Remarkable Women: Fascinating Facts You Never Knew About Amazing Women! - Eric Huang - ★★★.¾

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AUTHOR: Eric Huang
ILLUSTRATOR: Sam Caldwell
GENRE: Children's Nonfiction, Feminism.
PUBLICATION DATE: January 28, 2025
RATING: 3.75 stars.


In a Nutshell: An informative book about several remarkable women from historical and contemporary time. I liked the different approach towards mythbusting and the range of fields the women achievers belong to, but some of the creative decisions could have been better.


As the cover indicates, this book contains “fascinating facts you never knew about amazing women.” The approach is towards busting myths connected to women in general or some of these women in particular.

The book covers more than fifty women from diverse fields such as business, politics, science, music, sport, and activism. As the popular saying goes, we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. I think this line is especially true for women. The iconic women included in this book did their best to shatter the glass ceiling (or at least put a few cracks in it.) Their perseverance in the face of discrimination is what set them apart.

The women come from across the eras, with some being legendary figures such as Isis and Medusa, historical such as Joan of Arc, and even contemporary such as Taylor Swift and Amanda Gorman. Kids might not know all the older names, but they sure will be thrilled to recognise many of the modern icons in the content. The book includes even queer and trans women included – a worthy decision. A majority of the women are from the US followed by the European countries, but there is at least one representation from most of the major countries.

The content is organised into six sections: Legends, Geniuses, Creatives, Superstars, Leaders, and Trailblazers, and there are further subsections based on fields. This makes it easy to look up achievers from a particular category. The parting content includes a timeline for all the women and a glossary for the difficult words.

Considering the structure of the book, it should be clear that there are no extensive biographies herein. But the included names offer a great starting point to look for more info on these women.

I liked the idea of using misconceptions about women as the basis to provide facts. Using the refrain of “Oh No, She/They Didn’t!”, the book debunks a popular myth about a particular heroine and proceeds to offer the facts. Many of the myths are quite widespread even among adults (like Marie Antoinette saying “Let them eat cake!” or that Jane Austen writes romances – Both incorrect statements!) However, at times, the refrain feels shoved in, using myths that aren’t even popular. For instance, how many kids would “assume” that Amelia Earhart was accused of being a spy? Or that Florence Price was considered a classical great on her death? Or that Queen Elizabeth I and Shakespeare attended plays together? These are “myths” even many adults haven’t heard about! The approach could have worked better if the refrain had been used more selectively instead of forcing it into every page.

A couple of the clarifications are not exactly accurate. (Hedy Lamarr didn’t invent Wi-Fi; she invented a communication system using frequency hopping, which was the basis for all future wireless communication, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS.) Moreover, some of the biographies are highly sanitised and/or romanticised. Pocahontas’ story doesn’t mention how she was captured by the colonists and forced to join them. Political figures such as Eva Perón had their share of controversies but these are ignored.

The illustrations left me satisfied but not thrilled. Some of the portraits didn’t really match the actual women. (The Williams sisters sketch was the worst.) Thankfully, a majority were good enough. The page layout is quite reader-friendly, with a good mix of informative text boxes and their connected sketches. The speech bubbles at times include some Gen-Z lingo such as “Yaas Queen!”, which made me laugh but kids are sure to enjoy.

Recommended to those looking for an informative and motivational nonfiction about women achievers from the past and present. Despite the issues, the broad content and structure makes this a good option for middle-graders.

My thanks to Quarto Publishing Group for providing the DRC of “Remarkable Women” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

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