Rosie the Riveter by Christine Petersen

I am pleased to be hosting the Nonfiction Monday Round-up this week! If you would like to participate, please leave a comment below including the title of the book you are reviewing, the name of your blog and a link to the post, and I will add links throughout the day.

In December, I wrote about the death of Geraldine Hoff Doyle, whose photograph served as the prototype for Rosie the Riveter. Rosie immediately became a well-known figure for the country’s campaign to recruit women into the labor force during World War II. But women did so much more than riveting and Christine Petersen’s book Rosie the Riveter does much in explaining to young readers just what their great grandmother’s might have done outside the home to help the war effort.
The book begins with a brief history of women’s participation in past wars, including Revolutionary War, the Civil War and World War I, as well as the prevailing attitudes that women’s place is in the home.

It then goes on to give a short account of Hitler’s rise to power and the actions he took that eventually led to another World War. This is followed by a description of how the United States entered the Second World War.

With so many men being drafted or enlisting, a labor shortage was created. Yet, employers were as reluctant to hire women as women were to seek jobs outside the home.

As factories were converted for defense, machinery was rebuilt to accommodate women and assembly line production methods instituted. Then the government launched an all-out propaganda campaign to tempt women to fill these new, sometimes dangerous jobs in ordnance work making military supplies, such as bombs and ammunition. And so the image of Rosie was created:

J. Howard Miller's original Rosie
in 1942

Women, as Ms. Petersen points out, did more than factory work. Some of the other jobs women held were as lumberjacks, miners, and fire fighters, while others worked on farms in the land army. And they also did volunteer work, like Civil Air Patrol, working nights, watching for enemy aircraft

Sadly, as needed as home front workers were, many minorities, for example, African-Americans, were usually overlooked for these positions. In 1941, under threat of a huge protest, restrictions were somewhat lifted and some people of color were hired for defense jobs.



Geraldine Hoff Doyle in 1997

 Ms Petersen also covers hardships faced on the home front, including the difficulties of rationing and handling a home and a job at the same time. And she points out women’s contribution in the armed services and the kind of progress they made there.

Included at the back of the book is a glossary of unfamiliar terms, followed by a timeline of women’s war time contributions, and recommendations for further information.

Rosie as interpreted by
Norman Rockwell in 1943

Rosie the Riveter is wonderful book for introducing Women’s History Month and the work women did during World War II to younger readers. The book is written very clearly, with words in bold print that be found in the glossary. In addition, there are lots of pictures showing women in the different jobs covered, along with pertinent sidebars. For a small book, it is packed with useful, relevant information and I would highly recommend it for pleasure or classroom reading.

Until I read this book, I didn’t know there was a Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Park in Richmond, California. More information about this may be found at http://www.rosietheriveter.org/

Christine Petersen is not only a writer of books for young readers; she is an environmental educator and naturalist. More information can be found about her and the work she does at her website Christine Petersen

Rosie even has her own song, hear it here:

This book is recommended for ages 9-12.

This book was borrowed from the NYPL’s Children’s Center at 42nd Street, NYC.

For more book reviews on Women’s History Month, why not visit Kidlit Celebrates Women's History 

Nonfiction Monday Roundup
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