Learn to Draw with Lindsay Ward, Creator of Rosie: Stronger than Steel

The Children’s Book Review | March 31, 2020

In our eighth installment of the “Learn to Draw on TCBR” series, Lindsay Ward, creator of Rosie: Stronger than Steel, teaches us how to draw Rosie— a brave tractor who farms for freedom in a story inspired by women who acted with courage and strength in American factories and on British farms during World War II.

Grab a pencil and a sketchbook and let’s learn to draw together!

We hope you’ll share your drawings with us on Instagram by using #learntodrawonTCBR and tagging us: #rosiestongerthansteel, @thechildrensbookreview, @lindsaymward, and @amazonpublishing.

Download the free printable here: Learn to draw Rosie.

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Rosie: Stronger than Steel

Written and Illustrated by Lindsay Ward

Publisher’s Synopsis: A brave tractor farms for freedom in a story inspired by women who acted with courage and strength in American factories and on British farms during World War II.

This is our Rosie,
stronger than steel.
She’ll plow all the land
with a turn of her wheel.

Built by women in the United States and sent to England to dig and plow alongside female farmers during World War II, Rosie the tractor does whatever is needed to support the war effort. She works day and night to help grow crops for the troops…even when she has to hide in the fields. This is because she knows, like the women who built her and the women who farm with her, that they all must do their part.

Inspired by the group of American women collectively known as “Rosie the Riveter” and the British Women’s Land Army, this is a story about taking action and coming together for the greater good.

Praise:

★“More than the sum of its parts, this is a wildly successful and well-researched shaping of the picture-book form to true historical sheroes.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

 

★“This ‘little tractor that could’ sort of tale pays tribute to the iconic Rosie the Riveter persona from the US and the British Land Girls of the Women’s Land Army during WWII. Fans of Loren Long’s Otis, Virginia Lee Burton’s Katy, and like sturdy, dependable workhorses will welcome Rosie into the fold, but the historical perspective adds an unusual dimension to her story.” —Booklist (starred review)

 

“Vocabulary is rich, and the younger set will appreciate the intermittent rhymes. The style of Ward’s colored pencil and cut-paper illustrations reflect the period of the tale. ” —School Library Journal

Ages 4-8 | Publisher: Two Lions | April 1, 2020 | ISBN-13: 978-1542017947

Available Here

About the Author-Illustrator

Lindsay Ward is the creator of the Dexter T. Rexter series as well as This Book Is Gray, Brobarians, Rosco vs. the Baby, and The Importance of Being 3. Her book Please Bring Balloons was also made into a play. Lindsay lives with her family in Peninsula, Ohio, where she often sees tractors from the 1930s and 1940s. Learn more about her online at www.lindsaymward.com and on Twitter: @lindsaymward