Her Name Was Mary Katharine: The Only Woman Whose Name Is on the Declaration of Independence

by Ella Schwartz, Dow Phumiruk (Illustrator)

Overview

A rousing picture book biography of the only woman whose name is printed on the Declaration of Independence.

Born in 1738, Mary Katharine Goddard came of age in colonial Connecticut as the burgeoning nation prepared for the American Revolution. As a businesswoman and a newspaper publisher, Goddard paved the way for influential Revolutionary media. Her remarkable accomplishments as a woman defied societal norms and set the stage for a free and open press. When the Continental Congress decreed that the Declaration of Independence be widely distributed, one person rose to the occasion and printed the document—boldly inserting her name at the bottom with a printing credit: Mary Katharine Goddard.

Here is an important biography of a groundbreaking woman who had the courage to write herself into the history she helped create.

A CBC Children's Favorite Award Winner
A CBC Teacher and Librarian Favorite Award Winner
An NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Selection

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316298322
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	01/25/2022
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	147,307
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

Ella Schwartz is the award-winning author of Can You Crack the Code?: A Fascinating History of Ciphers and Cryptography, which won the AAAS/Subaru Prize for Excellence in Science Books. In addition to writing books, Ella is a cybersecurity warrior interfacing with the US federal government on strategic technology initiatives. She lives in New York with her husband and three sons. She invites you to visit her at ellasbooks.com.
 
Dow Phumiruk is the award-winning illustrator of Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13, which won the Bank Street College of Education Cook Prize and was named an NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book as well as an NCTM Mathical Honor Book, among many other honors; An Equal Shot: How the Law Title IX Changed America; and Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines, which was an Amazon Best Book of the Year and an NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People. A general pediatrician with a passion for art, Dow lives in Colorado with her family. She invites you to visit her at artbydow.com.

Editorial Reviews

12/13/2021

This picture book spotlights a mostly unsung Revolutionary War figure, pioneering newspaperwoman, political activist, and the first woman postmaster in the 13 U.S. colonies, Mary Katherine Goddard (1738–1816), the only woman whose name is on official copies of the Declaration of Independence. Schwartz’s straightforward narration positions the Connecticut-born woman as hardworking and loyal—the steady hand that keeps her fickle brother’s printing and newspaper ventures afloat (“composing pages, setting type, and operating the press”). Vignettes of Goddard brim with newsprint motifs as backdrops or borders, while the titular refrain highlights her work, leading up to the design and printing of the historic document. Phumiruk skillfully employs design principles in colorful digital spreads, sustaining visual interest. A brief glossary and source list conclude. Ages 5–9. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Her Name Was Mary Katharine:
A CBC Children's Favorite Award Winner
A CBC Teacher and Librarian Favorite Award Winner
An NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Selection
A Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Picture Book Award Winner

"This brings deserved attention to an overlooked patriot, and is highly recommended."—School Library Journal

"The story of the printer, postmaster, and patriot whose choices played a significant role in American history….Accessible and engaging.…A solid resource for examining historical perspectives and concepts of inclusion, exclusion, justice, and fairness."—Kirkus

From the Publisher

03/01/2022

K-Gr 3—Mary Katharine Goddard grew up in the colony of Connecticut, under British rule. After her father died, her older brother began a newspaper, but William "wasn't the best newspaper owner," and loyal Katharine spent her life running the paper he started and abandoned, printing patriotic articles against Britain's unfair treatment of the colonies. The title serves as the beginning of a refrain: "Her name was Mary Katharine and she had an important job to do." One of her important jobs was printing the Declaration of Independence, upon which she included her whole name instead of her usual initials. Detailed but static watercolor and digital illustrations look appropriately old-fashioned. With a glossary and selected sources, the back matter also includes an author's note which describes the later years of Mary Katharine's life and reveals that she had an enslaved person, whom she freed upon her death. VERDICT This brings deserved attention to an overlooked patriot, and is highly recommended.—Jenny Arch

School Library Journal

2021-10-13
The story of the printer, postmaster, and patriot whose choices played a significant role in American history.

This informative book captures the life of Mary Katharine Goddard, born under British rule in 1738 in Connecticut. Readers learn about the education her parents provided to not just their son, but also their daughter (which was unusual for that time); her involvement in the printmaking/newspaper industry, initially to help her distractible brother; her dedication to providing colonists with information that supported the American Revolution; her 14-year stint as Baltimore’s postmaster; and her decision to include her name when she was asked to print the Declaration of Independence, a brave choice that could have resulted in her death. Accessible and engaging text, quotations from her publications, and italicized statements that sum up relevant personality characteristics tell what is known of her story and provide historical context, bringing the uniqueness of her accomplishments as a colonial woman to light. Evocative, sepia-toned illustrations, which primarily feature White colonists, show additional details of a life in early America. An author’s note provides supplementary information about the lack of recognition Goddard received as well as additional details about her life, not all positive; an enslaved woman, to whom Goddard granted freedom in her will, helped run Goddard’s business and home.(This book was reviewed digitally.)

A solid resource for examining historical perspectives and concepts of inclusion, exclusion, justice, and fairness. (glossary, sources) (Picture book/biography. 5-10)

Kirkus Reviews