In a letter cautioning her husband to "Remember the Ladies," Abigail Adams makes a plea for women's rights. She realized that women had the potential for greatness if only their brethren would, as Sarah Grimke wrote in 1838, "take their feet from off our necks."

Cheryl Harness introduces readers to 100 illustrious American women. From colonial poet Phillis Wheatley and Civil War nurse Clara Barton to comic actress Lucille Ball and Vietnam Memorial architect Maya Ying Lin, she highlights ladies of all talents, races, and eras.

Cheering the advancements of recognizable leaders, the author also introduces readers to less familiar but equally important women. Her passion and humor reflect the attitudes of pioneers who pushed the boundaries of the feminine sphere to the limits -- and then pushed a little further.

Amazon.com Review
Who are the people who shaped America? Lawyers, artists, rebels, guides, fighters, doctors, athletes, astronomers, airplane pilots, environmentalists, scientists, politicians, and parents. These men... Wait a second! We're not talking about men, here. Although American history has always emphasized Founding Fathers, Sons of Liberty, boys in uniform, etc., there have been millions of women who have had an equally profound impact on the identity and character of the country. In 1776 Abigail Adams told her husband, future president John Adams, to "remember the ladies," when thinking about their new government. Author Cheryl Harness has taken those words to heart in her celebration of just 100 of the illustrious, sometimes forgotten women in American history. Vibrant, well-known women, including Pocahontas, Lucretia Mott, Eleanor Roosevelt, Toni Morrison, and Madeleine Albright, fill the pages of this exciting book, as do less familiar women such as Phillis Wheatley, the first African American to be published (in the 1770s); pioneer Abigail Scott Duniway, who ran a hat shop, a school, and a newspaper to support her disabled husband and their six children while campaigning to win equal justice for women; and Antonia Novello, the first Hispanic woman to be surgeon general. Every page, chronologically ordered, is packed with illustrations and fascinating, conversational text. Additional resources (glossary, bibliography, lists of historic sites and women's organizations, a pictorial timeline, and more) guide readers to learn more about these remarkable heroines. Girls--and boys--will be empowered by the tremendous accomplishments of America's best and brightest. (Ages 8 to 12) --Emilie Coulter