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 toys and games to keep kids active indoors while sheltering in place.

With winter weather here, kids are getting fewer opportunities for active play — which means they might be crawling up the walls! That means this holiday is the perfect opportunity to pick up a toy or game that gets her feet moving and her heart pumping, even if she can't head outside. To help you find the perfect options for your kids, we've featured our favorite indoor active play toys and games in this blog post. Whether she's climbing through a play tunnel, finding her center with a balance board, or even trying a little (foam) axe throwing, she'll love having a few new activities to try from the safety of home! Continue reading → Continue reading

Strict gender norms and fears of witchcraft pushed women out of a centuries-long tradition.

By Laken Brooks, Doctoral Student of English, University of Florida; this article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. 

What do witches have to do with your favorite beer?

When I pose this question to students in my American literature and culture classes, I receive stunned silence or nervous laughs. The Sanderson sisters didn’t chug down bottles of Sam Adams in “Hocus Pocus.” But the history of beer points to a not-so-magical legacy of transatlantic slander and gender roles.

Up until the 1500s, brewing was primarily women’s work – that is, until a smear campaign accused women brewers of being witches. Much of the iconography we associate with witches today, from the pointy hat to the broom, may have emerged from their connection to female brewers. Continue reading → Continue reading

From science to art to pretend play, our recommendations will help you pick the perfect toy for the special "big box".

If your Mighty Girl is especially drawn to science, art, robotics, or something entirely different, it might be worth spending a larger portion of the holiday gift budget on one very special present that will allow her to delve deeply into that interest. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of empowering games for game lovers of all ages!

Whether it’s an activity for a rainy or snowy day, or part of a weekly family game night, there’s nothing more fun than a good game! Card games, board games, video games, and logic games are great entertainment for one or more people and an excellent way to build a variety of skills, from spatial awareness to planning and strategy to social skills like taking turns.

If you're looking for a great new game for someone on your gift list, we've included many unique options for all ages in our new blog post. In the five thematic sections below, we'll find a little bit of everything, from storytelling to puzzle solving, from solitaire games to games for teams. So get ready to get gaming! Continue reading → Continue reading

Violence and aggression are never signs of love or affection.

When girls get teased, harassed, or bullied by boys, there’s often someone who pulls out this tired phrase: "I bet he likes you!" Many women have vivid memories of being told that by adult authorities when they were young and the same phrase pops up seemingly everywhere, including children's literature and movies. In recent years, however, people have started reexamining the toxic message this often well-intentioned phrase sends. Barbara Dee, author of Maybe He Just Likes You, a new middle grade book tackling this issue, says "I spent a lot of time following the #MeToo stories that were everywhere in the news. I began wondering: Where does this behavior come from?... Those words — 'maybe he just likes you' — are so familiar and so dangerous." In this blog post, we'll explore how this phase teaches both girls and boys to normalize unhealthy relationships — and denies them the chance to have the fulfilling, respectful friendships and romantic relationships they deserve. Continue reading → Continue reading

"Emphasize that since catcalling itself is the opposite of polite, there’s no need to smile, laugh, or engage in conversation with the harasser."

Catcalling and other forms of sexual harassment start much earlier than many people think: a recent study found that 1 in 10 girls have been catcalled before their 11th birthday and a recent study has found that 1 in 6 girls in elementary and secondary school have experienced sexual harassment. And while some people say that girls should just ignore catcalling, Dr. Andrea Bastiani Archibald, the Girl Scouts’ Developmental Psychologist, explains that it has detrimental effects on girls, often making them feel unsafe and ashamed of their bodies in public. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of building and engineering toys for inventive Mighty Girls from toddlers to teens.

It starts the first moment an infant or toddler realizes that one block can balance on another block. Before you know it, building a tower to the sky (and making it crash down!) has become a favorite activity. For many kids, building toys remain favorites throughout childhood, with structures becoming more complex as kids' building skills advance. And once they can incorporate moving parts, budding engineers get to really explore all the incredible things they can put together! Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of math toys and games for curious Mighty Girls from toddlers to teens.

Math is all around us! From making a purchase to doubling a recipe to estimating how much longer a trip will take, we use math every day. Yet for many people there's a pervasive myth that you're either "good at math" or "bad at math" — that it's a talent you're born with, not a skill you can grow and develop with practice. And this misperception often has a significant effect on girls, who are prone to believing that their math ability is innate and that girls are less gifted at math than boys. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's favorite new releases and old time favorites to keep her reading all summer long!

Even if your Mighty Girl is past the stage where reading is a brand-new skill, it's important for her to keep practicing over the summer! Tween readers are ready for increasingly complex books, from unique and original flights of fancy to realistic fiction that addresses some of the more difficult issues around us every day — and the longer length of middle grade books allows kids to become totally absorbed in a really fascinating story.

With that in mind, we've put together a list of forty books suitable for tween readers that will pique their curiosity, get them turning pages for hours, and keep them thinking long after the book is done! These books show middle readers that girls can be the star in a longer story, and explore how the courage, intelligence, and determination of the Mighty Girls in these books help them find their own version of happily every after.

For recommendations books for younger readers, check out the earlier blog posts in our Summer Reading Series: 40 Girl-Empowering Picture Books and 40 Mighty Girl Books for New Readers. Continue reading → Continue reading