If I had to sum up this book in one word, I wouldn't hesitate to choose which word: gorgeous. The vibrant illustrations make you want to explore every detail on every page and keep turning the pages to see more. This book is worth getting for the lovely illustrations alone.

But the illustrations aren't the only thing the book has going for it. The brief descriptions of the female goddesses, spirits, and other religious figures are interesting. If you're not familiar with the personal already, you'll get a brief description of who she is, what role she played, and how she influenced the religious practices in the society she comes from.

Readers will likely recognize a few of the names such as Mary the mother of Jesus and Eve from Christian beliefs and get to find out about feminine figures from across the world they hadn't heard from before.

Overall, it's a great addition to any bookshelf for readers young and old. ( )

What a treat to get this in the mail. It is a gorgeous book featuring 50 goddesses, spirits, and saints from different global belief systems and regions of the world. The book is organized by topics: ruling and guiding, new life, war and death, love and wisdom, and animals and nature. Each two page panel features a goddess, with a beautifully illustrated god and smaller illustrations to help readers connect the words with the text.

The text is modern and easy for children to grasp and understand. I also appreciate the author incorporated current events into the text -- such as in write-up of Pele (Hawai`i) there is a line about Mauna Kea and a proposed telescope that would desecrate Pele's home.

This would be a great book for an upper elementary class project on learning how to do research.

One thing missing from the book is a pronunciation guide for the goddesses. But this could be an extended learning exercise for students to research if it is used in a classroom setting. ( )

This book is GORGEOUS! It's organized not by country, culture, or religion but by the specialty of the female figure like Ruling and Guiding, New Life, or War and Death, which makes the connections between them interesting and clear. I cannot say enough about the illustrations, which are bold and bright and appealing to kids without coming off as childish. The bright pink hardcover and the gold flecked cover just call to you to pluck it off the shelf. Most importantly, the diversity is wonderful! Beautiful women of all shapes, sizes, and skin colors are included - Norse, African, Haitian, Welsh, Chinese, Greek, Jewish, Middle Eastern, Lakota, Irish, Aztec, Hawaiian - just to name a few! Really glad I won this book. I would highly recommend it! ( )

Cultural historian Dr. Janina Ramirez has put together a collection of stories about female goddesses, spirits, saints, and other female figures who have shaped belief over millennia, and whose stories, she avers, deserve to be told.

She adds that these women were not perfect, but were complex: sometimes peaceful, sometimes loving, and sometimes vengeful, but always very powerful in some way. She observes:

“The women of the past were no different from us today in these basic ways and understanding them can help us to understand ourselves better.”

The selection of 50 goddesses from the mythologies of different cultures are grouped by five themes: Ruling and Guiding; New Life; War and Death; Love and Wisdom; and Animals and Nature. Readers may recognize some of the names from Greek and Roman culture, or even Celtic and Norse mythology, but the author also explores goddesses from mythologies lesser-known to Western audiences, such as, for example, those of West Africa, India, Babylonia, Japan. China, and Ancient Egypt.

For each goddess there is a 2-page spread with a profile giving the goddess’s origin, role, and a section called “Shaping Belief.” This latter part explores how the goddess affected the religious practices of the society with which she was associated.

Gorgeous illustrations by Sarah Walsh add vibrant color and interest to the stories.

Back matter includes a glossary and index, but, regrettably, not a pronunciation guide.

Evaluation: This middle grade book would not be lacking in appeal for either younger or older audiences, especially with adult guidance in the case of less accomplished readers. ( )