Information covering important topics for today's educators and parents. The biographies are written to show the events in the inventors' lives that led them to their successes. Readers learn about the women' s creativity and perseverance as well as the usefulness of their products. The inventions range from antibiotics and gas masks to Barbie dolls and Liquid Paper. Each chapter includes black and white photographs of the women and their inventions as well as an annotated bibliography of related resources.
Timelines outline educational, personal, and professional highlights of their lives.
Quotes from the inventors are provided to illustrate their attitudes and perspectives. One chapter about Madam C.J. Walker describes how her determination launched her transformation from a poor laundress to a millionaire entrepreneur. It explains how she overcame prejudice and adversity by working hard and maintaining high standards. She was widowed at the age of twenty and had a baby daughter to raise. She moved to St. Louis where she took in people's laundry.