This book needs to be in classrooms all over the country. It's such a fun but incredibly informative read about the suffragette movement and I think it clarifies some really important points on what the movement was all about as well as those who led and took part in it. Fantastic!

While I don’t talk about it much on the blog, I am most definitely a feminist and quite politically minded. This year, the UK celebrates 90 years since the Representation of the People Act 1928 which gave all men and women 21 and over equal right to vote.
For women, it was a long time coming. Many put their lives on the line and, for that, I am eternally grateful. It’s why I will never not vote, not when the battle was so hard won. And it’s why it’s important to me my daughter understands just who has come before her and what they achieved.
Suffragette by David Roberts seemed like a good way to help her develop that understanding. A children’s book that presents the story of the suffragettes in a way that is easy for her to understand and that she can relate to. Technically, she’s still too young for the book by a few years (it’s aimed at those 12+) but she quite an advanced reader and, as we were reading it together, I thought it would probably be o.k.
Thankfully, it was. This book doesn’t dumb anything down but it is written in clear, direct language that meant she could follow the story. It has great illustrations too, which kept her interested, and a potted timeline of all the women and men who fought for the right to vote – and those that opposed it. Many of these were people I hadn’t heard about myself, so it was a good learning experience for me too.
In fact, I’ve since shared it with other parents I know, because I think it’s such a powerful story and the more young girls who hear it before they become women, the better. Highly recommended.

This is a really interesting look at the history of women's suffrage in the UK. It talks about both suffragettes and suffragists and how they came to be and their different approaches. The book has some wonderful illustrations that really frame and enhance the information in the book. It's an easy but informative read.

David Roberts is one of my favourite illustrators, so as soon as I saw this I just knew I had to request a copy! Suffragette is a simply stunning and informative read.
Despite my copy being all jumbled up, I loved this book, so I can only imagine how much I’ll enjoy the non-jumbled version!
Roberts’ illustrations make this such a beautiful book to read and enjoy, and all the facts taking you through the history of the Suffragette movement are really fascinating! I’d definitely recommend this book very highly to anyone who wants to learn more about this period of history.

REVIEW

Both myself and my daughter love reading anything/everything Suffragette so as soon as I saw this book and I instantly wanted to read it.



The cover shows women suffragettes with their long hair freely blowing in the wind whilst they are running. The running women would be considered scandalous as women don't run, their hair should be tied back/up and most of all women should be dressed in a certain way to meet societies expectations.

I really love the book cover it depicts the kind of protests the women were prepared to make in order to get their voices heard. The illustrations of the women are so well done and I would say appeal to both children and adults.



The genres I have seen listed for this book are Non-Fiction, Adults & Children which do it the book well but I would also add history/historical too.



This book begins with a foreward/introduction by Lauren Laverne, radio DJ, she readily admits that her knowledge of the suffragettes was quite limited. The only suffragette she has knowledge of is the fictional character, Mrs Banks (Mary Poppins). Lauren thinks that Mrs Banks came across as a posh lady and she remembers her wearing a sash proclaiming her as a suffragette, and rushing off to meetings etc.

In reality some of the suffragettes were "posh" or perhaps a better way of saying it is that these were women "well to do" or had money.

The illustrations in this book may appear to be fun little illustrations, but they are not just caricatures. The suffragettes were very real people and I think that the illustrations in this book represent them and their cause at the time very well. As eventually the Suffragettes did win their battle for the right to vote, most people remember the suffragettes as winners, however they did not win the right to vote easily. There were many small battles that failed before they won the war! It was not an immediate, or quick win either. It was a slow, gradual or compromises to gain small wins.

The other thing Lauren, and I admit I remember about Mrs Banks (from Mary Poppins) is her badge. The real suffragettes had badges ad slogans such as "Votes For Women", "Deeds Not Words", "Dare To Be Free" which were also displayed on banners. There was also newspapers such as "The Suffragette", "Votes or Women" and "The Vote" anything to spread the world to the masses and attract them to join and fight the cause too.


The introduction by the author David Roberts explains how he was inspired to write this book. It was 1984 when David learnt about the Suffragettes. It was his school teacher who had strewn some books on a table ad given the class an end of year exam project to both write about and illustrate. It was a book about suffragettes that caught Davids attention. David was intrigued by the two women wearing prison uniforms on the front cover. David did his project and years later it was that project that he based this book on. David enjoyed creating illustrations from some of the stories he read about.




The book introduces the reader to the big names and the more controversial escapades in the suffragette movement such as, Mary Leigh hurling slates off a rooftop at the Prime Ministers car! Or Miss Spark & Miss Shaw barracading themselves in at the top of the Monument Tower in London in order to unfurl a masssive banner which read, "Death or Victory" and then showered the crowd below with pamphlets declaring "Votes For Women". The Suffragettes didn't always get treated well or welcomed. For example Muriel Matters was pelted with rotten fish when she gave speech.


Some of the laws around that time seem odd in our modern day, such as, when/[ if a woman married she had to promise to obey her husband!



Obviously the names you immediately associate with the suffragettes is "Pankhurst", I think most people will have heard those names and perhaps also


Mary Smith, from Yorkshire became the first woman to petition the government for the right to vote in 1832. Her argument was that women paid taxes to the government so they should be allowed to vote.


Nowadays the colour's most associated with the WSPU are the Green, White and Violet, some say these colour's are used as a code that means Give Women Votes. However this is said to not be the case. Apparently Green represents for "Hope", White "Purity" and the Purple/Violet represents "Dignity".


It's fair to say I have read other books about the suffragettes so already knew some of the stories, but I also read quite a few new ones too. I found the book captivating, factual, amusing at times and interesting all the way through. This book would be the ideal book for adults and children alike who have a love of history or would like something a little different to read to learn about the suffragettes ad their cause, as well as the different sections and groups of the suffragettes, from the totally peaceful section, to the militants who set fire to post boxes and threw stone through shop windows!



My immediate thoughts upon finishing this book were that it was as interesting, informative,and beautifully illustrated book.


I feel I should add a small negative which was the copy of the book I read was a little disjointed in that sentences and paragraphs were sometimes placed in the wrong order. I would presume that is because the e-copy that I read was an arc, rather than a final finished e-book. I'd certainly love to see a physical edition of this book purely for the fantastic illustrations!


What more can I say I really enjoyed reading this book and thought the illustrations were brilliant and bought the whole book to life.

Emmeline Pankhurst died on the 14th June 1928 just weeks after the equal franchise act was made law. Meaning all women over the age of 21 were eligible to vote! The irony that Emmeline didn't live to see that day! It makes you wonder what the Pankhursts would have to say about our present world were there's the whole men getting paid more than women for doing exactly the same job. I reckon they would have had those banners back out along with organising more marches and demonstrations.

Review will also be appearing on my blog nearer to the release date

With the centenary, this is a great book about the suffragette movement. Loved learning about many figures (both male & female) who have influenced history.
I will certainly be recommending this to fellow teachers and children alike. Ideal starting point for Upper Key Stage 2 children.

This year we celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the Representation of the People Act 1918, which gave some women over the age of 30 the right to vote for the very first time in the United Kingdom. In December, we mark 100 years since the first general election in which they voted.

In recognition of this historic event, David Roberts has produced a superbly illustrated children’s book that captures the courage and passion of the early 20th century suffragette movement.

Roberts’ distinctive drawings depicting the battle for female emancipation are imbued with compassion and good humour, showing the brave and resourceful women at both the nadir and pinnacle of their struggle. His narrative is at once uncomplicated, erudite and insightful, and it perfectly encapsulates the activists’ aspirations and frustrations as they fought for their enfranchisement with every means available to them.

He is particularly good at hats, which, of course, were essential headwear for ladies and gents during this period. In Roberts’ illustrations, the suffragettes wear their remarkable titfers like helmets and their heavy Edwardian attire like armour, donning their official WSPU purple, green and white sashes with considerable pride.

His amusing stories of women outfoxing the police to sneak into Parliament in order to heckle, and the warmth with which he captures their facial expressions, often furrowed with audacity and determination, make reading Suffragette: The Battle for Equality an absolute pleasure. This book is an outstanding introduction to a significant era in our history.

IT is quite hard to review this book as regardless of how I tried to read this (Kindle, tablet & laptop) the formatting scrambled every so often meaning it was impossible to always follow the narrative.

My other issue with this book is the author. While I like the premise of the book being the unusual interest a boy/man of his age took in the Sufragette campaign, were there really no female authors and illustrators who could have at least cowritten this book?

The intended age of reader (listed as 12+ on Amazon) also struck me as odd. The book read too simplistically for a teen audience and as a result of this my 'mansplaining' detector felt like it was constantly going off.

Nice to,see new books on the Sufrage campaign but I wish this one were better.

A super accessible history of the suffragettes in the UK. This should be a must read for every child.

2018 marks 100 years since the first women’s votes in the UK. That’s 100 years since all women over the age of 30, with some claim to property, could vote. Not all women. That would take another 10 years. As such, there’s been a quite a bit of literature released to mark the occasion, including this little book.

It’s rather succinct at just over 100 pages, yet managed to get the main points across in a way that is palatable for everyone. I enjoyed reading this with my 5 year old, and the illustrations in particular are a wonderful way to engage a younger audience in such an important historical moment in time. I also liked that it didn’t focus solely on Pankhurst and the suffragettes, but also included the more peaceful, yet no less important, suffragists.

The book also highlights the ungoing fight women still face for complete equality. I would encourage anyone to follow in Millicent Garrett Fawcett’s footsteps in joining the Fawcett Society who still campaign for equality and women’s rights in her legacy.

There is no denying this book is incredibly informative of the Suffragette movement. Detailed and simply written, Suffragette is a fantastic read from start to finish that highlights what happened for women to get the vote, however what really makes you pay attention is the art.

This book is the perfect book for a young reader as the text is broken up by incredible illustrations of all kinds of women throughout history who have helped the cause and so many pages of this book I want hanging on my wall (the double spread of Deeds Not Words for example, I would love in a frame!). This book is also formatted in a way that makes it so easy to read that it’s hard to stop.

An incredible book that charts the history of the right to vote, it comes at the perfect time, 2018 being the 100th anniversary of the start of women voting in the UK, and it’s done beautifully here.

*arc received in exchange for an honest review8

I loved this book with it's profiles on important women within the suffragette movement. I loved the illustrations alongside it and it made it even more accessible for younger readers. I believe this is an extremely important book for young girls to read to feel powerful!