Book Review – Ten Girls Who Made History by Irene Howat

Ten Girls Who Made History

Ten Girls Who Made History In by Irene Howat

Synopsis:

These Christian women were once little girls playing with dolls, making mistakes and growing up in quite a different world. But was it that different? Irene Howat has researched the lives of these famous women of God and draws out lessons we can all relate to, especially youngsters today. Featuring Ida Scudder, Betty Green, Janette Li, Mary Jane Kinnaird, Bessie Adams, Emma Dryer, Lottie Moon, Florence Nightingale, Henrietta Mears and Elizabeth Elliot. (Taken from Goodreads page)

Review

The third entry into the girls’ series differs from the boys’ version in that I knew very few of the girls who made history. This shows a definite need for Church history to cover the role of women more and these books do a great job with that introduction.

In this volume, ten girls which include Ida Scudder, Betty Green, Janette Li, Mary Jane Kinnaird, Bessie Adams, Emma Dryer, Lottie Moon, Florence Nightingale, Henrietta Mears and Elizabeth Elliot follow a similar story pattern of about 15 pages each. The sections starts off with a childhood and family setting and move to either some early important events or through to teenage and college-age and then into adulthood of what they’re known for. The stories include mostly fictional conversations so as to give young readers more than just facts to remember. The conversation are in the spirit of learning about the person. Each person also has a focus on their Christian faith and it usually inspires the conclusion of the story as a way to glorify God. At the end there is a “FACT” of the story expanded upon, a “KEYNOTE” that focuses on the aspect of the story to think about God, a “THINK” area in which a challenge question is presented for discussion, and a “PRAYER” section.

One of my favorite stories was learning about Betty Green. It was impressive to see what she did in the role of aviation so soon after Lindberg and even during and post-World War II. However, my biggest complaint in many of these stories is that many times the “who made history” or “who made a difference” doesn’t really forge ahead in the story. Sure, you can make the case for them or offer details in the story but that shouldn’t be needed within the scope of the desired title. For example, I knew who Florence Nightingale was and most people probably have heard her name. Yet, her story doesn’t really cement how she’s so known even in pop culture. There are a couple who I still don’t really know what they did to make history.

All that being said, these are still great little stories to introduce you to people in Church history, and reading the story of Betty Green to my young girls was a lot of fun and a moving experience.

Final Grade

B+