Margriet Ruurs and Nizar Ali Badr, Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family's Journey, 2016.

Margriet Ruurs and Nizar Ali Badr, Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family's Journey, 2016.


This book was written by a Canadian anglo author but the illustrations are by Nizar Ali Badr, a Syrian artist who works with stones to make astonishing pictures.


The illustrations are amazing, especially the lines of heavily laden people trudging along. This prompted a long discussion with my nine year old about what refugees are and what she would take with her if she had to flee (answer: everything, she would go into training and be super strong and able to carry all her belongings).


Also, it is a classy book, with the text written in both English and Arabic. Some of the proceeds of the book have gone to Canadian refugee charities, though the website is coy as to which.


Two thumbs up.

Hattie Burr, The Woman Suffrage Cook Book,1886.

Hattie Burr, The Woman Suffrage Cook Book,1886.


So in 1886 the suffrage movement in the US pulled together a fundraising recipe book – The Woman Suffrage Cook Book. Hattie Burr edited it and compiled a list of recipes provided by various members of her network. I am not an expert on American suffragism but I could immediately see Lucy Stone and one of the Stantons.


The recipes themselves are bafflingly oblique. Take this recipe for bread. 'Two cups cooed oatmeal, or rice, salt to taste, two tablespoons sugar, one cup sweet milk, one third cup yeast, flour to make it stiff.'

They clearly assume a huge bundle of information that I don’t have. They just list a chunk of ingredients and give no instructions on how to combine them or how to cook them. Perhaps the point is to highlight that despite being suffragettes they are ‘feminine’ enough to just know these things and be naturally houseproud and wifely.


The book ends with a list of quotes from prominent 19th century Americans in support of the vote. I am reminded of a description of 19th century novel that a friend gave me – it was suffragette porn. In between each round of activity would be a discussion about how women should have the vote. This cook book falls into the same genre of obscure efforts to propagandize through every possible means.