Lisa's interest in women's history was piqued when she came across a document titled, the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments (aka the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions) and its history as the rallying cry for the First Women's Rights Convention in Senecca Falls, NY, 1848. She was especially intrigued by the document's key author, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a woman whom history books mentioned only briefly, if at all, at the time, and yet the first woman to formally call for woman's suffrage.

Reviews
"In this engrossing biography, Bohannon paints a vivid picture of a headstrong yet compassionate figure..." -- ALA Booklist December 1, 2000

"This slim, well-written biography describes Stanton's life from her childhood in a conservative, wealthy home in New York..." -- School Library Journal December 1, 2000 

"The life of Elizabeth Cady Stanton was devoted to the issue of women's rights. [Frederiksen] makes that clear in her biography, which begins on the first page with one of the most influential experiences of Elizabeth's young life. After the death of her only brother, eleven-year-old Elizabeth listened to her father as he remarked that he wished she were a boy. Wondering why a girl was not good enough led Elizabeth to become one of the greatest leaders of the women's rights movement. The biography frames the events that shaped Elizabeth's life, her thinking about women, and her work with other influential women leaders of the time, including Lucretia Mott, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucy Stone. Elizabeth's ideas eventually became the most radical of all the women reformers, as she called for more lax divorce laws, married women's property laws and women's suffrage.... Overall, a good reference book, complete with photographs, timeline, bibliography, source list, index, and appendix with the text and background of the nineteenth amendment."  - Children's Literature, 2000 

During Lisa's research for her biography on Elizabeth Cady Stanton, she was struck by the fact that Elizabeth and Susan B. Anthony had shared a 50-year friendship and had worked tirelessly together throughout the second half of the 19th Century.  Lisa wanted to understand why we knew so much more about Susan than Elizabeth, which led to her writing this biography.

Reviews
"An account of the suffragist's life from her childhood to her death in 1906. Growing up in a large Quaker family during the early part of the 1800s, Anthony assisted her mother with the hard work of running a household. Fortunately, her father strongly believed in equality for women, even starting his own school for his children when the district teacher refused to teach long division to girls. Advanced education and family support enabled Anthony to later lead in the social battles of the day; she tirelessly campaigned for temperance and equal rights for African Americans and women, faced down mobs, and charmed reporters who had wanted to dislike her. [Frederiksen] weaves interesting social detail into her account with mention of bankruptcy, religion, household chores, wages, travel conditions, and convention etiquette. Naturally, there are accounts of collaboration with the important people of the time, from Frederick Douglass to Elizabeth Cady Stanton to Mrs. Horace Greeley (much to Mr. Greeley's chagrin). The author suggests that intelligence and energy persistently applied really do mean "failure is impossible." Black-and-white photographs (primarily portraits) and reproductions are scattered throughout." -School Library Journal, 2001

"Born into a nurturing and hard-working Quaker family, Anthony learned to value education and to treat all people with dignity and respect. Swept into the campaign to ban alcohol in an attempt to improve social conditions in America, Susan became disenchanted when she saw that women—who were the heart and soul of the clergy-dominated movement—were denied a voice and a vote at temperance conventions. The experience, however, set the stage for her life-long struggle for women's equality. This concise biography, which takes its title from the reformer's own words, conveys a sense of Anthony's indefatigable spirit and boundless energy. It illuminates the times in which she lived and demonstrates the interrelationship of the temperance, abolitionist and women's suffrage movements. Each chapter contains excerpts from primary source material including letters, diaries and speeches that provide the reader with a glimpse at Anthony's relationships with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone and Lucretia Mott, among others. The quotes are referenced in a source list which is accompanied by a bibliography and list of related web sites. Part of the "Feminist Voices" series." - Children's Literature, 2001

Over the course of her life, Ella Baker helped found scores of organizations, campaigns and coalitions dedicated to the fight for civil rights. Two of the more prominent were the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Her life's story parallels that of the civil rights movement, illustrating the adage that one person can make a difference. Freedom Cannot Rest: Ella Baker and the Civil Rights Movement brings alive some of the most turbulent and dramatic years in our nation's history.

Lisa's work on her biographies on Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton exposed her to the 150+ years-long grassroots efforts to secure equal civil rights for African American citizens. This, coupled with research on Septima Poinsetta Clark and Clark's Citizenships Schools and learning that it took the 24th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1964, to remove all legal impediments to African American citizens' right to vote, motivated Lisa to write this biography on Ella Baker - another of the quiet, unsung heroines of the Civil Rights Movement.

Reviews:
AfroAmericanHeritage.com, December 2005: "...This book is clearly written and amply illustrated with period photos and artwork. In addition to being a compelling biography of Ella Baker, it also provides a concise overview of the Civil Rights Movement, particularly with regard to the various approaches and factions within the movement...." Gerri Gribi, Curator, www.AfroAmericanHeritage.com.

"[Frederiksen]'s biography joins Joanne Grant's 1998 work on the same subject. Both authors wrote about a life long neglected, but worth telling about. Baker was a major player in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. She was the principal organizer of SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. A selfless fighter for the rights of black Americans, her achievements have often been overlooked....[Frederiksen] is more objective and makes good use of vintage photographs, artwork, and text boxes that further explain historical events...." –Carol Jones Collins, Columbia High School, Maplewood, NJ - School Library Journal, December 2005

Special Recognition:
Named to the 2006 Middle School and 2006 High School California Collections by California Readers, a group of educators, librarians, authors, illustrators, parents, book sellers and business representatives.

Occupations Outlook: An Exploration Book for Teens (Career Kids 2006)

Job Hunt: Find it, Get it, Keep it (Career Kids 2005)

The American Revolution Chronicle of America's Wars (Lerner Publications Company 2004)

Resume Writing for Teens and Other First Time Job Hunting Tips (2nd Edition, Career Kids 2003)