Mary Walker Wears the Pants: The True Story of the Doctor, Reformer, and Civil War Hero

Written by Cheryl Harness

Illustrated by Carlo Molinari

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I’m writing this review wearing pants, no shorts. My freedom to wear these “outrageous,” “positively sinful,” “scandalous” clothes is due, in part, to Mary Walker and other brave, stubborn women like her. Mary Walker Wears the Pants is a read-aloud biography that tells the story of a mid-nineteenth century woman who became one of the world’s first women doctors. She persistently helped soldiers and civilians during the Civil War, even when no one acknowledged her or requested her help. Walker was a prisoner of war (for her probable role as a spy for the Union), yet after the Civil War, she labored on as a doctor and was eventually awarded the Medal of Honor. Walker also travelled the U.S. and abroad as a paid speaker about her service, imprisonment, and pants!

Mary Walker Wears the Pants is well-suited for reading aloud in a fourth grade class as a part of a Civil War or Women’s History unit. It is also a perfect biography for a fourth grader to read for a biography book report. Carlo Molinari’s illustrations distinctly demonstrate the contrast of what women traditionally wore to what Mary Walker’s pants suits were like.  Girls today take for granted the freedom they have to express themselves any way they want, and Cheryl Harness provides a fresh perspective about how fortunate we are to have such stubborn women like Mary Walker in our rich history.

  • Mary WalkerTitle: Mary Walker Wears the Pants: The True Story of the Doctor, Reformer, and Civil War Hero
  • Author: Cheryl Harness
  • Illustrator: Carlo Molinari
  • Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
  • Reviewer: Sharon Schulte
  • Paperback, 32 pages
  • ISBN: 978-0-8075-4990-2
  • Genre: non-fiction/biography/women physicians/Civil War/history
  • Lexile: – AD910

2 comments

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