Before Ohio was even 30 years old, its women were advocating for the civil rights of others. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 stole land from Native Americans and displaced them, and 62 Steubenville women filed a petition voicing their objections to the injustice. In “The Fifth Star: Ohio’s Fight for Women’s Right to Vote,” Jamie C. Capuzza studies more than suffrage.
The landmark Seneca Falls Convention of 1848, at which Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucretia Mott spoke, committed to temperance and women’s rights to own property and work. Others followed, notably the larger event in 1850 in Salem and in Akron in 1851, where Sojourner Truth famously delivered her “Ain’t I a Woman” speech.
Capuzza follows up on every petition, vote, conference and campaign. This moving and necessary book ends with the “fifth star”—Ohio as the fifth state to adopt the 19th Amendment.
“The Fifth Star” (344 pages, softcover) is $28 from Kent State University Press. Capuzza is a professor in the Department of Literature and Communication Arts and heads the Gender and Sexuality Studies program at the University of Mount Union.
‘The note that faced the music’
Half Note feels understated. On the staff, the Eighth Note gets bounced around, the Whole Note “can fill a whole bar.” In “The Note Who Faced the Music,” a storybook by North Canton children’s author Lindsay Bonilla, Half Note learns that every note is necessary to make a melody.
Although the other notes provide some comfort, Half Note decides to walk out, leaving the Composer short-staffed. He tries to settle for the other notes, but it’s terrible. Half Note hears the awful racquet and knows that a missing note leaves everything flat.
“The Note Who Faced the Music” (32 pages, hardcover), recommended for readers ages 4-8, is $18.99 from Page Publishing. Lindsay Bonilla is also the author of the lovely inclusivity theme “Polar Bear Island”. The illustrations are by New Hampshire artist Mark Hoffman.
‘Coach George Allen’
In his foreword to “Coach George Allen: A Football Life,” Tallmadge writer Lee Elder says the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee was the “first modern NFL coach.” His book, which he calls the first full-length biography of the Michigan native, covers Allen’s childhood, when he had to drop out of school at times to support his family while his father suffered from ill health.
Allen coached at small colleges in Iowa and California before moving up to the Rams, then to the Bears and back to the Rams. He followed those stints with a stint with the Washington Redskins (now the Commanders) and then back to the Rams. “Why was Allen sacked four times by the Rams?” Elder asks.
Elder points to Allen’s innovative use of game film and his willingness to acquire the most advanced technology for his teams, and instituted an early form of personality testing to determine his communication style. Although accounts vary, Elder cites Hall of Fame coach Marvin Levy, who credits Allen with coining the term “sack.”
“Coach George Allen” (268 pages, softcover) is $35 from McFarland Books. Elder is the executive director of the Professional Football Researchers Association and worked as a publicist for Goodyear Racing.
Events
Cuyahoga County Public Library (South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch, 1876 S. Green Road, South Euclid): Mark Dawidziak talks about “A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe,” 6:30 to 7:30 pm Monday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library (3512 Darrow Road, Stow): Chas Madonio talks about “Bars, Bands and Rock ‘n Roll: The Golden Era of Kent, Ohio,” featured March 5 in Book Talk, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Monday. In a virtual event at 16 Tuesday, celebrity chef Jernard A. Wells, author of “Southern Modified” and “Southern Inspired: More Than 100 Delicious Dishes From My Table to Yours,” concludes the Online Author Talk Series. Register at smfpl.org.
Learned Owl Bookstore (204 N. Main St., Hudson): Rob Buyea, author of the children’s Mr. Terupt Series, signing “What Comes Next,” 4 to 6 p.m., Tuesday. From 16 to 18 Wednesday Troy Cummings (“Notebook of Doom” series) signs “Is This Your Class Pet?”
Akron-Summit County Public Library (Northwest branch, 1720 Shatto Ave.): Mark Dawidziak talks about “A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe,” 6:30 to 7:30 pm Wednesday.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Bay Village branch, 27400 Wolf Road): Former Big Ten and NCAA basketball coach Phil Bova talks about his memoir “Throwing Back the Chair,” 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (North Olmsted branch, 27403 Lorain Road): Elizabeth Berg discusses her novel “The Earth Is the Right Place for Love,” 7 to 8 pm Wednesday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Beachwood branch, 25501 Shaker Blvd.): Alex Shaland (“Suburbanites on Safari” talks to kids in grades 2-5 about writing, Thursdays, 4 to 4:45 p.m. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Loganberry books (13015 Larchmere Blvd., Shaker Heights): Kate Kelly, author of “Ordinary Equality: The Fearless Women and Queer People Who Shaped the Constitution and the Equal Rights Amendment,” joins the online Peculiar Book Club, 7 p.m. Thursday. Advance notice of an event sure to be popular: at 7 p.m. on April 5, Shaker Heights native Carter Bays, creator of the Emmy-winning sitcom “How I Met Your Mother,” will talk with Cleveland novelist Susan Petrone (“The Heebie-Jeebie Girl”) about his new comic “The mutual friend.” The $25 admission includes a copy of the book. Sign up at loganberrybooks.com.
Elizabeth’s Bookshop & Writing Center (647 E. Market St.): A Young Writers Workshop features Kamille Smith (“Girls Fall Down Sometimes”) and her sister Kamryn Smith (“Be Free! Just Do It Your Way”), noon to 2 p.m., Saturday.
Fireside Bookstore (29 N. Franklin St., Chagrin Falls): Dr. Sylvia Mustonen signs “New Medicine for a New Millennium,” 6 p.m. 13.00 to 15.00 Saturday.
Visible vote books (2258 Professor Ave., Cleveland): Cleveland native Megan Buskey reads from “Ukraine Is Not Dead Yet,” her family’s story of oppression and deportation, Saturday at 6 p.m. 4 p.m.
Email information about books of local interest and event announcements at least two weeks in advance to BeaconBookTalk@gmail.com and bjnews@thebeaconjournal.com. Barbara McIntyre tweets at @BarbaraMcI.