I know I'm an adult and this is a kids book but that didn't matter to me.

This is an amazing book on 40 of the most amazing black women leaders in history. Covering everything from astronauts and jazz singers, to doctors and ballet dancers. The illustrations are beautiful and the information about each of the leaders is inspiring. This book is a great reference source for people of all ages, as it offers a rich history about the strong women who were leaders in their chosen fields many years ago and how their contributions helped with shaping this country.

A brief collection of the histories of a dozen female rulers in Africa, ranging from 15th century BC to 19th century AD. I wish I could assign this book to history classes, because I found it really helpful to beating back the pernicious trope of the African continent as just a bunch of roving tribes with little in the way of courts or dynasties. Intellectually I knew there was more to African history than mud huts and disease, but now that I've read this book, I believe it too.

My favorite of the rulers contained herein is Queen Nzinga of Angola. Nzinga was the kind of ruler who, when the Portuguese did not give her a chair during negotiations, sat on one of her subjects so as not to appear at a disadvantage. She led a fierce guerrilla resistance against the Portuguese for decades. She kept a harem of young men dressed as women who were referred to as her 'wives.' When she finally died, she demanded that her successor be a woman. Badass!