ABOUT THE BOOK
Dare To Question: Carrie Chapman Catt’s Voice for the Vote
Written by Jasmine A. Stirling
Illustrated by Udayana Lugo
Ages 5+ | 48 Pages
Publisher: Union Square Kids (2023) | ISBN-13: 9781454934578
Publisher’s Book Summary: Jasmine A. Stirling, author of A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voice, delivers a powerful, poetic picture book biography about suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt, perfect for fans of I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark and the Rebel Girls series.
As a child, Carrie Chapman Catt asked a lot of questions: How many stars are in the sky? Do germs have personalities? And why can’t Mama vote? Catt’s curiosity led her to college, to a career in journalism, and finally to becoming the president of The National American Woman Suffrage Association. Catt knew the movement needed a change—and she set to work mobilizing women (and men) across the nation to dare to question a woman’s right to vote.
On August 18, 1920, Catt pinned a yellow rose to her dress and waited while lawmakers in Tennessee cast their deciding votes to ratify the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. After a seventy-year campaign, had women finally won the right to vote?
Stirling’s suspenseful retelling of the dramatic final “yea” that changed the history of women’s rights brings the past to life for young readers.
PURCHASE LINK
MY REVIEW
Ask anyone to name a famous suffragist and they will probably come up with Susan B. Anthony (she did get her face on a coin after all), but there were many other women who worked hard to get voting rights expanded. Carrie Chapman Catt was one of those intrepid ladies. This picture book biography looks briefly at her early life, but concentrates on her commitment to the cause of universal suffrage. The language of the story reflects the sense of fun Carrie and her coworkers tried to infuse into their efforts. “Mothers and shopgirls and teachers and ladies who lunch questioned the boxes they had been placed in and began to climb out.” I also enjoyed the alliteration in phrases like “they worked in factories, making switches and suits, tanks and trucks” that described the work women did on the homefront during WWI. Illustrations show Carrie and the other suffs in their yellow sashes waving flags, carrying banners, and persevering in the face of disappointment as they were denied again and again. The scene of the vote in Nashville ratifying the amendment captures the jubilation at their long-awaited victory. (And as a native of Tennessee, I love the story of Harry T. Burn being included in the book.) An author’s note, additional information about Carrie, and a photo of her are included in the back matter. Whether readers are looking for books specifically about the suffrage movement or simply want to offer more titles featuring female role models, this is an uplifting piece of history.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Her new book, Dare to Question, Carrie Chapman Catt’s Voice for the Vote (Union Square & Co, 2023, Booklist starred review), tells the story of the queer power couple who transformed the suffrage movement. Her third book, about Jeanne Barret, the botanist who disguised herself as a man and became the first woman to circumnavigate the globe, comes out in 2025.
Learn more about Jasmine.
Follow her on Instagram at @jasmine.a.stirling.author
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Udayana Lugo is a self-taught illustrator of mixed heritage. Having worked as a designer of many varied things, from jewelry to auto-parts and from furniture to whole interiors, she still does that but in children’s books which are her true passion. She and her husband have lived in Mexico, Italy, and England, but they call British Columbia their home, along with their two kids. When not working on a book, you can find her walking her dog or baking something with her children.
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