principles of social sharing, pacifism, and reconciliation—and sheds light on the intimacies and inequalities of their loving yet complicated relationship.The Match Girl and the Heiress probes the inner lives of these two extraordinary women against the panoramic backdrop of shop-floor labor politics, global capitalism, counterculture spirituality, and pacifist feminism to expose the wounds of poverty and neglect that Christian love could never heal.
My Story
by Pamela OldfieldEverybody knows the sad tale of the Little Match Girl, but less well known is the story of the girls and women who slaved fourteen hours a day in the match factories for appalling pay, only to contract such fatal complaints as phossy jaw. The brutality of these conditions was brought to a head with the London Match Girls Strike of 1888. Told from the perspective of a young factory worker, this new title offers a fascinating insight into Victorian child labour.
Mother Teresa (large print)
by RnibThis image shows a portrait of Mother Teresa. There is a locator dot shown, which will be at the top left of the page when the image is the correct way up. She is facing you so all facial features can be found. Only her head and some of her shoulders are shown. Her head is covered by a nun's hood which has some blue strips on it. Her face has lots of wrinkles because she is an old lady. She is looking forward with brown eyes and a gentle smile. Her nun's hood wraps together under her chin. To the left and right her shoulders are covered by a nun's black robe. The image is surrounded by an image border.
A Land Girl's Tale (PDF)
by Mona Mcleod"I can see the disgust on the face of one neighbor when Jack, the farmer, asked to lend a man, produced a land girl." Mona Macleod worked in Kirkubrightshire during the second World War, providing the skilled labour needed on farms before mechanization. The girls were given heavy agricultural work in fields, with animals, carrying hundred weight sacks, sawing wood, felling trees, filling up rat holes. It was a tough way to grow up, but this illustrated memoir provides a record of a time when women faced the rigorous physical challenges involved in winning the war at home.
The Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne FrankThe Diary of a Young Girl is among the most enduring documents of the 20th century. Anne Frank kept a diary from 1942 to 1944. Initially she wrote it strictly for herself. Then, one day in 1944, a member of the Dutch government in exile announced in a radio broadcast from London that after the war he hoped to collect eyewitness accounts of the suffering of the Dutch people under the German occupation, which could be made available to the public. As an example, he specially mentioned letters and diaries. Anne Frank decided that when the war was over, she would publish a book based on her diary. Anne's diary ends abruptly when she and her family were betrayed. Since its publication in 1947, The Diary of a Young Girl has been read by tens of millions of people. Please note: This title is also available to purchase or loan in hard copy Uncontracted and Contracted Unified English Braille. Please contact the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999 to buy through our Braille on Demand service or loan through our Library.
Mother Teresa (UEB Contracted)
by RnibThis image shows a portrait of Mother Teresa. There is a locator dot shown, which will be at the top left of the page when the image is the correct way up. She is facing you so all facial features can be found. Only her head and some of her shoulders are shown. Her head is covered by a nun's hood which has some blue strips on it. Her face has lots of wrinkles because she is an old lady. She is looking forward with brown eyes and a gentle smile. Her nun's hood wraps together under her chin. To the left and right her shoulders are covered by a nun's black robe. The image is surrounded by an image border.
The Match Girl and the Heiress
by Seth KovenNellie Dowell was a match factory girl in Victorian London who spent her early years consigned to orphanages and hospitals. Muriel Lester, the daughter of a wealthy shipbuilder, longed to be free of the burden of money and possessions. Together, these unlikely soulmates sought to remake the world according to their own utopian vision of Christ's teachings. The Match Girl and the Heiress paints an unforgettable portrait of their late-nineteenth-century girlhoods of wealth and want, and their daring twentieth-century experiments in ethical living in a world torn apart by war, imperialism, and industrial capitalism.In this captivating book, Seth Koven chronicles how each traveled the globe—Nellie as a spinster proletarian laborer, Muriel as a well-heeled tourist and revered Christian peacemaker, anticolonial activist, and humanitarian. Koven vividly describes how their lives crossed in the slums of East London, where they inaugurated a grassroots revolution that took the Sermon on the Mount as a guide to achieving economic and social justice for the dispossessed. Koven shows how they devoted themselves to Kingsley Hall—Gandhi’s London home in 1931 and Britain’s first "people’s house" founded on the Christian principles of social sharing, pacifism, and reconciliation—and sheds light on the intimacies and inequalities of their loving yet complicated relationship.The Match Girl and the Heiress probes the inner lives of these two extraordinary women against the panoramic backdrop of shop-floor labor politics, global capitalism, counterculture spirituality, and pacifist feminism to expose the wounds of poverty and neglect that Christian love could never heal.
Photograph of Women's Land Army Timber Girls in Suffolk (tactile)
by RnibThe Women's Land Army was re-formed to farm and work on the land whilst many male farm workers served in the armed forces. The UK had to mobilise as much of its population as possible for war work. It was the only country to conscript women for war work or service in the forces. Many existing factories were converted to wartime production. Bournville chocolate works swapped packing boxes of chocolates for boxes of anti-aircraft rockets. New wartime factories were also built, often in areas outside of cities and towns. By 1944 over one third of the UK population was engaged in war work. By 1943, over a million people over the age of 65 were in paid jobs. Land for growing food had increased by six million acres by the end of the war. Description of photograph This black and white photograph shows three Land Army girls working in a large clearing at a forestry training centre in Suffolk. The clearing, which can be seen disappearing into the distance, is surrounded by conifer trees. A conifer is an evergreen tree. Along the clearing are several piles of logs that have been cut to the same length and stacked. The logs are stacked in alternating directions. One row has the ends of the each log showing with a row above where just the length of one log can be seen. In the foreground of the photograph, two of the Land Army girls are kneeling on one knee with other leg outstretched, facing each other with the log between them. The log has been trimmed of all its branches and the girls are starting to saw it in half using a two-man crosscut saw (a long, flat, large toothed saw with an upright handle at each end). Both girls have the foot of their outstretched leg pushed against the trunk to keep it in position. The third girl is standing further up the clearing away from two girls with the saw. She is using a large axe to trim off the branches from another log. The ground around all the girls is littered with trimmings from the trees. The girls are wearing Land Army uniforms - beret, green woollen long sleeved V-necked jumper, knee high brown corduroy breeches, knee-high woollen socks and stout lace-up shoes, called brogues. The girl on the left of the photograph sawing the tree trunk is also wearing gloves and what appear to be safety glasses. Tactile image details This image concentrates on the 2 girls (labelled girl 1 and girl 2) sawing, the lines of standing trees either side of the clearing and just 2 of the log piles. The third girl and most of the log piles have been left out. The position of the third girl has been labelled on the images along with braille labels for: log pile, clearing, conifers, tree trunk, girl 1, girl 2, beret, saw, and foot.
Mother Teresa (UEB Uncontracted)
by RnibThis image shows a portrait of Mother Teresa. There is a locator dot shown, which will be at the top left of the page when the image is the correct way up. She is facing you so all facial features can be found. Only her head and some of her shoulders are shown. Her head is covered by a nun's hood which has some blue strips on it. Her face has lots of wrinkles because she is an old lady. She is looking forward with brown eyes and a gentle smile. Her nun's hood wraps together under her chin. To the left and right her shoulders are covered by a nun's black robe. The image is surrounded by an image border.
Let Her Fly
by Malala Yousafzai and Ziauddin Yousafzai and Louise CarpenterIn this intimate and extraordinary memoir, Ziauddin Yousafzai, the father of Malala, gives a moving account of fatherhood and his lifelong fight for equality – proving there are many faces of feminism.“Whenever anybody has asked me how Malala became who she is, I have often used the phrase. ‘Ask me not what I did but what I did not do. I did not clip her wings’”For over twenty years, Ziauddin Yousafzai has been fighting for equality – first for Malala, his daughter – and then for all girls throughout the world living in patriarchal societies. Taught as a young boy in Pakistan to believe that he was inherently better than his sisters, Ziauddin rebelled against inequality at a young age. And when he had a daughter himself he vowed that Malala would have an education, something usually only given to boys, and he founded a school that Malala could attend.Then in 2012, Malala was shot for standing up to the Taliban by continuing to go to her father's school, and Ziauddin almost lost the very person for whom his fight for equality began. Let Her Fly is Ziauddin’s journey from a stammering boy growing up in a tiny village high in the mountains of Pakistan, through to being an activist for equality and the father of the youngest ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, and now one of the most influential and inspiring young women on the planet.Told through intimate portraits of each of Ziauddin’s closest relationships – as a son to a traditional father; as a father to Malala and her brothers, educated and growing up in the West; as a husband to a wife finally learning to read and write; as a brother to five sisters still living in the patriarchy – Let Her Fly looks at what it means to love, to have courage and fight for what is inherently right. Personal in its detail and universal in its themes, this landmark book shows why we must all keep fighting for the rights of girls and women everywhere.
Raising my Voice
by Malalai JoyaMalalai Joya is the youngest and most famous female MP in Afghanistan, whose bravery and vision have won her an international following. She made world headlines with her very first speech, in which she courageously denounced the presence of warlords in the new Afghan government. She has spoken out for justice ever since, and for the rights of women in the country she loves. Raising My Voice shares her extraordinary story.Born during the Russian invasion and spending her youth in refugee camps, Malalai Joya describes how she first became a political activist. When she returned to Afghanistan, the country was under the grip of the Taliban and she ran a secret school for girls. A popular MP with her constituents, she received global support when she was suspended from parliament in 2007 because of her forthright views.Malalai Joya's work has brought her awards and death threats in equal measure. She lives in constant danger. In this gripping account, she reveals the truth about life in a country embroiled in war - especially for the women - and speaks candidly about the future of Afghanistan, a future that has implications for us all.
The Extraordinary Life of Malala Yousafzai
by Hiba Noor KhanMalala Yousafzai is:A student A campaigner An inspiration__________Malala is known across the world for her bravery, resilience and hope in the face of terrifying adversity. From playing in the Swat Valley in Pakistan to making speeches at the United Nations, she has become an inspiration for people fighting for justice. Discover what it took for one incredible girl to become the voice of so many, in this beautifully illustrated book that brings Malala's extraordinary story to life.
I Am Malala
by Malala Yousafzai and Patricia McCormick'Malala is an inspiration to girls and women all over the world.' - J.K. RowlingWritten by Malala in collaboration with critically acclaimed author, Patricia McCormick, this children's edition tells the remarkable story of a girl who knew from a young age that she wanted to change the world - and did. Her journey will open your eyes to another world and will make you believe in hope, truth, miracles, and the determination of one person to inspire change. Raised in a once-peaceful area of Pakistan transformed by terrorism, Malala was taught to stand up for what she believes. So she fought for her right to be educated. And on 9 October, 2012, she nearly lost her life for the cause. She was shot point-blank on her way home from school. No one expected her to survive. Now, she is an international symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize winner.This book is a must-read for anyone who believes in the power of change.
Fantastically Great Women Who Worked Wonders
by Kate PankhurstKate Pankhurst, descendent of Emmeline Pankhurst, is back with a brand new wildly brilliant and accessible book about incredible women in the world of work. What do you want to be when you grow up? It's a BIG question that everyone is asked from an early age. Discover eye-opening facts about a collection of go-getting women who have pioneered careers in a kaleidoscope of different industries. Join scientists, doctors, athletes, hot-air balloonists and more, journey back in time with these brave, bold and brilliant women and discover that anything is possible when you make the most of YOUR talents. Prepare yourself for a celebration of women who opened doors and made it possible for more women to achieve amazing things today. Overflowing with beautiful illustrations and astounding facts, Fantastically Great Women Who Worked Wonders is the perfect introduction to just a few of the most incredible women who helped shaped the world we live in.List of women featured: Junko Tabei, Sophie Blanchard, Maria Merian, Elizabeth Magie, the London Matchgirls, Rosa May Billinghurst, Katherine Johnson, Annette Kellerman, Katia Krafft, Rosalind Franklin, James Barry, Madam C.J. Walker, Lotte Reiniger.
I am Malala
by Malala Yousafzai*Winner of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize*When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley, one girl fought for her right to an education. On Tuesday, 9 October 2012, she almost paid the ultimate price when she was shot in the head at point-blank range.Malala Yousafzai's extraordinary journey has taken her from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations. She has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and is the youngest ever winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.I Am Malala will make you believe in the power of one person's voice to inspire change in the world.*****'Malala is an inspiration to girls and women all over the world' JK Rowling'Moving and illuminating' Observer'Inspirational and powerful' Grazia'Her story is astonishing' Spectator
Christabel Pankhurst
by June PurvisTogether with her mother, Emmeline, Christabel Pankhurst co-led the single-sex Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), founded in 1903 and soon regarded as the most notorious of the groupings campaigning for the parliamentary vote for women. A First Class Honours Graduate in Law, the determined and charismatic Christabel, a captivating orator, revitalised the women’s suffrage campaign by rousing thousands of women to become suffragettes, as WSPU members were called, and to demand rather than ask politely for their democratic citizenship rights. A supreme tactician, her advocacy of ‘militant’, unladylike tactics shocked many people, and the political establishment. When an end to militancy was called on the outbreak of war in 1914, she encouraged women to engage in war work as a way to win their enfranchisement. Four years later, when enfranchisement was granted to certain categories of women aged thirty and over, she stood unsuccessfully for election to parliament, as a member of the Women’s Party. In 1940 she moved to the USA with her adopted daughter, and had a successful career there as a Second Adventist preacher and writer. However, she is mainly remembered for being the driving force behind the militant wing of the women’s suffrage movement. This full-length biography, the first for forty years, draws upon feminist approaches to biography writing to place her within a network of supportive female friendships. It is based upon an unrivalled range of previously untapped primary sources.
Malala's Magic Pencil
by Malala Yousafzai and KerascoëtAs a child in Pakistan, Malala made a wish for a magic pencil that she could use to redraw reality. She would use it to give gifts to her family, to erase the smell from the rubbish dump near her house, to sleep an extra hour in the morning. As she grew older, Malala wished for bigger and bigger things. She saw a world that needed fixing. And even if she never found a magic pencil, Malala realized that she could still work hard every day to make her wishes come true.This beautifully illustrated picture book tells Malala's story, in her own words, for a younger audience and shows them the worldview that allowed her to hold on to hope and to make her voice heard even in the most difficult of times.
Letters to Change the World
by Travis Elborough‘We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed’ Martin Luther KingIn an era where the liberties we often take for granted are under threat, Letters To Change the World is a collection of inspiring letters offering reminders from history that standing up for and voicing our personal and political beliefs is not merely a crucial right but a duty if we want to change the world.Edited by Travis Elborough, the collection includes George Orwell's warning on totalitarianism, Martin Luther King's 'Letter from a Birmingham Jail', Albert Camus on the reasons to fight a war, Bertrand Russell on peace, Emmeline Pankhurst rallying her suffragettes, Nelson Mandela's letter to his children from prison and Time's Up on the abuse of power.