Introducing Sandwina: The Strongest Woman in the World! [Hardcover]

A Booklist Editor's Choice
2026-2027 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List

No one believed a woman could be stronger than a man, until Katie Brumbach–also known as Sandwina—displayed her show-stopping feats as a circus strongwoman.

100 pounds . . . 200 pounds . . . 300 pounds! Katie Brumbach became the world’s top strongwoman after she ousted Eugen Sandow by lifting hundreds of pounds over her head (which Sandow could barely lift to his shoulders). After that, she took the last name Sandwina and thrived in the circus world—which she had been participating in since the age of two when she first performed with her family. She grew over six feet tall as she got older, but Katie never second-guessed herself, and she trained to build her muscles, always eager to test her skills and try new feats.

After starting a family with a fellow performer, they were eventually signed to work with John Ringling of the Ringling Bros. Circus. Sandwina impressed the crowds by balancing a 1,000-pound cannon on her chest, by throwing a one-ton stone, and by having an iron slab broken on her body—she stole the show!2025 Kansas NEA Reading Circle List

★ “It’s such a treat when a picture book’s writing and illustrations are equally matched, and Conrad and Holmes pool their talents to lift Katie Brumbach, stage name Sandwina, to heights befitting her status as the world’s strongest woman… Spectacular!” –Booklist, starred review

★ “In this outstanding picture book biography, well-researched text and illustrations bring to life an extraordinary performer… This factual and inspiring account will resonate wl3)