Florence Nightingale

What is the power of an individual?  Can one person really make a difference?  Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy to a wealthy family.  She lived a life of comfort and had the opportunity to travel throughout Europe.  As she visited country after country, she had the good fortune to meet many famous and important people, but what really captured her were the sights of the ill and poor.  Florence wanted to change the world.  She wanted to make a difference.  Slowly, she convinced her parents to allow her to follow her own path.  What she wanted to do was to learn the best methods for medical care.  She asked questions and watched doctors at work in hospitals and poorhouses. What could a young woman know that the doctors and surgeons did not already know?  Why would anyone choose to listen to her, untrained as she was. With her trademark illustrations lighting the way, just as Florence Nightingale lit the way through hospital wards with her lamp, Demi delivers a warm and highly informative story of the journey of this unique woman.  This is a story of determination, kindness, caring and one woman's quest to move the human race beyond the medical status quo particularly in military hospitals during wartime. Her life connects us to periods of history during the 1800s in both Europe and the United States.  Throughout the book the cheerful, homey patterns of the fabrics in the clothing and furnishings convey a feeling of comfort and warmth just as Florence created as she made medical care more humane for all.  This is a wonderful biography of a woman who literally lit the way.  978-0805097290    40 pages   Ages  6-10 Recommended by:  Barb