Stories of Women in World War II: We Can Do It!

by Andrew Langley

Overview

More than 75 million people fought in World War II Ð nearly all of them men. Who was going to produce the weapons and the food, and do countless other vital jobs? The answer was women. Millions stepped forward to take on work they had rarely done before, such as fighting fires, ploughing fields and cracking codes. These are the stories of four trailblazers who achieved amazing things in difficult circumstances: Anne-Marie Walters became a secret agent in constant danger of being captured, working behind enemy lines in France. A painting of Ruby Loftus operating machinery became an iconic image of women's contribution to the war effort. By the time Nancy Love was in her early twenties, she was one of America's leading woman pilots. When ÒRedÓ Harrington and her fellow nurses were captured by the Japanese, they set up a hospital to look after the thousands of other prisoners of war. Many of the rights women have today are down to their actions. They helped change society's image of women forever.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781484624463
Publisher:	Heinemann
Publication date:	02/01/2015
Series:	Women's Stories from History Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	112
File size:	7 MB
Age Range:	11 - 16 Years

About the Author

Andrew Langley is a prolific author of books for children, with a special interest in history and the environment. He has been short-listed for several major awards, most recently with books on natural disasters and Hiroshima.

Table of Contents

Introduction 5

Secret Agent Anne-Marie Walters 7

Ferry Pilot Nancy Love 31

Gunmaker Ruby Loftus 53

Navy Nurse and Prisoner of War Red Harrington 75

After World War II 99

Other Important Figures 101

Timeline 104

Find Out More 108

Glossary 110

Index 112

Editorial Reviews

The illustrated “Women’s Stories from History” series is designed to highlight the real life experiences of the individual women who took part in momentous events of the past. In this volume, author Andrew Langley summarizes the experiences of four hearty women who played variable roles during World War II. Each of these impressive women took risks in order to participate in what remains the bloodiest conflict in human history. For Anne-Marie Walters, the war created an opportunity to become a member of the French Resistance and fight behind enemy lines. Rudy Loftus worked in an armaments factory and literally became the poster child of British women workers during the war. Nancy Love was in her twenties during the war and became a top transport pilot flying every type of military plane imaginable. Red Harrington served as an army nurse in the Philippines and endured nearly four years of brutal captivity at the hands of the Japanese. Each of these women’s stories is told with dignity and verve in this fine book. All too often historians overlook the contributions of women. This excellent book, and the series of which it is a part, help remind readers that women were active participants in history and not just background extras. Reviewer: Greg M. Romaneck; Ages 9 to 14.

Children's Literature - Greg M. Romaneck

Each title in this Women’s Stories from History series features short biographies of four women who influenced women’s history. These mini biographies are appropriate for a general introduction to some high profile figures in women’s history, but do not provide enough data for serious research. Each woman’s biography is supplemented by hand-drawn illustrations or period photographs which have been drawn over with color. The decision to use illustrations in some of the titles is odd considering the plethora of images, handbills, and newspaper articles available from these time periods. The presence of illustrations along with the physical size of these books and the of the typeface used make this series appear to be written for a young audience. The physical appearance of these books along with very simplistic sentence structure makes them a good introduction to women’s history for below-level readers or English language learner students. (Women’s Stories from History) Reviewer: Rebecca Denham; Ages 11 to 14.

VOYA, April 2015 (Vol. 38, No. 1) - Rebecca Denham