Review of ‘Amazing Babes’

Written by Eliza Sarlos and illustrated by Grace Lee

Publisher: Scribe Publications

Age Range: lower primary, middle primary, upper primary, secondary school, young adult, adult

Themes:  women, inspiration, influential women, current affairs, history, gender, biographies.

To add this book to your home or school library click here.

‘Amazing Babes’ is a picture book for children and adults alike which celebrates innovative, compassionate and world changing women. It introduces readers to an eclectic and utterly refreshing mix of 20 women from around the world to be amazed by.

The short sharp sentences on each page give agency to the back stories that made these women a part of this collection and every descriptive word has been carefully chosen to represent the women; ‘courage’ for Aung San Suu Kyi; ‘vision’ for Miles Franklin; ‘compassion’ for Mum Shirl and ‘empowered’ for Leymah Gbowee.

One cannot read this book for the first time without a few tingles down the spine. This is an important and inspiring book and will appeal to those interested in current affairs, history and books which don’t fall back on gender stereotypes. ‘Amazing Babes’ holds multiple messages for a wide range of readers. It begs to be read and re-read as the audience grows and matures.

This is a book for school libraries, for bedrooms and for coffee tables everywhere.

Written by a mother to her son, author Eliza Sarlos says:

I just wanted Arthur to know about these incredible things these amazing women were doing. I didn’t want him growing up in a lopsided world when it came to knowing who to respect and admire.

To add this book to your home or school library click here.

Follow it up in the home, classroom or library:

• This would be a perfect book for using at an end of year school assembly, for leadership assemblies or as the perfect gift to mark a young woman’s right of passage from school to university or into high school.
• Locate and list all the words describing the women portrayed in the book such as inspiring, courageous, determined and visionary. These are powerful words to describe people. Look up the meanings of these words. Think of some people in your own life who fit these words.
• Create your own ‘Amazing Babes/People’ book of inspiring women or men in your own life. If done as a class create a mural of the amazing people.
• If you could add just one extra page to this book, which amazing babe would you add in? It may be someone you know, or someone you admire.
• Choose one, two or three women from ‘Amazing Babes’ to research in greater depth. Women that you feel a connection with. Read their short biography at the end of the book. Using the Internet or books from your school or local library research them further. Do they have a biography you could read?

It also has gorgeous endpapers and I do so love a good endpaper.