We specialize in hard to find items
All Categories
Tillie the Terrible Swede: How One Woman, a Sewing Needle, and a Bicycle Changed History
Share Tweet
*Price and Stocks may change without prior notice
*Packaging of actual item may differ from photo shown
- Electrical items MAY be 110 volts.
- 7 Day Return Policy
- All products are genuine and original
About Tillie The Terrible Swede: How One Woman, A Sewing
Product Description When Tillie Anderson came to America, all she had was a needle. So she got herself a job in a tailor shop and waited for a dream to find her. One day, a man sped by on a bicycle. She was told "bicycles aren't for ladies," but from then on, Tillie dreamed of riding—not graceful figure eights, but speedy, scorching, racy riding! And she knew that couldn't be done in a fancy lady's dress. . . . With arduous training and her (shocking!) new clothes, Tillie became the women's bicycle-riding champion of the world. Sue Stauffacher's lively text and Sarah McMenemy's charming illustrations capture the energy of America's bicycle craze and tell the story of one woman who wouldn't let society's expectations stop her from achieving her dream. From School Library Journal Gr 1-5-A picture-book biography of the tailor turned bicycling champion. After seeing her first bicycle, Tillie Anderson began saving her money to buy one. However, she wasn't interested in the kind of synchronized riding that was deemed respectable; she wanted to race. She trained by working out with weights and riding for half-hour stints. After realizing that her long skirts were a hindrance, she used her sewing skills to make a pants outfit more suited to riding. Anderson started entering races, both outdoors and in the velodrome, where she dominated the field. She soon became the spokesperson for bicycle advertisements. There was an inevitable backlash from other riders and traditionalists, but she persevered despite being deemed unwomanly and referred to as the "Terrible Swede." While this biography offers broad-stroke information on Anderson and the state of women's issues at the time, the endpapers provide annual statistics from 1896 to 1901 regarding her "Record Breakers" as well as her "Cycling Victories." The whimsical gouache and hand-painted paper collage illustrations add to the turn-of-the-century flavor of the book, while the uniform color palette of each spread adds cohesion to the layout. A great addition to the growing number of biographies of daring women.-Stacy Dillon, LREI, New York City (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. From Booklist In the 1890s, when Swedish American seamstress Tillie Anderson decided to try bicycling, she faced opposition from her mother, her friends, and her neighbors. Refusing to heed their objections to her scandalous (skirtless) costume and her unladylike (fast) pace, she built up her muscles with exercise and headed for the races, where she broke the women�s record in a 100-mile event. Tillie marries her biggest fan and, as the story ends, dives into a promising new pursuit: driving a motorcar. Based on Anderson�s scrapbooks and memorabilia as well as articles and family memories, this picture book concludes with an author�s note (inconveniently placed beneath the jacket flap) offering more information about Anderson�s life as well as the bicycle craze of the 1890s. The front endpapers display fashionable items of ladies� clothing from the period, while the back endpapers spotlight �Tillie�s Record Breakers� and �Tillie�s Cycling Victories.� This picture-book biography celebrates an unsung heroine in women�s history. Grades K-3. --Carolyn Phelan About the Author SUE STAUFFACHER'S books for young readers include Harry Sue, Donutheart, and Donuthead, as well as her new Animal Rescue Team series. Sue's picture book Nothing but Trouble won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Children's Literature. She is a frequent visitor to schools as a speaker and literacy consultant, drawing on two decades of experience as a journalist, educator, and program administrator. To learn more about her, please visit SueStauffacher.com.SARAH MCMENEMY is the illustrator of The First Rule of Little Brothers by Jill Davis, Everybody Bonjours! by Leslie Kimmelman, and The Busiest Street in Town by Mara Rockliff, all published by Knopf
