VIGDÍS

A quirky introduction to the world’s first democratically elected female president.

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir was elected Iceland’s president in 1980. This picture-book biography, an Icelandic import, covers her pre-political life and her ascent onto the world stage. It’s illustrated in a lively, colorful, comic book style and presented as an interview “narrated” by a light-skinned aspiring child author who, determined to write a book about Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, arrives unannounced at her home. Vigdís relates her story, the words of her “interviewer” set among the illustrations. Vigdís’s words appear in speech bubbles; occasionally, the child’s are, too. Born in 1930, Vigdís grew up in Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital; she was 10 when World War II began. At age 19, she went to France to study. Returning to Iceland, she taught French in schools and on TV and became a tour guide. Eventually, Vigdís adopted a daughter, becoming Iceland’s first single woman to adopt a child. For years, Vigdís was a theater manager; after a 1975 strike, she became a women’s rights activist. Five years later, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers encouraged her to run for president. Claiming initially to be uninterested, Vigdís changed her mind, ran, won, and remained in office for 16 years. Full of appealing, offbeat illustrations, this one will give youngsters insight into a nation—and a political figure—they may be unfamiliar with.

Inspiring—and likely to have readers wishing for more female leaders to read about.