Colman, Penny. Rosie the Riveter:
Women Working on the Home Front in World War II. 1995. 113pp. Lexile 1060. Available in paperback.
Many of the
women who worked during World War II lost their jobs as soon as men returned
home. But "they never forgot that
once there was a time in America when women were told that they could do
anything. And they did." So concludes this outstanding history book
about the six million brave, competent women whose work was vital to the war
effort and kept the nation going. A wide
variety of excellent photographs portrays women in their jobs from shipyards to
farmyards, jobs previously closed to women, who were considered too weak or
delicate for them. It‘s inspiring to
read about the individual women who took on difficult work and succeeded at it,
and heartbreaking to see them suddenly out of work when the war ended. The book's back matter includes index,
bibliography, chronology, and additional facts and figures. A well-crafted, exciting book about women's
history.
Reading Std #3: Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text. Colman uses specific examples of women, their work, and its effect on them. Have students compare and contrast these women, grouping them in categories to get a broader picture of the effect of war and work on the groups.
