I’ll Pass for Your Comrade: Women Soldiers in the Civil War

By Anita Silvey
Middle grade, non-fiction
Ages 10 and up, Grades 5-8
Clarion Books, 2008
ISBN: 978-0618574919

Our newest addition to the Girls of Summer project is our Annual Guest Star. See the Sunflower Seastar icon in the book cover above?!

Each year, we’ll pick an amazing guest whose work on behalf of girls and/or reading has made a significant impact on us as authors and on the world of books. Our Guest Stars will offer us a bonus book pick for strong girls and will write a post about a topic of their choosing.

So, who did we pick as our very first Guest Seastar? We went to the top, of course. And that’s where we found the one and only Anita Silvey.

In a career that has spanned more than 40 years, she has served as editor of The Horn Book Review and as the publisher of children’s books at Houghton Mifflin. Known as “The Book Expert,” Anita Silvey is the force behind the Children’s Book a Day Almanac, a daily recommendation of excellent fiction for young readers, and is the author of nine books, including 100 Best Books for Children and 500 Great Books for Teen. She is also the editor of Children’s Books and Their Creators, an overview of 20th Century children’s books and of Help Wanted, a collection of selected short stories for young adults. Most recently, Anita has published The Children’s Book a Day Almanac; Henry Knox: Bookseller, Soldier, Patriot; and The Plant Hunters.

Anita Silvey has dedicated her life to writing, selecting, and promoting the very best in books for young people. As our inaugural Guest Star, she joins us to talk about her first book for young readers – and a perfect selection for Girls of Summer. Published in 2008 by Clarion books, I’ll Pass for Your Comrade: Women Soldiers in the Civil War offers readers a glimpse of strong girls who braved everything to take up arms to defend their beliefs. MM

To learn more about Anita Silvey, visit www.anitasilvey.com