International Women’s Day (Sunday, March 8) is almost here and is the perfect opportunity to remind the girls and young women in our lives just how strong they really are. And there’s no better way to impress that message upon them than with a good story.
BOARD BOOKS
Eva Chen’s A is for Awesome alphabet board book (ages 1-3) will introduce your lil’ ones to iconic women such as Amelia Earhart and Tina Turner, who changed the course of history with their accomplishments.
Featuring ten women who paved the way, from Ada Lovelace to Maria Tallchief, This Little Trailblazer: A Girl Power Primer by Joan Holub (ages 3-5) explains how these female trailblazers became leaders.
Think Big, Little One by Vashti Harrison (ages 0-3) will teach her to always chase after her dreams through the stories of 18 inventors, scientists, artists and more, like Mary Blair, an American modernist painter and architect Zaha Hadid.
PICTURE BOOKS
Do you know the story of Frances Perkins? The Only Woman in the Photo by Kathleen Krull (ages 4-8) follows Frances, the first female Secretary of Labor (under FDR’s administration) and how she created the New Deal in the midst of the Great Depression.
One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia by Miranda Paul (ages 5-9) follows the true story of Isatou, whose home in Njau, Gambia was filled with abandoned plastic bags. The bags killed livestock and plants—and the accumulation didn’t seem to be slowing. Isatou, understanding the severity of the situation, found a way to recycle the plastic and change her community in the process.
In My Strong Mind: A Story about Developing Mental Strength by Niels van Hove (ages 5-8), Kate learns how to apply a positive attitude to the challenges she faces both at home and at school. Using Kate’s tips, readers will learn the importance of setting goals, positive self-talk, accepting failures, visualizing problems, gratitude and more.
MIDDLE GRADE
Malala Yousafzai became a household name after she nearly died for her right to receive an education. In Malala: My Story of Standing Up for Girls’ Rights by Sarah J. Robbins and Malala Yousafzai (ages 7-10), readers learn how Malala found the courage to speak up in the face of extremism, sexism and intolerance.
In The A-Z of Wonder Women by Yvonne Lin (ages 8-11), tweens can learn more about groundbreaking women—from Oprah Winfrey to Ruth Bader Ginsberg, along with women they haven’t heard of before—who pioneered politics, STEM, art and more.
Gold medal-winning Olympic gymnast and Dancing with the Stars champion Laurie Hernandez isn’t just an icon for her acrobatic skills. In her book I Got This: To Gold and Beyond (ages 8-12), the Jersey native goes into detail about her infamous phrase, plus the sacrifices, love and intense training it took to reach her goal—by the age of 16!
YOUNG ADULT
Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give (grades 8 and up) is one of those novels that will stand the test of time. Protagonist Starr Carter feels like she’s straddling two different lives: one in the poor neighborhood she calls home, and the other at her fancy prep school. After watching a police officer fatally shoot her friend Khailil, she becomes the only witness in a story that takes the media by storm. Her life, and her community, are in danger. It’s up to her to decide how—and if—she’ll use her voice.
Hailed as must-read since its debut in 1999, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (ages 12 and up) follows the journey of Melinda, a freshman who’s been treated as an outcast by her peers after calling the cops at a summer party. She stops talking altogether, and only seems to find a semblance of peace in art class, where she finally faces what happened to her: she was raped at that party—and the upperclassman who did it still prowls the halls. When their paths cross again, things get violent, and Melinda refuses to be silenced again.
Alex Craft is planning a murder—and she’s not going to let anyone get in her way. After her sister Anna’s murderer walks free, Alex is more than ready to take matters into her own hands. Mindy McGinnis’ The Female of the Species (ages 14 and up) delves into rape culture using multiple perspectives: Alex; Jack, the high school’s star athelete who discovered Anna’s body, and Peekay, the rebellious preacher’s daughter. Alex has a plan—and no intentions of making friends—but she finds her darker nature unravelling as she works to keep her goals a secret from her classmates.
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