Our top picks of Mighty Girl books about mermaids!

For hundreds of years, and in ocean-bordered countries around the world, people have dreamed about mysterious creatures — part human, part fish — that live under the waves: mermaids! Many traditional fairy tales turn mermaids into passive figures, waiting around to be discovered or to fall in love with a human man. But there are much more engaging and empowering mermaid stories to be told, ones that play with the myth to tell stories of secret underwater worlds, exciting adventures, and magical friendships! Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's favorite stories for young children starring black Mighty Girls.

All children love seeing faces like theirs within the pages of their picture books. While for many years it was often challenging to find books starring kids of color, there has been an explosion in the number of diverse books published in recent years. A study by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that 14.2% of children's books starred African American characters in 2022 compared to only 3.3% of children's books in 2012— a percentage now higher than the African American share of the population in the United States at 13.6%. Greater diversity in books not only gives children of color an opportunity to see themselves in stories but also helps broaden the perspective of all children by fostering children's sense of empathy and connection with characters who might look different from themselves. Continue reading → Continue reading

Our top picks of books about trailblazing African-American girls and women!

Too often the stories of African-American women, who historically faced both gender and racial discrimination, have been hidden from many mainstream histories. Fortunately, in recent years, many have had their stories told in children's books and, in our blog post, we've featured 99 books for all ages, from tots to teens, about trailblazing African-American women and their diverse contributions to history. Their stories are heroic, heartbreaking, and hopeful, and are perfect for reading with your kids during Black History Month and all year round! Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of books about the Holocaust for children and teens in recognition of Holocaust Remembrance Week.

"Hatred eats the soul of the hater, not the hated." — Alice Herz Sommer, Holocaust survivor

Each year on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is held annually on Saturday, January 27, we take time to remember those who died — and those who survived — during the infamous Nazi regime. It is a difficult topic for any of us, but particularly difficult to discuss with children. How do you talk about something so beyond most children’s contemplation in a way that respects the experience of those who lived it? Continue reading → Continue reading

This trailblazing engineer became the first person in history to design a Naval ship using a computer.

Raye Montague, the groundbreaking engineer and ship designer, smashed both gender and racial barriers to revolutionize Naval ship design and become the U.S. Navy's first female program manager of ships. While Montague was the first person to ever design a ship on a computer, her contributions were little known until Margot Lee Shetterly's book Hidden Figures, which told the story of African American female mathematicians at NASA, generated a new interest in other little-known women who made remarkable contributions with their technical prowess. Montague, who died in late 2018 and whose story has been told in the picture book, The Girl With A Mind For Math, always credited her mother's insistence on education for giving her the push she needed to reach for her dreams. "You’ll have three strikes against you," she remembered her saying. "You’re female, you’re black and you’ll have a Southern segregated school education. But you can be or do anything you want, provided you’re educated." Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top 50 books for children and teens about heroic girls and women who fought for justice during the Civil Rights Movement.

From the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Greensboro sit-ins, the Freedom Rides, school integrations, the March on Washington, Freedom Summer, the Selma to Montgomery marches, we hear many stories about the pivotal events of the Civil Rights Movement, but so many are about the remarkable men in leadership positions at the time. But what of the women? What of the girls? Rosa Parks’ story is a powerful and important one, but surely hers can’t be the only story of courageous girls and women in the Civil Rights era. Continue reading → Continue reading

Our favorite Mighty Girl stories about the love between girls and their parents, grandparents, and siblings!

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, it’s a great time to talk to your Mighty Girl about love — not just romantic love, but the many other kinds of love she’ll encounter in her life. After all, while your Mighty Girl may be years away from experiencing romantic love, she’s sure to have family who love her! Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's favorite books and resources focused on charity, giving, and community service to inspire all kids to make a difference!

On January 15, the United States recognizes the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., the civil rights leader who famously said "Life's most persistent and urgent question is: 'What are you doing for others?'" To honor King’s memory, since 1994 this federal holiday has also been celebrated as a day of service. The website for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service encourages people to think of the holiday as “a day on, not a day off” by volunteering for local causes. Continue reading → Continue reading

From devoted friends to wise teachers to ferocious beasts, you'll find dragons of all varieties in our collection of Mighty Girl dragon stories!

When you talk about fantastic creatures, some people picture fairies, or unicorns, or elves — and some picture dragons! Your Mighty Girl may imagine herself as the daring soul who cows the dragon by force of arm or clever wit, or she might picture herself with a devoted dragon friend, flying to new heights and learning arcane secrets. With versions of dragons in almost every culture, filling every role from devoted mentors to ferocious beasts, there’s probably a dragon to suit any Mighty Girl’s dream. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of survival stories starring girls for tweens and teens.

When disaster strikes, it takes courage, ingenuity, and determination to see yourself and your loved ones through! Not only do these action-packed stories provide exciting thrills and nail-biting suspense, but they also capture the experience of living through a moment when your world gets turned upside down: when the only thing you can rely on is yourself. And while the vast majority of both classic and modern survival stories star boys, increasingly authors are recognizing that it's time for girls to show that they can take the lead and save themselves, even in the most harrowing of circumstances! Continue reading → Continue reading