Each year, we have a homeschool history theme set out by our curriculum. The last couple of years, that theme has been Ancient Civ. On top of that, I like to add a second theme which we follow with picture books throughout the year. The past two years, we’ve focused on Black History as our second theme, and we’ve read a ton of great books featuring different Black folks who moved us forward. This year, our theme is Women’s Rights.

We’d already read one book this year when my second daughter brought me Elizabeth Started All the Trouble, by Doreen Rappaport, illustrated by Matt Faulkner, and asked if we could use it for school. Our first book had focused on Women’s Suffrage from a British perspective, although it did include the American heavy hitters of the cause and the unique issues American suffragists faced.Rappaport’s book focuses on the U.S., and traces a tight and cohesive history of the Suffrage movement and Women’s Rights. Faulkner’s powerful illustrations use expressive faces, text, and  scale to convey their message. The character illustrations reminded me of the images that come to mind when reading a Dickens’ novel.We read this book in one day, and it nicely summed up what we’ve already learned without getting bogged down with details or partisanship.