Wonder Women Bingo, Magma for Laurnce King, text by Isabel Thomas, illustrations by Laura Bernard

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Wonder Women Bingo

by Magma for Laurnce King 

text by Isabel Thomas

illustrations by Laura Bernard


I am ALL ABOUT a game that is fun and educational - and believe me, as someone who does not enjoy playing most kid board and card games, there aren't many that fall into this category for me. Wonder Women Bingo  - and all the bingo games from Magma for Laurence King (see THIS post) - is so fun to play and so easy to learn as you play. While it helps if you can read, being able to read is not required for players - as long as the caller can read. Non-fiction books for kids featuring women who have made important contributions to the world, across all disciplines, have experienced a bump in the past few years. What makes Wonder Women Bingo so special are the forty-eight inspirational women chosen to be part of this game. You'll find names that are (hopefully) familiar to players, like Anne Frank, Ada Lovelace, Amelia Earhart, Jane Austen, Georgia O'Keefe, Frida Kahlo, Sally Ride. One-name contemporaries like Malala, Greta and Beyoncé are joined by Toni Morrison, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lawrence, Sofia Coploa and Emma Watson. Athletes like Simone Biles and Serena Williams, along with Katie Ledecky and Laura Kenny appear along with artists like Louise Bourgeois, Yayoi Kusama, Miuccia Prada, Cindy Sherman and Diane Arbus. I was excited to see familiar names like Jacinda Ardern, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie,  Lee Miller and Gertrude Bell along with Jeanne Baré, Jaqueline Cochran, Aloha Wenderell. 

Laura Bernard's illustrations are artistically evocative of the subject, all portraits gazing out at the players with a confident strength and intelligence. Isabel Thomas, author of the superb Little Guides to Great Lives (also from Laurence King), authors the booklet that comes with the game, providing information about each of the featured women. Birth (and death date, if appropriate), accomplishment (in bold), a brief paragraph about the person - organized alphabetically by FIRST name - and the illustration as found on the chip make for a quick but engaging and inspiring read. As with all things Laurence King creates, the design of this game is superb - and kid friendly! I had two different Laurence King bingo games in my library and the sturdy game box held up well to repeated handling from little hands. While the 150 counters will need a bag for storage, the easily folded (for flat storage) box to draw the chips from works well.

*Since publication of this game, people included as Wonder Women have grown and changed. The actor Elliot Page came out this year as a transgender man and continues his work as an activist in the LGBTQ+ community. Also this year, author J.K. Rowling, in a series of tweets and essays, expressed anti-trans bigotry.

 Wonder Women Bingo is a game that everyone will enjoy and want to play over and over.

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