A Mighty Girl's top picks of books for children and teens on understanding and managing emotions to build their emotional intelligence.

Whether you have a preschooler struggling to name how she feels, a tween wrestling with newly complex emotions, or a teenager who needs to find ways to incorporate her emotional life into adult decision-making, parents can do a lot to help kids navigate their emotional world. But sometimes, it’s hard to know where to begin. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top pick of the books, toys, and clothing featuring the mighty women of Star Wars!

From Princess Leia and Padme Amidala, to Rey to Jyn Erso, the girls and women of the Star Wars universe have inspired generations of Mighty Girls! These characters are bold, compassionate, determined, and strong; they fight for justice and they risk their lives to protect their friends. It's no wonder that, on Star Wars Day, there are so many girls eager to declare, "May the Force be with you!" Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of books about girls and their teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week.

If you think back to your years in school, chances are there will be at least one teacher you will always remember. Maybe he was the one who sat with you and slowly helped you form separate letters into a word; or maybe she was the first one to hear a secret dream and, instead of laughing, started helping you make it a reality. She may have offered a shoulder to cry on when things were going wrong, or maybe he was the one who showed you that you had a talent you wouldn’t even have guessed. No matter who it was or when it happened, without that teacher, you would be a different person. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of girl-empowering chapter books for young readers.

There's little that compares with the amazing moment when a young reader realizes she can read on her own! It's a tremendous accomplishment when a child gets through her own book from cover to cover. The best way to encourage that practice is to fill your young reader's shelves with fun, exciting, and just-challenging-enough books to read, but finding those books — especially girl-empowering titles — can often be difficult. Sometimes you need a leveled reader that suits your child's ability, and sometimes you're looking for the perfect early chapter book. Whatever you're looking for, you want it to be entertaining enough to catch their attention but of sufficient quality to properly exercise their reading skills. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of books, pretend play toys, science kits, and clothing celebrating doctors and nurses!

If there's one thing that the coronavirus pandemic taught us, it's that health professionals are heroes! From the doctors and nurses providing care in clinics and hospitals, to the lab technicians running tests, to the researchers investigating medications and vaccines, the public developed a deeper appreciation for medical professionals and the work that they do. And that means that kids may be showing a new interest in medicine and the human body — both in their play and as a possible future career! Continue reading → Continue reading

The best new children's books about girls and women in science!

Girls and women are curious, intelligent, persistent, and bold: it's no wonder they can be such good scientists! While women in STEM have fought prejudice for years — much of which still lingers today — they've also made important discoveries, invented world-changing things, and helped humanity make great leaps in our understanding of our planet, the universe, and more. Continue reading → Continue reading

The best new books for children and teens about incredible girls and women for Women's History Month 2022.

If you love to introduce kids to incredible girls and women from history, it's been another year full of fabulous new books for children and teens! Their fascinating stories give kids — girls and boys alike — a more nuanced and complete understanding of history, while also providing role models for the next generation of groundbreaking women to come. Continue reading → Continue reading

In order to be ready for her daring, adventurous days, your Mighty Girl needs to get a good night’s rest! But it can be hard settling down for sleep when there’s an exciting world out there to be discovered. Most kids love the chance to curl up and read together with the people they love as a way to wind down before bed. Whether you're reading a book about bedtime, or just one that gets her into a quiet, contemplative mood, bedtime books can make those last few minutes one of the favorite parts of her day — and yours.

To help get your kids ready for bed, we’re showcasing 25 of our favorite bedtime books starring Mighty Girls. Hopefully, these stories — ranging from the sweet and fanciful to the clever and funny — will help everyone in the family get a good night’s sleep!

If you'd like to find books to read together with older children who have moved beyond picture books, check out the recommendations in our special collection of 150 Read Aloud Books Starring Mighty Girls. Continue reading → Continue reading

56% of girls say they have been sexually harassed at school, but little is being done to help them and 79% of schools claim there were zero incidents of sexual harassment during the entire school year.

For many women, their first experience with sexual harassment doesn't happen in college or at a job: it happens when they are schoolgirls. Among girls in grades 7 to 12, one national study found that 56% of experienced sexual harassment at school, and the impact of this harassment on girls' well-being was often substantial with 22% reporting trouble sleeping and 37% not wanting to go to school as a result. Adults are sometimes hesitant to talk about this topic in middle school, but there's increasing evidence that these discussions about boundaries, respect, and consent can pay off in unexpected ways. "Sexual and gender-based harassment can be difficult subjects to broach, but abuse thrives on silence," writes Dr. Jasmine D. Williams, a research scientist at the Committee for Children. "By taking harassment seriously, educators and families help empower students to address [these] issues." Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's recommended books and resources for preparing girls for their first periods.

Do you remember having your period for the first time? Were you relieved, scared, or confused? Did you know what was happening, or were you told after the fact? Did you think you could bleed to death, or believe that you couldn’t swim or go to gym class? Did you hear someone make joking references to women being “on the rag” and think, “I’ll die of embarrassment if anyone knows?” Did you feel like you were prepared?

In a world that is increasingly public about all sorts of previously private topics, menstruation is often still a taboo subject. What information girls do hear around them is often negative or incorrect, and even school health classes that discuss the subject often focus on the “nuts and bolts” without ever touching on the real, practical experience of a monthly cycle. As a result menarche — a girl’s first period — is still likely to be disconcerting for her.

But parents, mentors, and friends of Mighty Girls can turn this milestone of womanhood into a much more positive experience. By providing lots of accurate information, real-life experience, and practical advice, girls can learn to view their menstrual cycle in a totally different way: as an important element of their female nature and as a key sign of coming adulthood. In this blog post, we’ll help you turn a girl’s first period into an empowering experience. Continue reading → Continue reading