Artist Wendy Tsao decided to give Bratz dolls a radical change: by making them over as inspiring women of the past and present! When Tsao saw Sonja Singh’s Tree Change Dolls, a project that transforms Bratz dolls into ordinary girls by removing their exaggerated makeup and redressing them in clothing suitable for rough-and-tumble outdoor play, she says, "It made me wonder about the role of dolls in a child's life -- can they be more than just trendy, sexy, disposable toys? Can we inspire girls more?" So she created an art project dedicated to celebrating amazing women Malala Yousafzai, Jane Goodall, Waris Dirie, Roberta Bondar, and J.K. Rowling -- by making over dolls to look like these role models as children.
Tsao observed that “[t]he dolls we find in toy stores today are often licensed Disney characters or the heroines of Hollywood blockbuster movies that capitalize on the pull of fantasy, fictional characters to young consumers. But there are real-life people who are heroes too, with inspiring stories of courage, intelligence, strength and uniqueness.” She wondered if she could use dolls to make these women more relatable to younger girls. Writing to A Mighty Girl, Tsao commented, "I really admire the women that I featured in my dolls, for what they did or achieved and continue to do. And they should be role models instead of, or at least, alongside the products of Disney and Hollywood. But then, I’m an adult. Perhaps a child can’t appreciate these role models, because these women are famous adults. Maybe we need to show children that these remarkable women were once children too."
So Tsao’s repainted dolls represent inspiring women as they might have looked as girls. “I would have loved to play with Jane Goodall as a child," she told us. "I wonder if a child who plays with a doll of someone who is a real person who did some amazing things when they grow up might think more about real-life things and appreciate more the real potential that lies within all of us, than when she or he plays with say, a Disney character or Bratz doll. You know how we 'outgrow' our toys... Can you outgrow Malala?"
Tsao has been thrilled by the positive response to her dolls, and says "I think that it points to the fact that many people feel strongly about these dolls and what they represent." And, that fact that "toys can become a source of comfort, pride and meaning for a child (and even adults)... As a parent, I’d love for my child to play with a young J.K. Rowling or Malala and have conversations about them."
UPDATE: Each of the dolls featured here are one of a kind and Tsao says that she has no plans to reproduce them. Each of the dolls was auctioned off with 30% of the proceeds donated to support the foundations or causes of these inspiring role models. To view more of Tsao's artwork, including her line of softies based on children's drawings, visit her website, Child's Own Studio.
In addition to Wendy Tsao's transformed dolls below, you can also find many dolls based on famous girls and women in A Mighty Girl's Dolls & Action Figures Collection. Continue reading Continue reading
By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communication Specialist
If realism-based graphic novels amplify and deepen a story grounded in the real world, guess what an author and illustrator can do with a tale of pure fantasy! For young readers, it can be revolutionary to see new worlds, born entirely of someone's imagination, come to life on the page. A good combination of story and artwork can make almost anything seem real and who doesn't love the feeling of being absorbed in a good book?
With that in mind, the second blog post in our graphic novel series features books for children that are set in worlds of fantasy. Whether these stories make just a small tweak to an otherwise realistic setting — like adding friendly robots, escaped doodles, or alligators that really do live in the sewers — or create a completely new world to explore, these books will open kids' minds to the incredible possibilities inherent in storytelling. They might just be inspiring to come up with an amazing new world themselves!
For recommendations of graphic novels that are grounded in real life, check out the first post in our blog series, Life in Pictures: Mighty Girl Graphic Novels for Young Readers about Real Life. You also can browse our entire collection of over 100 graphic novels starring girls and women on a wide variety of themes in our special feature on the Top Graphic Novels Starring Mighty Girls. Continue reading Continue reading
By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist
While many people think of graphic novels as "just comic books", the truth is that a good graphic novel doesn't simplify a story: instead, it amplifies it, drawing out details and adding emotional weight. For young or reluctant readers, in particular, a graphic novel format makes it easier to understand more complex stories. In fact, we'd argue that high-quality graphic novels are a key part of any library!
With that in mind, we're showcasing a selection of high quality graphic novels starring Mighty Girls — and since there are so many good titles out there, we are sharing them in a series, not a single post! In this blog post, we're featuring graphic novels for children that are grounded in real life. While some of these titles are non-fiction and explore moments in history or role models of the past, others are fictional stories that capture what it's like to be a girl growing up in today's world. No matter which one you choose, young readers will see that there are plenty of amazing stories within the everyday world.
And stay tuned for future blog posts, where we'll share graphic novels for young readers that are set in fantasy worlds, as well as more challenging graphic novel titles suitable for teens! In the meantime, you can browse our entire collection of over 100 graphic novels starring girls and women in our special feature on the Top Graphic Novels Starring Mighty Girls. Continue reading Continue reading
By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist
Long or short, straight or curly, in ponytails, locs, or a ballerina bun -- there are so many wonderful ways Mighty Girls wear their hair! But hair can also be the source of body image insecurity for many girls as they wonder if their hair is too thick or too flat, the wrong color or the wrong texture. And, of course, even if she loves her hair, there’s always the battle when it comes time to pull out the brush and comb.
In our new blog post, we're sharing stories about Mighty Girls and their hair. Whether they're celebrating their unique hair, wrestling to keep it under control, or donating it to a worthy cause, these Mighty Girls love their hair -- even if they find it a little challenging at times. They also come to recognize that, in the end, it's not the hair that matters: it's the head underneath!
In Brush Your Hair, Medusa! by Joan Holub (age 1 - 3), Medusa refuses to take proper care of her long, curly hair, which gets knottier and dirtier with every moment. Her hair is so twisted and matted that, when her grandmother finally arrives, she’s frozen in surprise! Grandma knows the solution, though, and after a hairdresser bravely does battle with her locks, Medusa is sporting a brand new - short and easy to maintain - hairstyle.
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Most kids will be familiar with the story of Rapunzel, but that’s not the only flight of fancy with amazing hair! In Dalia’s Wondrous Hair / El cabello maravilloso de Dalia by Laura Lacamara (age 3 - 8), Dalia wakes up one morning to discover that her hair has grown “tall and thick as a Cuban royal palm tree.” When her mother wonders what Dalia will do with her wondrous hair, Dalia has an idea and starts plastering her hair with mud and leaves. The next morning, when she carefully unwraps her towering hair, it turns out that her hair has been protecting something very special! This imaginative bilingual picture book is sure to charm nature-loving Mighty Girls.
For an equally fanciful story about hair — with a healthy dollop of humor! — check out Laurie Halse Anderson’s The Hair of Zoe Fleefenbacher Goes To School (age 4 - 8). As a baby, Zoe needed two strollers and two cribs: one for her, and one for her unruly hair. By the time she’s started school, her wild tresses are becoming a problem, deliberately flaunting the strict Ms. Trisk’s first grade classroom rules. Determined to tame Zoe’s hair, Ms. Trisk and Zoe’s parents try barrettes, braids, even duct tape but the hair always springs free. It will take some clever thinking and a willingness to compromise for Zoe — and her hair — to find the right balance between individuality and following the rules. Continue reading Continue reading
By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist
For many families, summer means time to travel! But whether you’re driving or flying, visiting family or exploring a new area of the country or the world, one of the biggest challenges of a long trip can be finding ways to entertain kids on the journey, especially if you're trying to limit screen time. To make it easier, we've pulled together recommendations for travel activities that can keep kids of all ages content and busy on your trip — so many, in fact, that we can’t fit them all in one blog post!
In this post, we focus on travel games that are compact and perfect for tossing into backpacks and carry-on bags to be pulled out whenever you need them. We’ve included options for one person to use alone, as well as multi-player games, and even some fun learning and creative games that can give your kids' fun ways to build on what they learned in school over the year.
The games featured in this post are just a small sample of the games found on A Mighty Girl -- to browse our entire selection, visit our Travel Games section. Continue reading Continue reading
By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist
The love between fathers and daughters can be the inspiration for some incredible music. As part of our celebration of the wonderful Dads out there raising Mighty Girls, we wanted to share our top five father-daughter songs. Whether the song is in the father’s voice, wondering at this amazing girl in his life, or in the daughter’s voice, reflecting on the strength her father gives her, these songs are sure to be a hit this Father’s Day!
We will describe each song here, but for more details, including information for parents about content in the lyrics or video, and to preview songs via embedded YouTube videos, please click on the links to view the full entries. Most of these songs, like the majority of the titles featured in A Mighty Girl’s music section, are available through Amazon.com’s MP3 download service, via the links on each song's page. By using the links on A Mighty Girl, you also help to support the site at no added cost to you, and can have your Father’s Day playlist set up in no time!
For Mighty Girl books that celebrate the father-daughter relationship, please also check out our first Father’s Day blog, A Father’s Love: A Mighty Girl Celebrates Father’s Day. Continue reading Continue reading
By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist
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Do you remember having your period for the first time? Were you relieved, scared, confused? Did you know what was happening, or were you told after the fact? Did you think you could bleed to death or make people sick, 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 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, we’ll help you turn a girl’s first period into an empowering experience. Continue reading Continue reading
By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist
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It’s played by 250 million people in over 200 countries, and in many nations, it’s the most prominent women’s team sport. Women’s soccer games have been recorded since the late 19th century, and today, 177 nations have national women’s soccer teams. Best of all, the future looks bright for women’s soccer: girls’ soccer leagues continue to thrive, with gender representation among youth soccer players almost exactly 50-50. With such an incredible love of the Beautiful Game out there, it’s no wonder that many Mighty Girls have been eagerly awaiting the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup!
To celebrate this event — and the love of girls and women everywhere for the sport — we’ve collected some of our favorite books, toys, posters, and clothes celebrating the great game of soccer. We hope that these resources will have your Mighty Girl dreaming of her favorite game long after the World Cup is won.
In addition to our recommendations below, there's also a guidebook to everything going on during the 2015 Women's World Cup, FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015: The Official Book. Continue reading Continue reading
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By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist
Moms can be an incredible source of inspiration, but that doesn’t mean they can’t use a little inspiration themselves! Stories of the incredible women of past and present aren’t just great to share with Mighty Girls: they’re also a great gift when you want to honor the place a woman has filled in your life.
If you’re looking for a good book as a gift for Mother’s Day, we feature a variety of intriguing biographies in our new blog post, including many new releases. These bios tell the stories of a a diverse range of women, from King Peggy, an American secretary who changed the future of an African village, to Nancy Wake, the SOE operative who was the Gestapo’s most wanted person in World War II, to 80-year-old world champion triathlete Sister Madonna Bruder, also known as the Iron Nun. The common thread that connects them all, though, is daring and determination. These are definitely Mighty women!
For even more adult biographies which would make excellent gift options, check out the recommendations in our previous blog post Stories of Mighty Women: New Biographies for Adult Readers.
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By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist
Happy Earth Day! Around the world today, people are taking action to help protect our environment. By demonstrating responsible, green practices today, we hope to inspire people to make environmentally friendly choices throughout the year.
In honor of this day dedicated to awareness and action, A Mighty Girl is sharing the stories of ten female environmental heroes. These girls and women — scientists, activists, and innovators — have each done something that makes us see protecting the Earth a little differently. These heroes are from both past and present; some of them have acted locally, while others are influential around the world; but each of them has discovered a way that we can become better caretakers of our planet. By celebrating them, A Mighty Girl hopes that other Mighty Girls will consider ways that they can make a difference too.
For resources about the environment to share with your children, check out our earlier blogs Mighty Girls Save the World: Environmental Films Starring Girls and Women and Mighty Girls Go Green: 15 Books for Earth Day.
Jane Goodall: Groundbreaking Primatologist and Conservationist
Jane Goodall with orphan chimpanzee Urahara (Photo: Michael Neugebauer)Jane Goodall was remarkable enough for breaking into the male-dominated world of wildlife biology, and for her astonishing discoveries regarding chimpanzee behavior. However, her work to draw global attention to the protection of chimpanzee habitat, and to conservation in general, is just as remarkable! Today, just after her 81st birthday, Goodall still devotes the vast majority of her time to conservation efforts, traveling as many as 300 days a year to speak about environmental issues.
The Jane Goodall Institute, which she founded in 1977, works to help individuals around the world make informed, environmentally responsible decisions as they engage in growth and development; the Institute’s Roots and Shoots youth program, founded in 1991, began with a group of 16 teenagers and now has 10,000 groups in over 100 countries. There is no doubt that Goodall has fulfilled her self-proclaimed mission “to create a world where we can live in harmony with nature.”
If you'd like to introduce your children to Jane Goodall's incredible story, here are a few of our favorite books about this inspiring role model: The Watcher: Jane Goodall's Life with the Chimps (age 4 to 8), Me... Jane (age 3 to 8), Who is Jane Goodall (age 8 to 12), an autobiography by Goodall entitled My Life with the Chimpanzees (age 8 to 12), and a graphic novel Primates (age 12 and up).
For more books, a documentary, and other resources, visit our Jane Goodall Collection. Continue reading Continue reading