As a rule, I recommend children’s non-fiction books to young readers. I work in elementary schools, know the librarians who run their libraries and try to weave in real stories whenever possible. Based on that criteria, Send A Girl! by Jessica M. Rinker, with illustrations by Med Hunt is an illustrated book that will be reading candy for some niche audiences, but that’s it. Send A Girl! The True Story of How Women Joined the FDNY is about the first crew of firefighters, which included Brenda Berkman, who became the first women to join the FDNY.
It’s an illustrated book that’s on par with middle through upper elementary-aged readers being able to read and understand relatively easily. The illustrations are semi-realistic and accurately portray the times of the 1960s, as well as the struggles that Berkman went through.
Women couldn’t always be firefighters, there was a time when that profession was entirely populated by men and they were called firemen. When Berkman was a child she wanted to play baseball, but the coach said “don’t send a girl to play a boy’s game!” As she got older she went to New York City to attend law school. The New York City Fire Department made the announcement that they’d start accepting applications for women to become firefighters.
This pleased her because it allowed her to be able to help people. Some people in the city didn’t like that idea and said that shouldn’t “send a girl to do a man’s job!” The physical requirements for the job were tough, there was a lawsuit and eventually, she and the other women broke through the barrier and proved that women can do anything that men can do.
It isn’t that Send A Girl! is a bad book, it’s just that it’s a book that very few elementary school students will want to read. Educators, librarians, and parents might even wonder what purpose the book actually serves. At the school level, girls know, and are taught, that they can do anything. That fact is acknowledged in an author’s note that’s in the book. Essentially it boils down to the fact that girls need to be aware that they weren’t always allowed to do the same things that they can do today.
Send A Girl! is also long for a good-night book if it’s being read to someone. As a read-along book, it’s serviceable and noble but won’t attract readers just by being about a subject that young readers should discover.
I spoke with a school librarian and a couple teachers about this book, just to see if there was a level in it that I wasn’t appreciating or understanding. They said that agenda type books like this sound good in theory, but aren’t interesting for kids to read. It is a fascinating and great non-fiction story, but that it won’t receive any attention in the library. The only caveat I would add to that is that kids of New York City Fire Fighters and agenda parents would embrace it and have their children read it.
The book is not political, but it feels preachy in its tone and illustrations. Elementary-aged girls know the lesson of their boundless potential. I see it in various texts, worksheets, or some sort of classroom activity every day. Send A Girl! is an illustrated book that would’ve felt fresh and engaging if it were released in 2000. As it’s released in 2021 it simply comes off as a chapter in history that girls know about as they’re looking for a princess or unicorn book.
In my conversation with the elementary teachers and librarians, I asked them what kind of books girls actually want to read. Firstly, they all said that kids just want to read good books, without them (books), feeling as if they’ve been tested for their political correctness. They just want good books. The educators then said that girls really love books on kittens, animals, princesses, and unicorns. Send A Girl! is the kale covered carrot, dipped in broccoli juice with brussel sprout leaves on top when all they wanted was a small serving of vegetables.
Send A Girl! The True Story of How Women Joined the FDNY is by Jessica M. Rinker with illustrations by Meg Hunt and on Bloomsbury Children’s Books.
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