(2) K-3 Illustrated by Oge Mora. As an enslaved child on an Alabama plantation, Mary Walker would look up at the birds soaring overhead and think, "That must be what it's like to be free." As a teen she was emancipated from slavery but still had to work hard all her life just to get by. At age 114, having outlived two husbands and three children, she decided to learn to read. The appended author's note says that very little is known about Walker's life during the intervening years ("I chose to imagine...details to fill in the blanks"); the generally straightforward (and unsourced) text includes invented thoughts and dialogue ("'I'm going to learn to read those words,' she vowed"). Pronounced "the nation's oldest student," Walker met presidents, flew in an airplane, and at long last "felt complete." She died in 1969 at age 121. Mora's vibrant mixed-media collages work in swirls of deep blues and greens. As Mary's life unfolds, bird motifs appear, reiterating the freedom that she discovered when she learned to read. Words are embedded throughout, enriching each scene, and on the final page we see Walker's quote: "You're never too old to learn." Photos of this inspirational woman appear on the endpapers.

Reviewer: Maija Meadows Hasegawa | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2020

(2) K-3 When Mary gets the daring idea to wear pants, she's met with angry adults for wearing "boy's clothes," but inside school she finds a classroom of girls also wearing pants--and happy smiles. Illustrations place the aspirational story based on Civil War surgeon and feminist Mary Walker's (1832–1919) life in a vaguely mid-nineteenth-century American setting; playful content, a riot of fabric patterns, and cheerful candy colors lend a modern sensibility.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Carlo Molinari. Born in 1832, Mary Walker was way ahead of her time, wearing trousers and becoming a physician, suffragist, Civil War hero, and Medal of Honor–recipient, facing criticism at every turn. The text is informative but conveys little of Walker's emotions and resolve or the passion of her detractors. Molinari's illustrations give a sanitized view of the era. An author's note adds details.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(4) YA Social Critics and Reformers series. This history-rich biography profiles Walker, who faced unrelenting sexism as a doctor for the Union army during the Civil War. After the war, she became the first woman to earn the Congressional Medal of Honor. Joinson skimps on character-illuminating details--where Walker lived, who her friends were--but is generous with anecdotes. Archival photos and color reproductions appear throughout. Timeline, websites. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Nell Beram