Bloomers on Pikes Peak, The Story of Julia Archibald Holmes, by Clarissa Willis (Solander Press, $11.99, 2024, 42 pp, ages 6-10) Review by Skye Anderson
Did you know that women crossing the Plains in the 1800s wore long dresses with hoop skirts? Except for Julia Archibald Holmes, who word shorter skirts with bloomers that permitted ease of movement. She also offered to stand guard at night, like the men did.
The Holmes moved from Canada to Massachusetts to Kansas and eventually Julia ended up in New Mexico. Her family was ahead of its times, being abolitionists, so it is no surprise that Julia was the first woman to scale Pikes Peak!
The illustrations in Bloomers are full-page and the easy to read boldfaced text sometimes appears in washed-out parts of the illustrations, thus making it easy to read over dark colors.
However, this reviewer thought that, although a good book, the title was not representative. Either more details of the climb up Pikes Peak or a title that reflects the entirety of Julia's life would be better.
Wherever she went, Julia kept a diary, even on her ascent of Pikes Peak. This, and so many other things made Julia, like her family, ahead of the times - she was a suffragette, helped slaves escape on the Underground Railroad, traveled west, and more!
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