In a time when women were told they couldn't become conductors, Antonia Brico didn’t listen to discouraging words. Those words went in one ear and out the other.

The second title in Penny Candy’s Amazing Women Series of nonfiction picture books, In One Ear and Out the Other: Antonia Brico & Her Amazingly Musical Life tells the story of one woman’s fight to gain recognition as a conductor in an era when men dominated classical music. The first woman to guest-conduct the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Antonia Brico never secured a permanent conducting job with a major symphony—but her contributions paved the way for the many women conductors to follow. A true visionary in the long fight for equal opportunities for women.