Rise Up with a Song: The True Story of Ethel Smyth, Suffragette Composer

by Diane Worthey, Helena Pérez García (Illustrator)

Overview

The first-ever picture book about Ethel Smyth, the world-famous composer and suffragette!

“Brave women in history are examples that help us to be brave in the present. Learning about Ethel Smyth will be life-changing right now.” —Gloria Steinem

? “A stirring tribute to a free-spirited composer who rode roughshod over her time’s constraints on women….A rare nod to a now (but undeservedly) obscure artist, eloquent and inspirational.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

A 2023 Notable Trade Social Studies Trade Book for Young People (NCSS-CBC)

In 1867 England, a girl learned to be proper and speak when spoken to. But one girl marched to a different beat. Ethel Smyth climbed fences, explored graveyards, and yearned to become a famous composer at a time when only men could publish their music. But become a composer she did, first signing her music as E. Smyth so people couldn't guess her gender, then eventually writing openly as a woman (but still sometimes not getting paid!). Ethel had had enough. She joined the suffragette movement, marching in the streets and fighting for the right to vote. She even composed the famous "March of the Women" battle cry—and directed it from her cell window with a toothbrush when she was put into prison.

In superb text and stunning illustrations, Rise Up With a Song tells this remarkable story of Ethel Smyth, the woman who refused to stay down and who used her music to change the fate of women around the world. Backmatter includes a brief bio of Ethel's musical life, a list of famous works, and even a fascimile of her famous "March of the Women." An essential addition to musical and feminist libraries everywhere!

“As I discovered when I first encountered her superb compositions, Ethel Smyth's music speaks for itself. But reading about her remarkable life story can also compel us to do more – to be more bold, and to fight for what we believe in. Told here in a wonderful way by Diane Worthey, this book will inspire people of all ages and genders.” —James Blachly, Music Director, Experiential Orchestra

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781638191315
Publisher:	Bushel & Peck Books
Publication date:	11/22/2022
Series:	Heroes Remembered , #1
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	771,793
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)
Lexile:	680L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Rise Up With a Song: The True Story of Ethel Smyth, Suffragette Composer is the second picture book biography for Diane Worthey, author of IN ONE EAR & OUT THE OTHER: ANTONIA BRICO & HER AMAZINGLY MUSICAL LIFE, which was a 2020 Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and won the first place 2021 Paterson Prize for Young Readers in Grades 4-6. In addition to writing books for children with classical music themes, Diane is a classically trained violinist and performs in the Washington-Idaho Symphony. She also teaches violin and viola to all ages of budding musicians at the University of Idaho Preparatory Division in Moscow, Idaho. Visit her at dianeworthey.blog

Helena Pérez García is a Spanish illustrator whose work has appeared across magazines, newspapers, packaging, and books for children and adults internationally. Her illustrations are conceptual, whimsical, and rich in detail and color. Helena’s primary medium is gouache, and her main sources of inspiration are art, literature, and cinema. After completing a Fine Arts Degree in Spain, Helena relocated to London in 2012, where she lived and worked for 6 years. During this period, and driven by the artistic history and cultural influences of the city and the country, Helena developed her characteristic style. She relocated to Madrid in 2018, where she is currently based. Some of her clients include Penguin Random House, The Body Shop, Tate Publishing, The Financial Times, Reader’s Digest and Il Corriere della Sera, amongst many others.

Editorial Reviews

KIRKUS REVIEWS, STARRED REVIEW: 

A stirring tribute to a free-spirited composer who rode roughshod over her time’s constraints on women.

Following up her profile of conductor Antonia Brico, In One Ear and Out the Other (2020), illustrated by Morgana Wallace, with a look at another strong-minded woman in music, Worthey introduces a British child who preferred outdoorsy adventures to genteel pursuits, fell in love with music at age 12, and went on to compose operas and chamber pieces despite her father’s displeasure, the necessity of publishing anonymously (in early years, at least), and the refusal of some orchestras to perform anything by a woman. Joining the suffragettes, she set Cicely Hamilton’s anthemic “March of the Women” to music—and after getting herself arrested, led fellow prisoners in performances waving a toothbrush as a baton. Pérez García illustrates that episode and earlier scenes in canted depictions of pale-skinned marchers and musicians in Edwardian dress arranged around a redheaded force of nature aglow with self-confidence. With a final view of a racially diverse group of modern women standing together arm in arm, the author closes with lyrical lines about Smyth’s music marching on to inspire women worldwide “…today, / …tomorrow, / …and forever.” An afterword with photos, a timeline, and a select but lengthy list of sources fills in further details of Smyth’s long career. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A rare nod to a now (but undeservedly) obscure artist, eloquent and inspirational.

“Charmingly illustrated in full color, in a style that recalls the works of Lois Lenski, the book makes clear the constraints placed on girls and women and the debt modern society owes to the courage of Smyth and others. Charming illustrations and a brief text make accessible an early suffragist and lesser-known British composer. Eclectic but enjoyable.”—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

12/16/2022

Gr 1–4—Ethel Smyth, born in England in 1858, was a skilled composer and fervent believer in the rights of women to participate in the world equal to men. She was also an ardent suffragist, campaigning for the right of women to vote. This sympathetic short biography presents Smyth as both a rebel and a leader beginning in early childhood and through her long and accomplished life. As a talented composer she was forced to conceal that she was a woman in order to be published and performed. As a suffragist she purposely went to prison to shine light on the fate of other women campaigning for the vote. While incarcerated she conducted her anthem to suffrage, "March of the Women," which became a paean to the movement. Charmingly illustrated in full color, in a style that recalls the works of Lois Lenski, the book makes clear the constraints placed on girls and women and the debt modern society owes to the courage of Smyth and others. The text does not mention the outcome of the suffrage protests that resulted in British women being able to vote beginning in 1928, during Smyth's lifetime. A useful work which can be included in the study of the suffrage movement as well as to show the obstacles girls and women had to overcome in times past. Back matter includes a time line and resources. VERDICT Charming illustrations and a brief text make accessible an early suffragist and lesser-known British composer. Eclectic but enjoyable.—Eva Elisabeth VonAncken

School Library Journal

★ 2022-09-14
A stirring tribute to a free-spirited composer who rode roughshod over her time’s constraints on women.

Following up her profile of conductor Antonia Brico, In One Ear and Out the Other (2020), illustrated by Morgana Wallace, with a look at another strong-minded woman in music, Worthey introduces a British child who preferred outdoorsy adventures to genteel pursuits, fell in love with music at age 12, and went on to compose operas and chamber pieces despite her father’s displeasure, the necessity of publishing anonymously (in early years, at least), and the refusal of some orchestras to perform anything by a woman. Joining the suffragettes, she set Cicely Hamilton’s anthemic “March of the Women” to music—and after getting herself arrested, led fellow prisoners in performances waving a toothbrush as a baton. Pérez García illustrates that episode and earlier scenes in canted depictions of pale-skinned marchers and musicians in Edwardian dress arranged around a redheaded force of nature aglow with self-confidence. With a final view of a racially diverse group of modern women standing together arm in arm, the author closes with lyrical lines about Smyth’s music marching on to inspire women worldwide “…today, / …tomorrow, / …and forever.” An afterword with photos, a timeline, and a select but lengthy list of sources fills in further details of Smyth’s long career. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A rare nod to a now (but undeservedly) obscure artist, eloquent and inspirational. (Picture-book biography. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews