Amelia to Zora

Inspiring, Motivating, Informational, Engaging, Unique

Amelia to Zora: Twenty Six Women who Changed the World by Cynthia Chin-Lee

Illustrated by Megan Halsey and Sean Addy

Published by Charlesbridge Copyright 2005

Children's Choice Award, ABC Best Books for Children Award

"There are many books on women and the strides that they've made, but this one is very smart--in design, art, and choice of subject." -Booklist

Starting with A for Amelia Earhart and traveling to Z for Zora Neale Hurston, Cynthia Chin-Lee discusses twenty six of the wonderful women of the world and how they changed it forever. In this book there are journalists, artists, scientists, politicians, athletes, and so much more. For each extraordinary woman, the biographies are concise, giving readers a sense of who they are and what they accomplished in their lifetime. Each page is filled with a two paragraph summary of a woman's accomplishments, a quote that they are remembered by, and a picture of what they looked like. The short synopsis of these pages captures readers interests and encourage them to want to learn more about these exceptional women.

Reading Level: Grade 5/6 Lexile 1040L 

Suggested Delivery: Read aloud

Extras: This book is filled with quotes on each page that the women were famous for, which many books do not include. Amelia to Zora also has a selected bibliography and an authors note on the end pages of the book that give more information about why she chose the women she did and decided to write this book. There is additional information about Cynthia Chin-Lee and the illustrators on the end pages of the book.

Teachers here are some resources that may help you teach Amelia to Zora Twenty Six Women Who Changed The World...

Key Vocabulary: javelin, hurdles, hurling, amateur, girdle, astronomer, observatory, boycott, immigrants, folklorist, advocate, anthropologist, menial, architect, veterans, mourned, entrepreneur, executive, congresswoman, dispossessed, democratic, missionaries, diplomat, publications, contemporary

Electronic Resources:

• CynthiaLee: Here on the author's website, there is an excerpt from the book, as well as a starred review by Booklist and Kirkus (shown at the bottom of this blog). This would be a good website to visit after reading the book.



Cynthia Chin-Lee

• Awards: After reading you can visit the publishers website to see all of the awards that Amelia to Zora has won. The few big awards were mentioned above, but this book continues to receive rewards for its exceptional quality.
• BookReview: Before reading if you want to know how others feel about this book, you can read a review by armchairinterviews here.
• Interview: Here you can read an interview with Cynthia Chin-Lee as she answers questions about Amelia to Zora. This would be great for post reading clarification for students.

Activities for Students:

• Before Reading: Ask students if they know about any famous people. What did they do? Why are they famous? Do you know any women that are famous? Get their minds going, thinking about what it means to be famous and what it means to change something.
• During Reading: As you read, enable students to identify what the women's roles were. For example, Rachel Carson was an environmentalist...what does that mean? What did she do? Enable them to see all the different things and roles the women played in life. Tell them that anyone can be great and anyone can do great things.
• Post Reading:  Give each student a woman discussed in the book. The students may have to refer back to the book, so it may be a good idea to make photocopies of the women in the book. Tell the students that they are to write in their own words about the woman they were given and why she made such a contribution to the world. Specify that you do not just want facts given in the book, but that you want them to think deeper about what it was that they did that changed the world forever. Have them write a couple paragraphs in detail to show their inferential comprehension.

"In this engaging book, Chin-Lee evokes the stories of 26 women, their unique voices, visions, and victories. Young readers will find inspiration and motivation in each woman's story and her powerful message. From sports figures like Babe Didrikson Zaharias and Kristi Yamaguchi to scientist, such as Grace Hopper, and writers like Zora Neale Hurston, our world has been influenced by women and their hard work and zeal for the life they love. Beautiful. Intricate collages spotlight each woman and her special gift." --Booklist && Kirkus Reviews

Lee, C., Halsey, M., & Addy, S. (2005). Amelia to Zora: twenty-six women who changed the world. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge.