Our top picks of books for children and teens about the fight for girls' right to attend school.

When you’re a child in a developed nation today, you don’t really think much about going to school — it’s just what everyone does. And yet, according to A World At School, a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing educational access, there are an estimated 57 million children around the world who do not go to school, and another 250 million who attend school but never learn to read and write.

This is a problem that particularly affects girls: according to A World At School, “Girls represent 32 million of the out-of school children. They face discrimination, and are forced into marriage and even subjected to violence for wanting to learn. Every day, 25,000 girls are forced into marriage and out of school – the end of their only opportunity to learn.” Continue reading → Continue reading

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

When Women's History Month rolls around, it can be amazing to discover just how many women of note you've never heard of before. In fact, adults in our community often comment on our posts wondering why they hadn't heard of a particular woman before. Scientists, artists, explorers, and more — too often these names and accomplishments are new to all of us.

Fortunately, for the next generation, these inspiring women could be household names! From beautiful picture books to intriguing middle-grade and young adult biographies, there are more high quality stories of women who made their mark on the world than ever before. And the more of these books we put in their hands, the more today's kids — both girls and boys — will seek to learn more about the contributions of women in history.

With that in mind, this blog post showcases dozens of inspiring new Mighty Girl biographies for you to share with the children and teens in your life. All 2015 and 2016 releases, these books capture the fascinating lives and impressive accomplishments of women who made their marks on the world. And who knows? Someday, one of the Mighty Girls reading them might just be the subject of her own biography! Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of books about healthy relationships for tweens and teens in recognition of Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month.

Tweens and teens are entering a new world of love and romantic relationships. But when you combine the overwhelming emotions of first crushes and partners with the emotional complexity of tween and teen minds, it can be hard to figure out whether a relationship is real — and whether it's healthy. Add in media messages that glorify unhealthy behavior — how many romantic comedies involve the boy who just won't give up on the girl who said no? — and kids can find it extremely difficult to figure out what healthy romantic love really looks like.

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, which makes it the perfect time to start conversations about healthy relationships with the Mighty Girls in your life. Dating violence among teens is a big issue: according to Loveisrespect, an organization dedicated to helping teens in unhealthy and abusive relationships, one in three US teens will experience physical, sexual, or emotional abuse from a partner before they reach adulthood. But parents and educators who teach kids about what a positive, respectful relationship looks like — and how to identify an unhealthy one — can make a huge difference.

So this February, start talking to your kids about what healthy relationships look like! By sharing these stories, and talking about what makes real love so empowering and special, we can help the next generation find the loving, respectful partners they deserve. Continue reading → Continue reading

Earlier this month, we shared our top picks of 2015 Mighty Girl stories for toddlers and young children in our post, Top 2015 Mighty Girl Books for Young Children. This year's releases included a bounty of girl-empowering fiction and biographies for both middle grade and young adult readers. In this blog post, we're sharing many of our favorites from the past year. With such a wide diversity of books ranging from realistic fiction to fantasy -- all starring Mighty Girl protagonists -- there's sure to be a title to intrigue every reader young and old alike!

For our favorite picture books and early chapter books from 2015, visit our post on the Top 2015 Mighty Girl Books for Young Children. You can also view our entire collection of recent Mighty Girl releases in our special feature 2015 Mighty Girl Books: A Year in Review.

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A great way to encourage girls' interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields is by sharing stories starring girls and women who love science and technology! Seeing female faces as scientists, whether in the lab or out in the field, is a powerful message to girls that these subjects are open to all. And, while introducing them to real-life women in STEM through biographies is important, fictional stories showing science-loving girls and women are another excellent way to entice girls with the unlimited possibilities before them.

With that in mind, we're showcasing our favorite fictional books for both children and teens starring Mighty Girls who love science, engineering, and math — each in their own thematic section below. With options ranging from the fun and fanciful to the more contemplative, you're sure to discover a title to excite every budding scientist or engineer, girls and boys alike — after all, both need to learn that science is for everyone!

If you're looking for books for children and teens about real-life female scientists, you can find dozens of titles in our Science Biographies section. And, for toys and science kits to further support her interests, check out the recommendations in our blog posts: Wrapped Up In Science: Top 40 Science Toys for Mighty Girls and Building Her Dreams: Building and Engineering Toys for Mighty Girls. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

2015 has been a fantastic year for new Mighty Girl books! We're thrilled to see so many authors, illustrators, and publishers producing books that celebrating brave, intelligent, creative, and confident girls! In fact, our 2015 Year In Review collection features nearly 200 titles!

In this blog post, we're showcasing many of our favorite 2015 girl-empowering releases for toddlers, preschoolers, and early elementary-aged children, including board books, picture books, and early chapter books. With a wide assortment of books featuring diverse characters, engaging stories, and creative artwork, there's sure to be a title to delight every child!

And if you're looking for a tween or teen, stay tuned, check out our blog post,
Top 2015 Mighty Girl Books for Tweens and Teens, for our favorite new releases for older readers. You can also browse our entire 2015 Year In Review collection for options for all ages. Continue reading → Continue reading

If you're still on the lookout for the perfect gift for a Mighty Girl in your life, we've pulled together many of our favorite toys from our holiday gift series -- all of which are still available in time for Christmas! Like our annual Girl Empowerment Holiday Gift Guide, the toys featured in this post reflect the diverse range of girls' interests, including science toys, arts & crafts, building toys, dolls, active play toys, and games. We've also included recommendations for both children and teens and organized the selection from youngest to oldest to make it simple to find toys at just the right age. Regardless of what ends up under your tree this year, A Mighty Girl wishes you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Please note that all the toys featured in this post were verified to be available for delivery via Amazon Prime in time for Christmas as of 12/21. Prime shipping allows for 2-day shipping the US and Canada and 1-day shipping in the UK. Relevant links for ordering via Amazon Prime are included below each toy description. Toy availability does change continually so we recommend verifying delivery dates before ordering.

For more girl-empowering toys of all varieties, check out our 2015 Holiday Gift Guide and our 2015 Gift Guide Blog Series. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

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.

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 post. From poseable dolls to cuddly plush toys to action figures, there's a new best friend awaiting every child!

For more empowering dolls for all ages, you can browse our full collection of over 350 Dolls and Action Figures. For more girl-empowering toys of all varieties, including science, building, and arts & crafts, check out our 2015 Girl Empowerment Holiday Gift Guide and our 2015 Holiday Guide blog series. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

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, we're sharing thirty of our favorite books for adults about Mighty Women that were published in 2015.

Among these titles are gripping stories of survival, insightful introductions to oft-neglected female scientists, hilarious tales about life in the entertainment industry, and thoughtful reflections on the quest for women's rights. Our recommendations are all biographies with the exception of one remarkable work of historical fiction, The Nightingale, and a fascinating non-fiction guide, 100 Under $100: One Hundred Tools for Empowering Global Women. 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 or a holiday gift for a friend, these women's stories are sure to inspire! And, to learn about our recommended 2015 releases for children and teens, don't miss our new post, The Gift of Reading: 50 Newly Released Books Starring Mighty Girls.

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By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

When you’re looking for a gift for a book lover, the natural choice is a good book! There’s nothing more exciting for an avid reader than unwrapping a title they have been dying to read — or discovering an exciting new book they haven't heard of yet.

2015 has been a great year for Mighty Girl book releases so to help you find just the right book to wrap up this holiday, we're sharing fifty of our favorite girl-empowering titles that were released this year. From gorgeously-illustrated picture books to thought-provoking teen fiction, these titles will delight, intrigue, educate, and inspire girls and boys alike!

This post also provides a sneak peek at our upcoming 2015 Mighty Girl Year in Review series, which we’ll be releasing at the end of the year. Of course, you can also find many more reading recommendations in our entire collection of nearly 2,500 Mighty Girl books for all ages. Continue reading → Continue reading