Greta Thunberg's leadership has inspired millions of young people to take a stand and demand action on climate change.

Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teen activist who founded the Youth Strike for Climate Movement and was one of 2019's most influential people, turned 17 today! She began her skolstrejk för klimatet (school strike for climate) in August 2018 as a solo protest, but today her Fridays for Future protests span the globe. An estimated 1.4 million students in 125 countries turned out for the first Global Climate Strike in March and six million people participated in September's climate strike actions that took place in 4,500 locations in 150 countries. Greta has persisted in her work to demand action from governments to address this environmental crisis, despite frequent criticism, much of it based on her age. "I agree with [my detractors], I’m too young to do this," she wrote early in 2019. "We children shouldn’t have to do this. But since almost no one is doing anything, and our very future is at risk, we feel like we have to continue." Continue reading → Continue reading

In Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper, eleven-year old Melody has a photographic memory and is the smartest kid in her school but no knows it. Melody has cerebral palsy and cannot walk or talk. Stuck in preschool-level classes her whole life and unable to share her thoughts with anyone, her life has become an exercise in frustration. Yet, Melody refuses to be defined by her disability and, when she receives a keyboard that allows her to communicate for the first time, her life and those of everyone around her changes.

Young people, like many adults, are often uncomfortable and uncertain how to act when meeting people with disabilities. Out of My Mind is an excellent novel to help tween/teen readers ages 10 and up understand that people with disabilities are just like them, with thoughts and feelings; hopes and dreams.

Draper, a multiple Coretta Scott King Award winner and the mother of a child with developmental difficulties, was inspired to write Out of My Mind for "all the parents of disabled kids who struggle, to all those children who are misunderstood, to all those caregivers who help every step of the way. It's also written for people who look away, who pretend they don't see, or who don't know what to say when they encounter someone who faces life with obvious differences. Just smile and say hello!"

For a wonderful and, at times, emotionally-charged story of a young girl with an indomitable spirit that is sure to challenge many of the stereotypes and biases held about people with disabilities, A Mighty Girl highly recommends Out of My Mind. Continue reading → Continue reading

16 Trailblazing Female Environmentalists Who Have Changed the World.

In celebration of Earth Day, we're celebrating sixteen incredible women who are working to protect the environment and all of the creatures which share our planet. From groundbreaking primatologists to deep-sea explorers to determined activists, each of them has changed the way that we see the world — and our role in protecting it. Equally importantly, these women have shown all of us that we have an effect on the health of our plant: from the smallest decisions of our day-to-day lives to international policy — each of us can make a difference. Continue reading → Continue reading

The seven essential body positive lessons every Mighty Girl should learn.

One of the most freeing feelings in the world is loving yourself just as you are — but in a world where girls are constantly bombarded with messages about what their bodies should look like, raising them to be body positive can feel like an impossible task. A study by the Girl Scouts found that 80% of 10-year-old girls are afraid of getting fat, and other studies have found that 85% of women and 79% of girls have opted out of activities due to a lack of body confidence. With kids and teens being exposed to narrow standards of beauty in media, marketing, and online, many adults may wonder what they can do to turn the tide. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of body image positive books for Mighty Girls of all ages!

It doesn't take long living or working with girls to realize that body image can be a big problem — and that it can start sooner than you expect. Studies have shown that over 40% of 1st to 3rd grade girls want to be thinner and that girls' self-esteem peaks at the age of 9. Parents and educators often want to help the Mighty Girls in their lives develop a positive body image, but aren't sure where to start. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top books about bike-loving girls and women for preschoolers through adults!

Do you remember the joy you felt when you rode a bike for the first time? The exhilaration of the wind in your face, the whir of the spinning wheels... The freedom that a bicycle offers has changed millions of lives, allowing kids to pedal to their local park or travel quickly and safely to school — and it even has a little-known connection to the Women's Suffrage Movement! In this blog post, we've featured ten of our favorite books about girls and women and the joy brought to them by their beloved bikes. These fun tales are sure to have your Mighty Girl (and you) raring to get back in the (bike) saddle again! Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of empathy-building picture books for kids!

Small acts of kindness happen around us every day — and anyone, no matter how young, can help make the world a better place through their thoughtful actions. In fact, when children are encouraged to see things from another's point of view, and shown how their actions can help lift others up, they are often the most compassionate of all. So if you want a more empathetic world in the future, the best way to achieve it is by teaching our kids how much you value being kind! Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's favorite stories for young children starring black Mighty Girls.

All children love seeing faces like theirs within the pages of their picture books. While for many years it was often challenging to find books starring kids of color, there has been an explosion in the number of diverse books published in recent years. A study by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that 14.2% of children's books starred African American characters in 2022 compared to only 3.3% of children's books in 2012— a percentage now higher than the African American share of the population in the United States at 13.6%. Greater diversity in books not only gives children of color an opportunity to see themselves in stories but also helps broaden the perspective of all children by fostering children's sense of empathy and connection with characters who might look different from themselves. Continue reading → Continue reading

Over 60 years, over 60,000 women have been treated for free for this devastating childbirth injury at Dr. Hamlin's fistula hospital.

When Dr. Catherine Hamlin and her husband, Reg, first arrived in Ethiopia in 1959, a fellow gynecologist warned them that "the fistula patients will break your hearts." They did — but also they ignited the Hamlins' determination to help. Hamlin and her husband co-founded the non-profit Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation, and in the decades since, over 60,000 women have been treated free of charge at their hospitals. Hamlin, died in 2020 at the age of 96 in Addis Ababa, hoped to inspire people around the world to help eliminate this devastating and entirely preventable childbirth injury which affects more than two million young women worldwide. "This terrible condition has been eradicated in the West," the Nobel Peace Prize nominee said. "In countries like Ethiopia it is a common condition.... [Here] women come into labor and there's nobody to help them." Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of girl-empowering box sets and collections for children and teens!

If there’s anything a reader loves more than a new book, it’s a captivating new series! A series is an excellent way to encourage kids' interest in reading as they get drawn into a story over several books — and, for those rabid readers, collections let them find out what happens to their favorite new character without having to wait for the next book to be released! Continue reading → Continue reading