Do not be fooled, this is not a picture book. This is a nonfiction biography that is heavily illustrated. This is about Mary Seacole, a type of nurse who believes in the home remedy, and healing the way her mother did it. She was born and raised in Jamaica and was of creole descent. This meant she was not white and was treated as such throughout her life. She was turned away many times for wanting to help people, all because of the color of their skin. This includes Florence Nightingale, who thought of Mary as unclean, unsure, and of lesser education. While some people sided with Florence, men who were treated by her in the battlefield, did not. To them she was a hero, who deserves just as much fanfare as Nightingale gets. I full heartedly, agree and hope more children pick up this story and learn about another fantastic woman making waves for future women everywhere.

Author Susan Goldman Rubin does a wonderful job introducing Mary Seacole to young readers. Ms. Seacole was not someone I had heard of before. Her story was inspirational as well as disheartening when learning of the prejudice she experienced.

Growing up in Jamaica, Mary had dreamed of visiting England and spent a couple years there. Upon returning home, Mary helped her mother care for patients with yellow fever. One of the patients she attended kept proposing marriage and they eventually wed. But her husband's health was poor and Mary was soon a widow. After her mother also died, she took over her mother's duties.

Mary then helped during cholera outbreaks. Upon visiting her brother in Panama, Mary's nursing skills were once again put to use. She worked tirelessly fighting cholera, another round of yellow fever back home, and then sought to apply her skills to helping the wounded in the Crimean War. She soon discovered that racial prejudice kept her from nursing positions. So finding a business partner, Mary opened her own convalescent home to care for the sick.

Affectionataly known as Aunty Seacole by some and Mother Seacole by others, Mary helped everyone she could (in spite of much snubbing by others). She and her business partner built a new building and served nourishing meals to all (whether they could pay or not). This amazing woman continued nursing until she was seventy-six years old.

Illustrator Richie Pope, helps bring Mary's contributions to life and children will get a sense of the challenges and difficulties that Mary faced throughout her life. I highly recommend this book!

Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of Mary Seacole: Bound for the Battlefield from NetGalley for the purpose of review. No other compensation was received.

Well-known writer Susan Goldman Rubin teams up with debut illustrator Richie Pope for Mary Seacole: Bound for the Battlefield, a picture book biography of a nurse during the Crimean War. This is not Florence Nightingale, the famous nurse, although Florence does make an appearance in the book with a rather unexpected and uncomplimentary side of her identity.

Mary grew up in Jamaica, learning nature’s medications as she helped her mother who was a “doctress.” She doctored her dolls before advancing to the dogs and cats in her neighborhood. When they ran away, she practiced on herself. Her mother, who was Creole, belonged to a class called free colored, and Mary considered herself to be Creole although her father was a Scottish officer.

Mary gained the love of medicine from her mother and the desire to travel from her father. Although she did not have formal medical training, she learned herbal medicines from her mother and added to her knowledge by questioning British doctors who ate at their boardinghouse. She worked alongside her mother through the yellow fever epidemic that swept Jamaica and eventually worked alone after her mother’s death through another epidemic of cholera. Eventually, she would take her place nursing soldiers in the Crimean War. Laced throughout her life from the time she was a teenager, she encountered racism and the frequent epithet “yaller woman.” Others, especially those who needed her healing talents, saw her skill and compassion and called her by familiar names reserved for close relatives.

Susan Goldman Rubin follows expectations from her previous historical writings in detailed research that includes Mary Seacole’s own writings which she turns into an interesting account of Mary’s life with both struggles and accomplishments. Richie Pope’s illustrations in vivid colors and intricate detail seem perfectly suited to Mary Seacole herself. This book should be on a school library shelf or the bookshelf of any child who loves nonfiction. (Current research indicates that would include most children.) Adults who have not lost their childhood curiosity will enjoy it as well.

This book has nice illustrations, and the text is sufficiently detailed to teach students about this historical nurse and the role that she played in the Crimean War. Most children and adults have very little concept of the Crimean War, and the author did a great job of including enough background information for people to understand the historical context, while still focusing on Mary Seacole. The book addresses the discrimination that she faced, even from Florence Nightingale herself, while also honoring her accomplishments and perseverance. This inspiring story can help make people more aware of a little-known historical figure, and would be especially valuable as a counterpoint to nurse stories that only include white women.

With so many books about Florence Nightingale and her work during the Crimean War, it should be standard for every history book to also mention Mary Seacole.
This self-taught nurse and holistic practitioner, spent most of her adult life helping others in her home of Jamaica, in the Caribbean and in Panama.
She eventually ended up in Crimea to help many wounded soldiers. Although many shunned her for being black and not "formally educated", including Nightingale, Seacole continued to heal and aid those who needed it.
Including details from Mary's life through her own words, author Rubin, along with debut illustrator Richie Pope, created a children's book about a woman who's name should be known as well as Nightingale's.
Should be a part of every library, both community and personal.

*I received an ARC for an honest review.

Mary Seacole: Bound for the Battlefield is a fantastic illustrated biography!

For one, the illustrations are gorgeous. The colours in combination with the illustration style really makes the book stand out. It pulled me in with the cover and kept me hooked throughout the story. However the illustrator is, give them a raise! It's amazing!

This book is a very short chapter book all about Mary Seacole. Her background, biography and amazing feats are described that middle graders and adults alike will enjoy. I highly recommend picking up this book to learn a little bit about history. It's well worth the read and will surely teach you something. I also highly recommend educators use this book because it is an education marvel.

Four out of five stars.

Very interesting picture book about Mary Seacole. Mary was born in Kingston, Jamaica and called a Creole because she had a white parent. From an early age she dreamed of becoming a doctress like her mother. When she heard that nurses were desperately needed during the Crimean War, she signed up. But Mary was ultimately turned away by Florence Nightingale. .Although Mary was discriminated against because of her yellow coloring she didn't let that stop her from helping the injured and the sick. Mary became a beloved "Aunty" and "Mami" to many men is still heralded today as a hero.

This short biography introduces young readers to a fascinating, little known woman who was a contemporary of Florence Nightingale. Seacole may not be known to most contemporary readers,and she was snubbed by Nightingale for her race and her lack of formal education, but she was well-respected by those she nursed in Kingston, Panama, and on the frontlines of the Crimean War. Rubin doesn't fictionalize Seacole's story, and the book includes source notes and a bibliography, so it's a great example of high quality nonfiction for chapter book and middle grade readers.

I received an electronic ARC from Candlewick Press through NetGalley.
Biography of Mary Seacole for middle grade readers. Rubin takes readers through Seacole's life from childhood to death. From the time she was young, she wanted to be a doctress and learned from her mother. Unfortunately, as she was a Creole, she faced many challenges as people were prejudiced about her skin color. This didn't stop her but did make it more difficult. She treated soldiers in several countries besides her home country of Jamaica during various wars and conflicts.
Rubin presents this information in a straight forward manner and does not gloss over what she faced and overcame.

I love reading about famous women that I have never heard of. And this is one such instance.

Mary Seacole, also known as Mother Seacole, was the Jamaican Florence Nightingale, but unlike Ms. Nightingale, who turned down her services because she wasn't the proper class or color, Seacole didn't care who she treated, and was willing to work with anyone, and did, as well.

The white people looked down on her because she used "folk" medicine, but it worked.

She volunteered to help curing the Crimean War the same way that Florance did, but we don't learn about her when we study that history, because she wasn't trained the same way.

Very good middle grade chapter book, on an amazing woman. I love how the prejudice is pointed out as well, with Ms. Nightingale's letter to a friend of how she rejected Seacole's help.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

This biography of Mary Seacole details her early years growing up in Kingston, Jamaica, where her mother was a “doctoress” who taught Mary how to prepare medicines from trees and plants. Mary had a desire to travel, and got to travel to London, a place she loved. But much of the book emphasizes her work nursing soldiers during the Crimean War. Mary had a hotel where she served tourists who came to picnic and watch the battles. In contrast, Mary risked her life to save the soldiers, The book also describes how Florence Nightengale rebuffed all of Mary’s attempts to help her efforts. In fact, Nightengale referred to Mary’s Creole medicines as “quack” medicine. She regarded Mary as a phony because of her her skin color and background.

I found it surprising is that the author did not address this prejudicial treatment or the practice of viewing battles as entertainment. This could have been done in an author’s note.