It’s likely you’ve never heard of Helen Stevens, but she is to World War I and farming what Rosie the Riveter was to World War II and factory work. The (true) story of Stevens’ spunk and grit is the subject of a new children’s book by local author Erin Hagar that comes out today.
The Rodgers Forge resident got the idea for the “Doing Her Bit” when she heard author Elaine Weiss on WYPR discussing her book “Fruits of Victory: The Woman’s Land Army of America in the Great War,” which described the “farmerettes” of the Woman’s Land Army during World War I.
Author Erin Hagar
Hagar couldn’t believe she’d never heard of the farmerettes before, and she also knew this would make a terrific story for kids.
“People interested in lesser-known moments in history and ‘can-do’ women’s stories will find something to enjoy in this story,” Hagar said.
Hagar is also the author of “Julia Child: An Extraordinary Life in Words and Pictures” and “Awesome Minds: The Inventors of LEGO Toys.”
“Crisp dialogue and small dramas propel this story of a young woman’s summer of service in wartime and women’s emerging power on the homefront,” Kirkus Reviews wrote of “Doing Her Bit.”