40 of our favorite Mighty Girl stories starring smart, confident, and courageous princesses!

A princess is always pretty, sweet, passive, and needs a prince to rescue her, right? Wrong!

At A Mighty Girl, we receive many questions from people searching for empowering depictions of princesses — books that prove that princesses can be much so more than the limited stereotype usually applied! Instead, princess characters can be smart, strong, courageous, daring, and kind; and most importantly, they can be individuals, just like the children who love hearing their stories.

In this blog post, we feature 40 of our favorite independent princess stories but this is just a small sample of the many great titles available. In our popular special feature The Ultimate Guide to the Independent Princess, you'll find more than 100 books starring smart, confident, and courageous princesses for all ages! Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of books, toys, and gear to inspire young astronomers -- and introduce them to the women who helped us understand the stars.

On August 21, people across North America will get the chance to witness a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event: a solar eclipse! It's the first total eclipse in the continental US since 1979, and for central US states, the first total eclipse since 1918. Even for those not in the zone of totality, partial eclipses will be visible in many places. So it's no wonder that there is so much excitement brewing — and with it, a surge of interest in astronomy and all things space!

If the upcoming eclipse has your kids clamoring to learn more about astronomy, this is the perfect time to pursue their interest — and to share stories of the little-known women who have made enormous contributions to the field. In this blog post, we're providing a selection of books to talk about the eclipse itself and gear to view the eclipse safely,  as well as a variety of toys and science kits to support an interest in astronomy, and books about female astronomers throughout history. It's a great way to show kids of all ages that the sky doesn't have to be the limit! Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of science kits for summer fun, learning, & discovery!

With summer here, there's no better time for kids to delve deeper into topics that interest them — including a love of science! An intriguing science kit is an excellent choice for a summer activity: kids will love being able to learn hands-on and at their own pace. To help you find one that's just right for a Mighty Girl in your life, we've featured two dozen of our favorites in this blog post, with options for preschoolers through middle schoolers. And, with science kits on everything from geology to forensics to chemistry, there's sure to be one to excite every budding young scientist! Continue reading → Continue reading

New biographies about Mighty Women for inspiration during Women's History Month and throughout the year!

On A Mighty Girl, we feature thousands of books for children and teens about smart, confident, and courageous girls and women, but we are also often asked for reading recommendations for adults about inspiring women of the past and present. To that end, in this blog post, we're sharing 55 of our favorite biographies for older teen and adult readers about Mighty Women that were published in 2016 and 2017.

Among these titles are insightful introductions to oft-neglected female scientists, gripping tales about heroism during wartime, and thoughtful reflections on the quest for women's rights. Since A Mighty Girl's website does not have a book section for adult readers, you won't find these recommendations on our site; however, we've included links below to Amazon so you can learn more or order individual titles.

So whether you're looking for a good book to delve into during Women's History Month or any time of year, these women's stories are sure to inspire!
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The best girl-empowering books from February 2017 for kids, teens, & adults.

With so many new books constantly being released, it can be challenging to stay up on all of the great new titles for you and your Mighty Girl! After all, we add dozens of new releases to A Mighty Girl's vast collection of girl-empowering books every month. To help make it easier for you to discover new favorites, we've showcased our top new releases from February 2017 in a new blog post. With 20 books for all ages, from young children through adults, there's something for everyone looking for a new book to dive into!
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A Mighty Girl's top picks of the best new biographies for children and teens about incredible women from around the world.

If you flip through a typical history book, you might think, as historian Gerda Lerner once wrote, that "ostensibly one-half the human race is doing everything significant and the other half doesn’t exist." Far too often, women's contributions have been neglected in history books and school curriculums — fortunately, there are growing numbers of wonderful books being published for young readers about girls and women who made their mark on history. And, there's no better time to share these stories and make sure that the next generation — girls and boys alike — appreciates the important and diverse roles that women have played in history than during Women's History Month!

With that in mind, in this blog post, we've collected the best biographies on remarkable women that have been published in the past 12 months, since the last Women's History Month. These books for children and teens feature girls and women who excelled in science, politics, the arts, athletics, and other fields. And, they serve as an excellent reminder that women's stories deserve to be told, not just during Women's History Month, but all year long.

For more books of inspiring girls and women from around the world, check out the hundreds of biographies and works of historical fiction in A Mighty Girl's History & Biography Collection. Continue reading → Continue reading

Simple actions you can take to show support for refugees in your community.

This week, in honor of Valentine's Day, we're spreading love by helping refugees in our local communities. Right now, the world is in the midst of the greatest refugee crisis since WWII. According to UNHCR, there are 21 million people worldwide who have been forced to seek safety in a new land due to war or conflict — and half of all refugees are children.

When refugees arrive in a new country, often with few belongings and not speaking the language, staring a new life can be challenging. Support from the local community, however, can made a tremendous difference, especially at making people feel welcome during these times when anti-refugee/anti-immigrant rhetoric has become all too common.

In this blog post, we've shared a number of simple actions that you can take to show support for the refugees in your community, both in the US and in Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Since refugee resettlement in the U.S. has also been the subject of significant confusion recently, we've also provided a short overview of how it works and an update on recent events. Finally, if you'd like to talk to children about refugees and why supporting them matters, you can find books to share with both children and teens in our blog post, Seeking Safety in a New Land: 15 Books About Mighty Girl Refugees.

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Over 150 photos of Mighty Girls standing up for girls and women's rights at the historic Women's Marches held worldwide on January 21.

Millions of people took to the streets at Women's Marches around the world on January 21, 2017 in an unprecedented show of solidarity and support for the belief that women's rights are human rights. At the 914 Women's Marches that were held in all 50 states and over 60 countries, girls and young women participated in vast numbers. This day gave these girls an unforgettable life lesson about the power of their own voice in creating change – and the responsibility of every citizen to use that voice to stand up for their rights and the rights of others.

In this blog post, we're showcasing just a small fraction of the incredible photos of Mighty Girls at Women’s Marches worldwide that have been shared with us. Thank you to the many people who have shared their march stories and photos on A Mighty Girl's Facebook page. And, most importantly, thank you to everyone who participated in a Women's March – while the fight for girls and women's rights will continue, our voices on this inspiring day of action were powerful and sent the clear and unmistakable message: "We're not going away."
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75 New & Classic Girl-Empowering Books for Holiday Gift Giving!

"I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book." — J. K. Rowling

When you’re looking for a gift for a book lover of any age, the natural choice is a good book! And, while the hundreds of titles in A Mighty Girl's book collection have been vetted to ensure they are both high quality and girl empowering, we understand that during the busy holiday season a 'cheat' sheet of the best Mighty Girl books for gifting can make choosing a book for a special child or young person much easier. To that end, in this blog post, we've complied a selection of enduring Mighty Girl favorites, alongside a number of the best 2016 new releases (which are marked by a brand new icon below). From gorgeously-illustrated picture books to thought-provoking teen fiction, these titles will delight, intrigue, educate, and inspire girls and boys alike!

To discover more 2016 releases, stay tuned for our annual 'Year in Review' round-up of the best Mighty Girl books of 2016, which we'll be releasing in early January.

Of course, you can also find many more reading recommendations in our entire collection of nearly 2,500 Mighty Girl books for all ages. And, for anyone looking for reading recommendations for adults, don't miss our new blog post Stories of Mighty Women: 2016 Biographies for Adult Readers. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of empowering dolls and action figures for all ages!

Dolls and figurines have been favorite pretend play toys for hundreds of years, but there are a lot more choices now than there were in the past! Today, dolls and action figures can represent historical figures; popular book, TV, and movie characters; or people from around the world. With more options available, kids can imagine themselves as just about anything!

If you’ve been looking for a unique doll or exciting action figure for your Mighty Girl, you'll find dozens of our favorites in this blog post. From cuddly plushes for the littlest kids to highly detailed action figures and collectibles for older kids, teens, and even adults, there’s something here for everyone!

For more empowering toys of all varieties, from science to active play, visit our 2016 Girl Empowerment Holiday Gift Guide and our 2016 Holiday Guide blog series. Continue reading → Continue reading