Pencils, Pens & Brushes: A Great Girls’ Guide to Disney Animation

Johnson profiles women artists who worked at Walt Disney’s animation studio in the decades following its 1923 founding. The subtitle’s double meaning represents the book’s mission to celebrate their accomplishments while encouraging readers to pursue their own goals. The book includes few people of color, but the subjects within nevertheless pursued eclectic and impressive lives outside of Disney: before becoming a story concept artist, Sylvia Holland was the only female architect in Canada, and Mary Goodrich was both the first Connecticut woman to earn a pilot’s license and the first female journalist to write an aviation column. Disney animation artist Bové brings a snappy Disney vibe to caricatures of her predecessors, incorporating images of their cartoon creations. Ages 8–12. (Aug.)