From her first glimpse of poverty as a young girl, Jane Addams resolved to find a way to help those who could not help themselves. Her own privileged upbringing included a good education and travel in Europe. In London, she discovered the settlement house phenomenon, an idea she brought to life in Chicago when she opened the famous Hull House. There, Addams and her team of dedicated volunteers worked tirelessly to provide those trapped in the city's slums with better sanitation and safer working and living conditions. From Hull House, she branched out to larger concerns, working to win women the right to vote and promoting peaceful solutions to the world's problems. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931--the first woman ever so honored.
Selected by PSLA as one of the Top Forty Young Adult Nonfiction books for 2005
REVIEWS:
An informative book, this biography tells the story of Jane Addams. The book shows how one person with a strong vision, and with the collaboration of friends, family and neighbors can have an enormous social impact . . . This book is a agreat addition to any classroom library and is a great resource for inquiry projects especially in language arts or social studies classrooms.
---Cara Mulcahy in Children's Literature
Jane Addams's dedication to peace, justice and equality comes shining through in this biography of the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize . . . It is hard to believe that one woman could accomplish so much in one lifetime and have it reduced to 144 pages. The readable text describes her accomplishments, providing background information and showing how Addams's influence improved life for those she served . . . A book of an important social reformer that should be in every school library.
--Rated: Outstanding Rosanne Zajko for Tri State Young Adult Book Review Committee
