Wonderful Women of the World has been released as part of the celebrations of the 80th Anniversary of DC’s Wonder Woman. This Young Adult anthology tells the real life stories of 23 influential women including Beyoncé, Serena Williams, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Greta Thunberg and Malala Yousafzai. It’s been brought to life by a range of writers and artists, edited by The New York Times best-selling author Laurie Halse Anderson and features cover art By Nicola Scott.
The stories are all interesting and I managed to learn a few new things from Wonderful Women of the World. Did you know Teara Fraser started Iskwew Air, the first 100% Indigenous and woman-owned airline in Canada? Well now you do.
Wonderful Women of the World is split into five sections – Strength, Compassion, Justice, Truth and Equality – and each section contains a set of related stories. As it features so many writers and artists, it works as a good introduction if you’ve not come across their work before – see the full list below. I’m sure most readers will have a few new people to check out after reading. Despite each story coming from a different creative team, it manages to maintain a consistent feel with its high quality work. You can spot the changes in style but it’s never jarring. You’ll happily slide between the different writers, artists, subjects and time periods.
The full list of women profiled and the creative teams:
- Beyoncé – Writer: Mikki Kendall / Artist: A D’Amico
- Edith Windsor – Writer: Amanda Deibert / Artist: Cat Staggs
- Francisca Nneka Okeke – Writer: Sheena Howard / Artist: Laylie Frazier
- Greta Thunberg – Writer: Kami Garcia / Artist: Igzell
- Judith Heumann – Writer: Marieke Nijkamp / Artist: Ashanti Fortson
- Khatijah Mohamad Yusoff – Writer: Amanda Deibert / Artist: Hanie Mohd
- Keiko Agena – Writer: Sarah Kuhn / Artist: Lynne Yoshii
- Leiomy Maldonado – Writer: Magdalene Visaggio / Artist: Alexis Williams
- Malala Yousafzai – Writer: Son M. / Artist: Safiya Zerrogui
- Marcia Barbosa – Writer: Corinna Bechko / Artist: Anastasia Longoria
- Mariana Costa Checa – Writer: Melissa Marr / Artist: Marcela Cespedes
- Mari Copeny – Writer: Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich / Artist: Sharee Miller
- Marsha P. Johnson – Writer: Jadzia Axelrod / Artist: Michaela Washington
- Naomi Watanabe – Writer: Jodi Houser / Artist: Michiums
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg – Writer: Lilah Sturges / Artist: Devaki Neogi
- Ellen Ochoa – Writer: Cecil Castellucci / Artist: Carina Guevara
- Serena Williams – Writer: Danielle Paige / Artist: Brittney Williams
- Teara Fraser – Writer: Traci Sorell / Artist: Natasha Donovan
Wonderful Women of the World is available digitally and at participating bookstores on Tuesday, September 28.
