While I enjoyed The Girl Who Wore Pants by Susanna Isern, I was a little disappointed that there was not any real background information about Luisa Capetillo.. There is only where she was born (Puerto Rico), who her mother (from France) and father were, and when and why she decided to wear pants. Then we have a nod towards her reading to the women of the factors and a very quick highlight of her arrest in Cuba. However, it is a nice story and shows that women all over were doing things their way, that it was not just a “one person” operation, and that women were fighting for their rights all over the world.
The illustrations of Esther Gili are sweet, a little humorous (but not “funny-funny”) and clever. There are good details and colors used. Read via an online reader copy, this book is due in April 2025. They tell the story as much as the text, plus they fill in a few areas that you cannot see with words (like the expressions on the faces of the people who disapprove of Capetillo’s actions).
The part that I found the most interesting (as I have read several books about women being independent and fighting for women’s rights) is the style of clothing during Capetillo’s lifetime. If you like the history of clothing, it does not go too in depth but it does allow you to see what the styles were. The overall story is the introduction of the person, time and place. As I said earlier, I would have liked more detail, but I do like what we are given.
If you want more women runners, pick up Daughter of the Light-Footed People: The Story of Indigenous Marathon Champion Lorena Ramírez by Belen Medina and Natalia Rojas Castro