Book Review: Oh No They Didn’t: Remarkable Women

Oh No They Didn’t: Remarkable Women takes a lighthearted (or you might say silly) approach to learning about female figures from history and mythology. Written by Eric Huang and illustrated by Sam Caldwell, it’s part of a series of books that also includes one about US presidents.

The idea is that it’s debunking misconceptions about women in history and myth, such as that goddesses were always about hearth and home, that women in legends were just ordinary people (not part of the epic story), that smart women were rewarded in their fields and so on.

This presentation got really annoying to me really fast. I’d rather just have the stories presented as stories rather than have the book awkwardly ask questions that no one would answer yes to. Such as “men pioneered all the breakthroughs…didn’t they?” when most kids have heard of female scientists or inventors or “most first ladies of the United States earned post-graduate degrees…didn’t they?” when women rarely received such degrees before the 20th century (the book says five first ladies have post-graduate degrees, but only lists four and I can only find four that have ).

If you can get past the weirdness of the format, there is some good information about historical figures from many occupations and throughout history. There are about 60 real-life women and nine mythological figures included, with women scientists, artists, actors, activists, politicians, writers, rulers and more included.

Lots of these people will be familiar to adult readers, such as Cleopatra, Marie Curie, Indira Gandhi, Jane Goodall, Oprah Winfrey, Beyonce and Amanda Gorman. Some may be more familiar to younger readers such as Jenny Ortega, Jazz Jennings and Millie Bobby Brown. Still others you might be learning about together, like Jennifer Doudna, who helped develop CRISPR gene editing techniques, architect Zaha Hadid, or Iceland’s prime minister, Jóhanna Sigurôardóttir.

The book is generally arranged by subject with each one on a two-page spread. Cartoony illustrations depict the women and illustrations related to them. It’s a quick way to learn about a wide range of women, and you could definitely just skip over the questions with the “oh no she didn’t” answers if they annoy you as much as they do me.

About the book: 64 pages, paperback. Published 2025 by words & pictures. Suggested retail price $12.99.

Last month I shared some tips for teaching the alphabet to kids and why going in alphabetical order isn’t the best way to do it. Honestly a lot of learning at this age has to do with play, so let’s look at some fun alphabet activities that kids can do that will help them learn the alphabet.

Activities that get kids moving and learning at the same time are ideal for preschool, and Forward with Fun has a few great ideas, like this fly swatter letter recognition game (which you could also use for numbers, words, all sorts of things you’re learning) and a beginning sound stomping game.

Another fun alphabet game you can do at home or adapt for wherever you are is this printable alphabet scavenger hunt from Play Party Plan. They’ve got a list of items to find and also a blank printable you can write your own list on, or let kids write down what they find for each letter.

Or do a literal letter scavenger hunt like this one from Happily Ever Mom. This one uses the letters from an alphabet puzzle but you could also use magnet letters or just cut out shapes of letters. It also adds the fun of doing it in the dark and hunting with a flashlight, but you can also do it with the lights on if you want.

This alphabet sensory bottle from Parenting Chaos is made with a set of alphabet beads and would be fun to keep in the classroom or have in the car or for quiet times.

Use what you have to make an alphabet learning activity, like this one made with Duplo blocks from Playtivities. You can stick letters to the sides of blocks (or write them on) and just play with them, use them for letter recognition and talking about sounds, and eventually spelling and reading, too.

Turn letter learning into craft time by making a big letter out of a bunch of little letters with this activity from Meaningful Mama. If you don’t get magazines anymore check with your local Buy Nothing group, or your local library may have some they’re looking to get rid of.

I think most preschoolers love dot markers, so these free alphabet dot marker worksheets from Daydream into Reality would be a great thing to download and print out. This is a great set because it includes uppercase and lowercase letters, and some have letter tracing practice while others include something that starts with that letter that kids can color. Work with one letter at a time or the letters in the child’s name and then provide the whole set as a quiet time activity.

Another great set of alphabet worksheets that isn’t free (and would also be good for older kids) is this set from My Nerdy Teacher. These worksheets include letter tracing and recognition activities, as well as objects to color.

I also love these alphabet roads printables from Messy Little Monster, which kids can use with cars to trace the letters (they could also be playdough mats you use to form the letters in the shape shown, or trace with a dry erase marker).

Have you read?

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