Mary Walker Wears the Pants: The True Story of the Doctor, Reformer, and Civil War Hero
Most children won’t recognize the name Mary Walker, but they should. One of the first female doctors in the U.S., she served the North during the bloody Civil War. At first Walker was told to be a nurse like Florence Nightingale, but finally she practiced medicine on battlefields from Virginia to Tennessee, before being taken prisoner by the South. In 1865, she received a Medal of Honor for her war work. Her accomplishments weren’t the only thing that set her apart: Walker was a devotee of pant suits, which perhaps caused more consternation than her profession. There are a few instances in the text where points could be better explained for kids (why should the wounded be carried with heads higher than their feet?), and both the writing and the art can be stiff at times. But readers will be impressed by the story of Mary’s bravery and her constancy in thinking for herself despite mockery and ridicule. The author’s note adds context and information, and the illustration of an elderly pant-suited Mary speaking to a crowd is a fitting conclusion. Grades 2-4. --Ilene Cooper