Amazing Annie

"A remarkable woman, a remarkable achievement. You might call Annie Kopchovsky (nee Annie Cohen, 1870-1947) free-wheeling. This young Jewish immigrant became the first woman to circumnavigate the globe by bike—in only 15 months. When Annie arrived in the United States from Latvia, life seemed auspicious, but women’s lives were restricted. She wanted excitement, and the bicycle—innovative in the late 19th century—seemed ideal. Setting out from Boston in June 1894, she traveled no more than 10 miles daily; as her skirt got entangled in the wheels, she eventually eschewed “ladylike” skirts in favor of pants. When Annie couldn’t find accommodations, she slept rough—in barns, under bridges, out in the open. In November 1894, Annie sailed from New York to France and discovered her knack for spinning thrilling tales about her exploits that captivated paying audiences. (They were mostly fabrications.) Visiting Jerusalem was especially emotional; she then proceeded to Asia, still inventing escapades. She sailed from Japan to the United States, arriving in March 1895, but she still had to return to Boston, her starting point, by September. She did, to the huzzahs of her proud family, nation, and laudatory newspaper articles. Krensky has crafted an exciting read that deservedly highlights a little-known explorer; Annie’s wild tales enliven the narrative. The charming color illustrations expertly bring period and background details to life and capture Annie’s fierce determination. An adventurer receives her due and should inspire readers to reach for their dreams." —Kirkus Review

"Born in 1870, Annie Cohen and her family immigrated to America. Annie grew up, married, and began raising children, but feeling constricted by her society, where women had few rights, she decided to become the first woman to travel around the world on a new invention: the bicycle. Her adventures were closely followed in newspapers. Although she could travel only 10 miles a day on her heavy bike, she was determined to return home within 15 months. Back in America, Annie became a popular speaker and, though she sometimes stretched the truth to make her stories more entertaining, she always stressed, “I can do anything that any man can do.” The back matter fills in more details of Annie Cohen Kopchovsky’s life and times, such as her decision to change her last name to Londonderry before her journey, due to widespread antisemitism in many countries, including her own. Well-researched and written with clarity, this picture book biography takes readers back to the late 1800s, a period vividly captured in Predoi’s handsome illustrations."—Booklist

There are many underacknowledged Jewish women in history. Annie Cohen Kopchovsky (1870-1947) is one of them, despite her truly amazing feat of becoming the first woman to ride a bicycle completely around the world. An immigrant from Latvia, Annie had long resented the secondary role allotted to women in many fields. She rejected domesticity and she was angered by the marginalization of Jews in her Boston neighborhood. Stephen Krensky and Adriana Predoi present her eventual triumphs. 

Bicycles were a new and increasingly popular technology during Annie's young childhood. She seized on the possibility that both of those qualities offered her an opportunity to challenge obstacles in a public way. Adopting the new last name Londonderry--starkly different from her Jewish one--Annie began her journey. A persistent and adaptive personality helped her realize an unlikely goal. Krensky describes the physical difficulties, including rough terrain and lack of lodging, that threatened to throw Annie off course as she mounted her bicycle and pedaled on. While she had no control over weather or the availability of places to stay, she simply refused to wear the traditional skirts that hampered her mobility, choosing pants instead.

Krensky admits, in a non-judgmental tone, that Annie was something of a fabulist, regaling her audiences with elaborate tales that were sometimes untrue. Yet, the truth of her adventure was as exciting as her invented embellishments. She may not have fought off Bengal tigers, but she did ride through parts of the globe that seemed exotics because of their distance and cultural difference: Singapore, Hong Kong, and China. One often romanticized location was actually quite significant to Annie. Her trip to the Near East included Jerusalem, where Predoi portrays her at the Western Wall. Standing among a group of men and women praying together, as was common in early twentieth century Palestine, she is shown touching the stone with reverence and fascination.

In order to complete her journey, Annie had to travel the United Sates by bicycle, as well. Predoi depicts Annie's own country, in an era when travel was more difficult, as also unfamiliar. The deserts of Texas and New Mexico were geographically distinctive, and as remote in many ways from Boston as her European and Asian travels.

In this highly recommended account, young readers will get a sense of physical distance in the age before air travel and reliable telecommunications. Bicycle riding was a leisure activity, but also a transition tot he future of more accessible travel. In his afterword, Krensky relates that Annie Cohen Kopchovsky was active in several fields, including business and journalism, after her successful but brief career as a cyclist. Apparently, her trip on two wheels around the world had served its purpose for her, proving that she could "do anything that a man could do." Her statement, at that time, was truly amazing. --The Jewish Book Council