I SPEAK FOR THE WOMEN

In the ``Creative Minds'' series, the life of an abolitionist and women's rights advocate. Inspired in part by her hard-working mother's subservient position, Stone (1818-93) was always a rebel; she left Mount Holyoke after ``Mary Lyon told her that abolitionist papers would not be permitted''; and, when chosen to write an essay for her Oberlin graduation, she refused since, as a woman, she would not be allowed to read it herself at the ceremony. Stone went on to become a persuasive orator, her name frequently linked with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Long determined not to lose her independence by marrying, she found a sympathetic partner in Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell's brother Henry; among other firsts was keeping her own name. McPherson's account is an undistinguished but adequate, straightforward summary. Unfortunately, though, Liedahl debuts with sturdy, grim b&w portrayals; even the minor characters here look terminally dogged, perpetuating the stereotype of humorless 19th-century feminists. Still, with no other biography of Stone available for children, this fills a gap. Bibliography. (Biography. 8-11)