Kate Sheppard: Leading The Way For Women product reviews

I love reading and I have passed my love for reading onto my son so we both had a read of this book. First his opinion, he told me that it contained nothing new and he already knew the story, he wouldn't read it again but he did think it was a good book

I really liked the illustrations and the time line of the women's suffrage included in the back of the book( I was amazed that some countries only gave the women the right to vote a few years ago) , it was quick to read and there were a few footnotes explaining some of the points made in the book but overall I was disappointed that there was not more information about Kate Sheppard especially since she made such a huge contribution to women's rights. I know this is aimed at children but it seemed like the author was writing a fairy tale and was keeping it very light hearted. I managed to read this book in under ten minutes and my son who is 11 managed to read it in about the same length of time.

I wouldn't recommend this book to my friends, it is a serious subject and should have been given a lot more consideration and thought, some newspaper clippings that would have been printed as the events happened would have given the story a more rounded approach and made it a lot more interesting to read. Good work on the illustrations, pity the text wasn't given the same effort.

This is a beautifully produced book - glossy pages, attractive format, good quality hard cover - which would be in place on any young person's bookshelf. Mr Eight is into history and was delighted to be asked to review it with me. He did not know much about suffrage but after reading the book through he had a good grasp of the essentials, and was quite proud that New Zealand had led the way in this! His mother became intrigued too and said she might borrow it for a class one day if she had a group of older children.

The story is presented as a dramatized account of Kate's life, homing in on the key events - her childhood in England, her trip to New Zealand, her marriage, and her fight for the cause that became her life's goal. The text is easy to follow, drawing the young reader in and making him feel the passion that drove her to challenge the establishment. Marco Ivancic's illustrations complement the text perfectly, evoking the atmosphere of a time period more than 100 years ago and vividly bringing to life the clothing, the buildings, and a way of life so different from ours today.

Mr Eight was impressed by the notes which accompany the story. The glossary helped him to fill in a few gaps in his knowledge as he discovered what a penny-farthing was, and wondered how anyone could ever have tolerated wearing a corset. He now knows what suffrage is and can even spell it! There is a simple timeline of suffrage in New Zealand - as with Kate Sheppard's story, it does not go into too much detail but provides enough outline to help a young person to understand the main points. Key women in politics are referenced including Helen Clark and Jacinda Ardern, both names that Mr Eight recognised.

Some of the statistics horrified him as he realised how difficult life is for girls in some other countries, and how lucky he and his sister are to live in New Zealand. It is a bonus that books like this get young people thinking about their society and human rights, and how important it is to educate young people in their responsibilities to one another on a global level. The map provided a further visual outline of just how far New Zealand has come when compared to other countries. Saudi Arabia and the lands immediately surrounding it stood out particularly as countries that had been slow to grant women the vote.

It is rewarding to see just how much a book like this can raise awareness for a youngster and give him the means of doing something about a human rights issue. It will be interesting to see if his interest in history continues to develop - he has been learning about black civil rights for some time, particularly in the context of slavery and the American Civil War, but this book deals with issues a lot closer to home. It is important that a book like this is targeted towards a young audience; a potentially fascinating topic can quickly deteriorate into a boring textbook designed to stifle the child's interest before he starts. On this account, "Kate Sheppard" certainly resonated with him. I can see he will read it many times, and each time will learn something new.