By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

Whether it's from preschool or college, graduations are one way that we mark an important transition in a child's or young person's life. If you know a Mighty Girl who is graduating this year, then in the middle of the flurry of school-end projects and graduation party planning, you’ve probably paused for a moment to reflect on the momentous change coming for both of you.

And, whether she's going to be starting school full-time as a first grader or moving cross-country to attend college, you likely want to pass on some words of wisdom as she takes her first steps into this new stage of life. One great way to do this is by giving her an inspiring book that praises her gifts, exhorts her to achieve her potential, and reminds her that you will always be there when she needs you.

With that in mind, A Mighty Girl is proud to present our top ten Mighty Girl books to empower your graduate in her new life. Unlike in other blogs, we won’t reference age recommendations since these books are truly universal: like Dr. Seuss’ classic Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, the importance of these books is in their message of empowerment and inspiration, not in their reading level. Each one will let your graduate know that a Mighty Girl can always find great things, wherever she may go. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

In our Mighty Careers blog series, we celebrate the careers that Mighty Girls around the world are dreaming of pursuing one day! In each blog, we provide a career role model, as well as recommendations for books, clothing, and toys to support and encourage her aspirations. Whether she’s three or thirteen, you’ll find options here to teach her more about her dream job — and help her start preparing to live it!

In this post, we’ll talk about the Mighty Girls who dream of designing the future as engineers. From the first day your infant Mighty Girl tried to figure out how to make her stack of blocks taller, she’s been engineering; but, while numbers are rising, in most nations fewer than 12% of engineers are female. We’re betting this generation of Mighty Girls will change that, but to do so, they need all the support and encouragement we have to give!

If you want to foster your Mighty Girl’s interest in engineering, this blog will give you the resources to do that. Whether you’re sharing stories of women engineers, tinkering with some great engineering toys, or getting her a shirt that lets her declare to everyone what she wants to be when she grows up, you’ll be letting her know that her dream can become reality.

For more Mighty Careers posts, check out the earlier entries in the series about astronauts, wildlife biologists, and pilots. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

Since 1970, Earth Day has grown from a one-time event involving 20 million Americans to an annual global day of awareness involving more than 22,000 organizations in 192 countries. On April 22 and throughout the month of April, people everywhere focus on the wonders of our amazing planet and the need to protect it.

In preparation for Earth Day, A Mighty Girl will provide a variety of resources that parents and educators can use to introduce environmental issues and concerns to children. We begin our new blog series with this post showcasing girl-empowering movies with an environmental theme. These films showcase the beauty and fragility of the Earth and both the fictional and real Mighty Girls and women who have worked to protect it.

So curl up with your Mighty Girl and share one of these great films; they’re sure to get her thinking about how she could change the world. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

For some, it’s a blankie; for others a doll; and for others, a creature entirely of their own imagination! It’s a rare child who doesn’t form a special relationship with a toy or imaginary friend at some point in their life. And while some adults forget how important that relationship can be, others remember how that special friend was the one they could always count on. That’s why there are some amazing books capturing the importance, intensity, and value of all manner of special friends.

To celebrate that unique relationship, we’ve put together a collection of books that star Mighty Girls and their dolls, stuffed animals, imaginary friends, and other, more surprising creatures. Your Mighty Girl will love reading about how these characters and their friends interact — and the stories might just have you digging through attics and storage boxes looking for an old friend of your own!

And, if these stories inspire you to find a new special friend for your Mighty Girl, you can find many girl-empowering dolls and stuffed animals in our Dolls & Action Figures collection. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

After a long winter, the first signs of spring are a welcome sight! Whether your winter has been snowy, icy, rainy, or just grey, spring always seems to bring new energy to everyone — including Mighty Girls. To celebrate the first day of spring, we’ve put together a collection of books and toys that recognize all the joys this season brings.

Celebrating The Changing Season: Books About Spring

For the youngest Mighty Girls, changing seasons are especially fascinating! The world, while still familiar, changes around them as days grow longer and the weather changes. By reading these Mighty Girl books, you’ll give her an idea what to expect and introduce her to the joys that come with spring.

Toddlers will love the Spring Board Book by Gerda Muller (age 0 - 3). One of a series of four wordless books about the seasons, this book showcases all the special things that come with spring — sowing seeds in a garden, playing with lambs, painting Easter eggs, and spotting baby birds. It’s a great way to introduce the season while also fostering imagination and creativity as you talk about the pictures with her.

Another book to inspire your Mighty Girl to think about spring is The Listening Walk by Paul Showers (age 3 - 7). A little girl and her father go on a walk during which no talking is allowed. As they take an unhurried stroll, the sounds they hear hint at all the activity of people and animals in the neighborhood. This revised edition of a classic title features color illustrations that showcase a diverse contemporary community. It’s sure to inspire your own listening walk! Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

With winter comes snow, and with snow comes snow days! It’s a rare kid who doesn’t enjoy these unexpected breaks from the routine of school, but for parents, finding ways to keep kids busy on snow days can be a challenge — especially when snow days are flying as fast and thick as the snow.

Snuggling up on the couch with a good movie is a great way to spend part of a snow day, so if that’s a favorite activity of yours, why not watch a movie starring a smart, strong, courageous girl? In this blog, we’ve collected 10 Mighty Girl movies that are just right for surprise days off. These movies are sure to help your Mighty Girl escape the winter weather as her imagination soars into exciting new worlds.

Of course, the films highlighted here are just a small sample of the girl-empowering films in A Mighty Girl's collection -- to view hundreds of options for all ages, visit our Movie / TV section.

And, to get kids moving after a movie break -- even when it's too cold to get outside and play -- introduce them to a few movement toys from our Indoor Active Toy Collection. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

Welcome to the next installment of our blog series, Mighty Careers! In this series, we celebrate careers that your Mighty Girl may be dreaming of pursuing one day. In each blog, we’ll profile a career role model and provide recommendations for books, toys, clothing, and even room decor to help inspire your Mighty Girl. Whether she’s three or thirteen, there will be resources to help her learn more about her dream job, imagine herself living it, and let the world know what she hopes to be when she grows up.

In this blog, we’ll be showcasing a career that can take your Mighty Girl deep into a jungle or to the bottom of a reef: wildlife biologist! Most kids love animals, but for some, seeing them in pictures or in a zoo isn’t enough. Instead, they want to watch them in the wild, living in their natural environment. But despite the prominent women who have made great strides in primatology, marine biology, and other fields, it can still be hard to find good resources featuring female characters.

In this post, we’ve collected a variety of different books featuring female wildlife biologists, as well as toys, clothing, and room decor to encourage and celebrate her love of animals. Whether she’s crazy for manatees or giraffes, lions or chimpanzees, you’ll find some great options here!

To find the first post from our new series, check out our post, Mighty Careers: I Want To Be An Astronaut. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

Welcome to our new blog series, Mighty Careers! In this series, we’re going to celebrate careers that your Mighty Girl may be dreaming of pursuing one day. In each blog, we’ll profile a career role model and provide recommendations for books, toys, clothing, and even room decor to help inspire your Mighty Girl in her aspirations. Whether she’s three or thirteen, there will be resources to help her learn more about her dream job, imagine herself living it, and let the world know what she hopes to be when she grows up.

In the first blog post of the series, we’re focusing on a career field that is popular with many Mighty Girls: astronaut! There’s something about space that captivates many kids, but it's often difficult to find resources that feature girls and women as astronauts.

To make it easier, we've pulled together a series of great fictional books and biographies about female astronauts and space scientists. We've also included recommendations for great pretend play or learning toys to foster her interest in space and astronomy. And, of course, since no space-crazy Mighty Girl’s wardrobe would be complete without a nod or two to her love of the stars, we've also sought out a collection of space-themed clothing.

So take a look at what’s out there to help your Mighty Girl’s dream of space grow! Even if a career in space isn’t in her future, she’ll always remember that you encouraged her to reach for the stars.

For more ways to encourage your Mighty Girl to aim high, check out the other entries in our Mighty Careers series.
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By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

Lots of kids, both girls and boys, love having their own special friend and, with that in mind, we’re showcasing ten of our favorite Mighty Girl dolls and action figures from our extensive collection of empowering dolls.

This selection features dolls that are diverse and dynamic, just like your Mighty Girl, and offer a wide range of both nurturing play and pretend play opportunities. After all, her new best friend should be as amazing as she is!

For more great options, check out our Dolls / Action Figures section, which is divided into separate categories for Dolls, Action Figures, and Stuffed Animals. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

A few days ago, we announced the release of our special feature on the top 2013 Mighty Girl Books with a blog post featuring our favorite 2013 releases for younger readers. In today's post, we're showcasing twenty of the fantastic girl-empowering tween and teen books released this past year!

Our selection features new authors as well as returning ones, and both stand-alone books and volumes of some of our top Mighty Girl series. No matter what your Mighty Girl enjoys reading, she’ll find something to intrigue her here!

Of course, this is just a small sample of the many wonderful books released in 2013. Narrowing down our favorites was truly tricky, so you're sure to discover more great titles in our complete 2013 Mighty Girl Books.

And, if you'd like to discover more recent releases starring Mighty Girls, check out our round-up of the top Mighty Girl stories from last year in our special feature on the 2012 Mighty Girl Books: A Year in Review.

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