Books published by publisher The Feminist Press

Set in Brooklyn during the Depression and World War II, this prize-winning 1959 novel chronicles the efforts of Barbadian immigrants to surmount poverty and racism, and to make their home in a new country. Selina Boyce, the novel's sturdy heroine, is caught between respect for her hard-working, ambitious mother and deep love for her easy-going, romantic father. As she grows into young womanhood, she must forge her own identity, sexuality, and sense of values. "Marshall brings to her characters . . . an instinctive understanding, a generosity, and a free humor that combine to form a style remarkable for its courage, its color, and its natural control."-The New YorkerSuggested for course use in:African-American studiesImmigrationNew York CityU.S. literature Paule Marshall is the author of the novels The Chosen Place, The Timeless People; Praisesong for the Widow; and Daughters. She is Hellen Gould Sheppard Professor of Literature and Culture at New York University. Mary Helen Washington is professor of English at the University of Maryland, College Park, and editor of three collections of fiction by African-American women writers.

When Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, she was unable to accept the prize from prison. The military dictatorship controlling her country, Burma, had placed her under house arrest for her efforts to establish a democratic government.Aung San Suu Kyi grew up as the daughter of a slain national leader, but did not dream that she herself would one day lead her people in their struggle for democracy and human rights. Despite threats and violent attacks against her, Aung San Suu Kyi has continued to teach nonviolence, following in the footsteps of such leaders as Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Her leadership, determination, and quiet courage have united a country and inspired the world.

Set in Chicago during the 1940s and 1950s, this novel of Italian American life is populated by hardworking immigrants whose heroism lies in their quiet, sometimes tragic humanity. At the center of the novel is young Carmolina, who is torn between the bonds of the past and the pull of the future-a need for home and a yearning for independence. Carmolina's own story is interwoven with the stories of her family: the memories and legends of her Grandmother Doria; the courtship tales of her father, a gentle policeman, and her mother, a lonely waitress; and the painful story of Doriana, her beautiful but silent sister. "Understated, lyrical and intensely imagistic, De Rosa's tale of Italian ghetto life stands out from other immigrant narratives by virtue of its artistry."-Kirkus Reviews

Willa C. Lopez is traveling on her own for the first time. She's almost twelve, and grown-up enough to fly on a plane by herself and spend the summer away from home. But is Willa ready for the changes, surprises, and mysteries she'll find when she arrives?Willa is spending her summer in Seattle with Aunt Ceci and her partner, Janie. Through her work as a naturalist, Janie introduces Willa to the local wildlife and ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest. Then someone starts polluting the salmon stream in the park where Janie works, and Willa teams up with her cousin Tabitha to find the culprit. From her diverse, confident, and sometimes eccentric bunch of relatives, Willa learns that there isn't any one kind of family—the only requirement is love. She also learns about ecosystems and "scientific sleuthing," and discovers what may be her life's work.

In this magical and moving first novel, Tina De Rosa draws her reader deep into the world of an Italian-American family and community. Set on the West Side of Chicago during the 1940s and 1950s, Paper Fish is populated not by wiseguys or madonnas, but by hard-working immigrants whose heroism lies in their quiet, sometimes tragic humanity.At the center of the novel is young Carmolina, who is torn between the bonds of the past and the pull of the future - a need for family and a yearning for independence. As Carmolina's story unfolds, it comes to contain many other narratives: memories and legends from the old country, passed on by her wise and loving grandmother Doria; the courtship tale of her father, an Italian-American policeman with a gentle heart and an artist's soul, and her mother, a lonely Lithuanian-American waitress; and the painful story of Dorina, her beautiful but silent sister.

Since her girlhood as a poor rubber-tapper's daughter in Amazonia, Marina Silva has understood that bulldozing the rainforest for development hurts not only the indigenous peoples living there, but destroys natural resources needed by Brazil and the whole world.Overcoming extreme prejudice, Marina attended university. She joined the reform party of Chico Mendes and demonstrated against deforestation. Elected to Brazil's Senate, the "miracle of Acre" successfully legislated rainforest preservation, defending her people against poverty and protecting their way of life.Marina's work has generated worldwide recognition, including the Goldman Environmental Prize. This first-ever biography of the courageous leader introduces children to another inspiring woman role model.Marina Silva: Defending Rainforest Communities in Brazil won a 2002 Skipping Stones Honor Award for Best Ecology and Nature Books.Ziporah Hildebrant is author of numerous books for children.

This biography of Maíread Corrigan and Betty Williams, winners of the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize, proves that ordinary people, united in a common desire for peace, can transform their nation and their world.Born into hard-working families in the Catholic section of Belfast, Corrigan and Williams grew up amid the suspicion and bloodshed familiar to most residents of Northern Ireland. But when the violence that had torn their country apart for decades touched their own lives, these two "ordinary" women knew they had to fight for peace. The grassroots movement they led brought Catholics and Protestants together in nonviolent marches and demonstrations that drew tens of thousands of people and showed the world that Northern Ireland was yearning for peace.

In her sixties, George Sand delighted in spinning tales that entertained and educated her two adored granddaughters, Aurore and Gabrielle. Fortunately, she also published thirteen of them for the rest of us to enjoy. The Castle of Pictures presents four of these stories, three of which have never before been translated into English. Both girls and boys are depicted in these stories as empowered by curiosity, hard work, persistence, and honesty. They successfully protect themselves from danger by using their ingenuity and remaining faithful to their own consciences. In the title story a girl becomes an artist through the persistent nurturance of her own talent despite opposition from her father, himself a painter. "What Flowers Say" is a wickedly funny satire of class snobbery as played out among chrysanthemums, poppies, numerous varieties of roses, and other denizens of the garden. "The Bug-Eyed Fairy" investigates wonders of the insect world invisible to the normal human eye. In "The Talking Oak", an outcast orphan boy learns to rely on hard work and a strong sense of right and wrong to make his way first through the natural world, with the help of The Talking Oak who becomes his first friend, and then through the compexities of the world of grown-ups. Sand never talked down to her granddaughters. Her astonishingly deep knowledge of subjects ranging from botany and lepidopterology to art history, her subtle understanding of the human heart and the creative spirit, and her sense of wonder at the world's beauty and mystery are available here for children of all ages.