A Mighty Girl's top picks of the best new biographies for children and teens about incredible women from around the world.

Some of the greatest minds in the history of the world have been dismissed because they were covered with curls and bows. — Historian Gerda Lerner, founder of the field of women's history

When you think back to your history classes in school, you may realize, as Gerda Lerner did, that "ostensibly one-half the human race is doing everything significant and the other half doesn’t exist." But increasingly, we are reclaiming history, telling the stories of the girls and women whose contributions to our shared story deserve to be celebrated! As parents and educators, it's also important that we tell these stories to all of our children, boys and girls alike, so that they live in a world where history has always been about the contributions of all of humanity.

In honor of Women's History Month, we've collected the best biographies that have been published in the past 12 months about remarkable, determined, trailblazing women! These books for children and teens feature a broad range of women in many different fields, from science to the arts to politics and activism, making them excellent additions to any bookshelf or school curriculum. Whether you're sharing a picture book biography at bedtime or introducing your teen to an inspiring new hero, these books will remind them to tell women's stories all year long! Continue reading → Continue reading

"These aren't just the stories of famous people. This is what we're all capable of on our very best days."

For the past four years, Brad Meltzer's best-selling series Ordinary People Change the World has been teaching kids that 'everyone can be a hero' while introducing them to a variety of amazing people throughout history. This week, A Mighty Girl spoke with Brad about the release of his 15th book in the series, I Am Harriet Tubman, what he hopes kids take away from his books, and his plans for the future of the popular series.

To celebrate the new book's release, A Mighty Girl supporters can sign up to win an autographed set of all seven books from the series focused on the stories of Mighty Women. To enter, visit our I Am Harriet Tubman & Ordinary People Change the World Giveaway page. Continue reading → Continue reading

Our top picks of girl-empowering wordless picture books that will send kids' imaginations soaring!

Storytime is a popular ritual for many children — but what if the story has no words? Wordless picture books provide a unique storytelling experience, one that’s more interactive than a regular picture book: instead of just listening to you read, you and your child get to explore the action on the page and tell the story yourselves! A good wordless book, full of evocative illustrations with vivid details, encourages creativity and fosters plenty of discussion, either one on one or in a class group.

If you’re interested in incorporating wordless picture books into your library, we've showcased our favorites girl-empowering titles in this post. These intriguing, funny, and touching books will intrigue readers young and old alike!

For many more picture books starring Mighty Girls — with and without words — visit our Picture Book Collection.

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A Mighty Girl's round-up of the best last-minute deals on girl-empowering toys!

In our final toy round-up of the season, we're helping out the last-minute shoppers: all of the girl-empowering toys featured in this blog post are currently on sale and still available in time for Christmas. From science sets to pretend play sets featuring popular characters like Princess Leia and Doc McStuffins, we've included a range of options to appeal to Mighty Girls' diverse interests. And, best of all, with free two-day shipping for Prime members, you still have time to have it under the tree on Christmas morning! Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of Wonder Woman-themed books, toys, costumes, and clothing for children and adults.

For seventy-five years, Diana of the Amazons — better known to the world as Wonder Woman — has been thrilling fans young and old! The DC superhero has been an icon of feminism, a champion of peace and truth, and an inspiration to girls in particular, presenting them with a strong, powerful female pop culture role model. And with the live-action Wonder Woman movie becoming one of this year's blockbuster successes, a whole new generation of Mighty Girls has been thrilled to see their hero on the big screen!

To celebrate Wonder Woman's rise, we've put together a blog post showcasing our favorite Wonder Woman-themed books, toys, costumes, and clothing for both children and adults. No matter your age, there's plenty of ways that you can let your love of Wonder Woman shine! Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of Hape Toys for Holiday Deals Week!

With a week full of great deals — perfectly timed for holiday shopping — we know that our community has their eyes open for exciting options for the kids on their gift lists. For Wednesday only, Amazon is offering a special promotion on toys from Hape, a company that makes high-quality, gender-neutral, ecologically-conscious toys, and we wanted to make sure our community didn't miss out!

In this blog post, we're highlighting twenty Hape toys suitable for young children. From marble runs to art easels, from wagons to workbenches, these toys encourage creative, open-ended play that's great for all kids, girls and boys alike. Plus, their solid wood construction ensures that they're durable enough to take everything that your Mighty Girls have to dish out! Parents will also appreciate eco-friendly details like the sustainably sourced wood, BPA-free plastic, and non-toxic dyes used in Hape's construction. Most importantly, these are toys that have stood the test of time that kids will love! Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's 2017 Halloween Gallery is now live! A small sample of the nearly 2,000 photos submitted can be viewed in our Halloween Highlights post.

Thank you to everyone who submitted photos of their Mighty Girls in costume to our 2017 Halloween Gallery! We received nearly 2,000 photo submissions to this year's gallery and were awed by the creativity and variety of these Mighty Girls' amazing costumes. As we've always said, Mighty Girls know that their costume possibilities are limited only by their imaginations and with costumes ranging from ones based on favorite superheroes to ones inspired by historic role models, these Mighty Girls clearly know no bounds!

In this blog post, we've showcased a small sample of these incredible costumes -- to browse all of the amazing costume photos submitted, visit our 2017 Halloween Gallery. And, to help you and your Mighty Girl learn more about the wonderful historic figures and characters depicted, we've also linked to our character collection and biography section where relevant.

And, if you're seeking girl-empowering dress-up clothing or costumes anytime of year, visit our extensive costume collection with options for all ages from infants through adults in A Mighty Girl's Halloween Costume Guide. You can also find Mighty Girl stories for many of the upcoming holidays, including Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas, in our Holidays & Celebrations collection. Continue reading → Continue reading

The viral grassroots project of kids reading books to kids in hurricane-affected areas -- and the drive to rebuild teachers' destroyed classroom libraries.

When Hurricane Harvey struck this week, second grade teacher Kathryn Butler Mills of Katy, Texas quickly learned how many of her students were affected. In photos on social media, she saw “several of my students, past and present, sitting under staircases, in bathrooms, and in pantries, waiting out tornado watches and warnings.” She wanted to find a way to "bring a little normal to them in very not normal circumstances.” After seeing a number of kids pictured with books in hand, she hit on the idea of creating an online book club where kids would record videos of themselves reading aloud to share with other kids who had no books within reach. "I thought, let’s keep the momentum of a brand new school year going and have them record themselves reading for their classmates,” Mills said. “My original plan was that I would make a positive comment on each one, and encourage others to join in.” With that, the Hurricane Harvey Book Club was born! 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

For A Mighty Girl's latest book giveaway, we're thrilled to present Princess Cora and the Crocodile, a soon-to-be-released book by Newbery Medalist Laura Amy Schlitz and Caldecott Medalist Brian Floca! In this lighthearted original fairy tale, Princess Cora is sick of being a proper princess. Longing for the freedom to play and explore, she appeals to her fairy godmother for help -- and, it arrives in the form of a decidingly improper crocodile. With the crocodile disguised as the princess, Cora is free to go on an adventure, exploring the fields and forests nearby – little does she know that her alter ego is wreaking havoc inside the castle! Filled with Schlitz's signature wit, Floca's charming artwork, and starring a young princess who learns the importance of standing up for herself, this delightful illustrated chapter book, recommended for ages 5 to 9, will be a hit with young readers!

Thanks to its publisher, Candlewick Press, we have three pre-release copies of Princess Cora and the Crocodile autographed by author Laura Amy Schlitz to give away to A Mighty Girl supporters. The giveaway is free to enter and the three winners will be randomly selected. With apologies to our many non-US-based supporters, due to legal restrictions, the giveaway is only open to US residents. The last day to enter is Sunday, March 19. Continue reading → Continue reading