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 Lili Sandler, A Mighty Girl Senior Research Intern

April has arrived, and with it, baseball and softball season! Both iconic and poetic, few games have captivated the American public year after year with the same level of passion and devotion. While baseball has, unfortunately, remained a male-dominated sport in the professional realm, its steadfast allure has earned it a place in the heart of many a Mighty Girl, young and old alike.

For that reason, we have pulled together a list of some of our favorite books, toys, clothes, and more for the baseball and softball lover in your life. Whether watching her favorite team on TV or at the ballpark, learning about women’s roles in the history of baseball and softball, tossing a ball around in her own backyard, or playing on a real live team, if you know a Mighty Girl with an interest in America’s pastime, there’s sure to be something for her here!

WOMEN IN BASEBALL HISTORY

While girls and women have always been interested in the game of baseball (Vassar College boasts an all-girl’s baseball team as early as 1866, only 9 years after the first national baseball association was formed) their ability to play at a professional level was limited to only 12 seasons. From 1943 - 1954, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was home to more than 600 women athletes who played for 15 different teams throughout the midwestern United States. Many books have been published discussing the history of the AAGPBL, several of which you can find in our baseball and softball section.

For a survey of the AAGPBL and an introduction to some of the players therein, readers 10 and up will enjoy Sue Macy’s A Whole New Ball Game: The Story of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League. In it, Macy addresses many of the societal issues the young women of the time were forced to deal with in order to play ball, as well as the economic issues of running a baseball league.

A well-known and equally-loved movie, Penny Marshall’s A League of Their Own tells the story of the AAGPBL through the eyes of a pair of sisters who play for the Rockford Peaches. Starring Geena Davis, Madonna, Rosie O’Donnell, and Tom Hanks, this film is recommended for ages 9 and up. 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

In our new Mighty Careers 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.

This post is dedicated to all the Mighty Girls who dream of taking to the skies and all of the trailblazing women pilots who have come before them! Currently, with women accounting for only 6% of licensed pilots, we are still very much in the minority but we’re betting this next generation of Mighty Girls is going to change that.

If your Mighty Girl can’t wait for the day she gets to lay her hand on the controls of a real airplane or you'd like to encourage her interest, this post provides recommendations for girl-empowering books, toys, clothing, and room decor that celebrate a love of flight. So put your seat backs and tray tables in their upright and locked position, and prepare for takeoff! With a determined Mighty Girl at the helm, she’s sure to soar to great heights.

To read the first two posts in our new Mighty Careers series, check out: I Want To Be An Astronaut! and I Want To Be A Wildlife Biologist!. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

Happy International Women’s Day! On March 8, we celebrate the achievements of women around the world. Last year, A Mighty Girl marked International Women’s Day by highlighting several Mighty Girl Heroes — inspirational female role models ranging from Wangari Maathai to Shirin Ebadi who have each done remarkable things.

Of course, there are also many Mighty Girls around the world who are already making a tremendous impact! While these young women may not be household names, each of them is striving to change the world — starting with their own part of it. So this International Women’s Day, we’re sharing the stories of ten Mighty Girls who are making their own marks. After all, there’s nothing more inspiring than knowing that anyone, of any age, can start making the world a better place today each in her own way.

Kayla Wheeler, USA, 17 - The Athlete & Paralympian

Kayla Wheeler (Photo: altso.org)

Kayla never let her lack of three limbs slow her down — even if she is, in her own words, “basically the most disabled you can be and still swim.” In fact, this amazing young woman not only swims, she also skis, plays baseball, and competes on her school’s rocketry and robotics teams.

In December 2013, Kayla set a new world record in the 50-meter butterfly at the Can-Am Para-Swimming Championships! Although Kayla qualified for the 2012 Paralympics in London, there weren’t enough qualified swimmers in her category for the event to run, but she’s hopeful about being able to compete in 2016.

After all, she says, “My parents have always taught me that I can do anything that I put my mind to. So I just put my mind to it.”

Kayla is also currently running an online fundraiser to support her swim team for people with disabilities, the Shadow Seals Disabled Swim Team -- to help support the effort, visit her Indiegogo page.

You can read more about Kayla and her multiple awards in this article from Heraldnet. 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 Lili Sandler, A Mighty Girl Senior Research Intern

Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman. Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King. We are all familiar with the names of these famous and remarkable women. But what of the lesser known queens of black history? If only we were all as familiar with names such as Claudette Colvin, Wilma Rudolph, Viola Desmond, Effa Manley, or Molly Williams.

February is well known as Black History Month in the United States and Canada. Schools, libraries, organizations, and individuals across the continent take time to honor black Americans and Canadians and their essential role in our nations’ stories throughout the second month of the year.

At A Mighty Girl, our take on this important celebration will be to focus on Black Herstory -- the too-often forgotten female half of black history -- by sharing the stories of both contemporary and historical tales of girls and women of African descent through our Facebook page and blog posts.

Continue reading → Continue reading