"'My Best Friend' is about the instant heart connection between two girls who meet for the first time."

After her daughter came home in tears from preschool because she didn't have "magical pretty princess hair" like her friends, Kelly Greenawalt searched for a picture book to share with her starring a princess with natural puffy curls — and when she couldn't find what she was looking for, the mother of seven decided to write one. Kelly's first picture book, I Am Truly, created with her friend and illustrator Amariah Rauscher, became a surprise hit and has now grown into an early reader series as part of Scholastic's Acorn line. Continue reading → Continue reading

40 of our favorite Mighty Girl stories starring smart, confident, and courageous princesses!

A princess is always pretty, sweet, passive, and needs a prince to rescue her, right? Wrong!

At A Mighty Girl, we receive many questions from people searching for empowering depictions of princesses — books that prove that princesses can be much so more than the limited stereotype usually applied! Instead, princess characters can be smart, strong, courageous, daring, and kind; and most importantly, they can be individuals, just like the children who love hearing their stories.

In this blog post, we feature 40 of our favorite independent princess stories but this is just a small sample of the many great titles available. In our popular special feature The Ultimate Guide to the Independent Princess, you'll find more than 100 books starring smart, confident, and courageous princesses for all ages! 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

Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Senior Research Intern

Campaign Announcement: A Mighty Girl has launched a special Keep Merida Brave campaign page!

A Mighty Girl's petition to Disney on the redesign of the character of Merida from the film Brave as part of her induction into the Disney Princess collection has attracted over 180,000 signers and a huge amount of media attention.

To help keep our supporters abreast of compelling articles and commentary on our campaign to Keep Merida Brave, we've compiled a collection of articles that address the redesign from a variety of perspectives. All of them effectively point out why many people object to the changes and why the appearance of an animated character has meaning far beyond disappointing fans.

Recommended News Coverage

Merida redesigned - What message is the new look Princess Merida from Disney's Brave sending out?, Jenni Murray, BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour Continue reading → Continue reading

With princesses being the theme of the week, we've selected the "The Apple-Pip Princess" by Jane Ray as A Mighty Girl's top book pick. This wonderful picture book, perfect for children ages 3 to 8, combines a unique fairy tale with beautiful illustrations and compelling messages about compassion, community, and stewardship... Continue reading

Happy Princess Week! That's right - Disney has declared this week to be the first annual national Princess Week. Here at A Mighty Girl, we're fans of princesses too just not the traditional shrinking violet variety so we're created The Ultimate Guide to Independent Princesses. These princesses are smart, daring... Continue reading

By Carolyn Danckaert, A Mighty Girl Co-Founder

Campaign Announcement: A Mighty Girl has launched a special Keep Merida Brave campaign page!

After our post last Friday about the redesign of the beloved character Merida from the film Brave generated over 800 comments in a single day, we were inspired to launch a petition over the weekend calling on Disney to "Say No to the Merida Makeover and Keep Our Hero Brave!" In its first two days, it collected nearly 20,000 signers and today it surpassed 70,000 signers!

The petition focuses on the redesign of Merida in advance of her induction into the Disney Princess collection. In it, we say to Disney:

"Merida was the princess that countless girls and their parents were waiting for -- a strong, confident, self-rescuing princess ready to set off on her next adventure with her bow at the ready. She was a princess who looked like a real girl, complete with the ‘imperfections’ that all people have.

The redesign of Merida in advance of her official induction to the Disney Princess collection does a tremendous disservice to the millions of children for whom Merida is an empowering role model who speaks to girls' capacity to be change agents in the world rather than just trophies to be admired. Moreover, by making her skinnier, sexier and more mature in appearance, you are sending a message to girls that the original, realistic, teenage-appearing version of Merida is inferior; that for girls and women to have value -- to be recognized as true princesses -- they must conform to a narrow definition of beauty. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Jennifer de Beer, A Mighty Girl Senior Research Intern

To visit our expanded "Read Aloud" collection, visit our special feature, found in our "Best of A Mighty Girl" section, on the Top Read Aloud Books Starring Mighty Girls.

“Storytime” typically evokes images of small children seated in a ring on the floor, or perhaps a parent & child cuddled together before bed. Whisked away into a world filled with dragons and magical spells, the nuances of friendships, or glimpses into another time and place, read aloud sessions open up a world of possibilities. Often, these shared stories allow children to engage in material that would be beyond their independent reading levels.

Solid and extensive research exists on the importance and positive effects of reading aloud to young children. A recent analysis of international data, conducted by the OECD, supports the strong link between oral language development and reading skills, and even goes so far as to say that nurturing such skills at an early age is directly related to success rates in later school years. The practice of reading aloud is widely encouraged by many from Day One (if not before!), and the benefits are plentiful: increased literacy, school readiness, stimulation of language development, imagination, and memory -- the list goes on. Reading aloud also provides a prime opportunity for bonding and strengthening the connection with the children in your life. Continue reading → Continue reading

75 New & Classic Girl-Empowering Books for Holiday Gift Giving!

"I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book." — J. K. Rowling

When you’re looking for a gift for a book lover of any age, the natural choice is a good book! And, while the hundreds of titles in A Mighty Girl's book collection have been vetted to ensure they are both high quality and girl empowering, we understand that during the busy holiday season a 'cheat' sheet of the best Mighty Girl books for gifting can make choosing a book for a special child or young person much easier. To that end, in this blog post, we've complied a selection of enduring Mighty Girl favorites, alongside a number of the best 2016 new releases (which are marked by a brand new icon below). From gorgeously-illustrated picture books to thought-provoking teen fiction, these titles will delight, intrigue, educate, and inspire girls and boys alike!

To discover more 2016 releases, stay tuned for our annual 'Year in Review' round-up of the best Mighty Girl books of 2016, which we'll be releasing in early January.

Of course, you can also find many more reading recommendations in our entire collection of nearly 2,500 Mighty Girl books for all ages. And, for anyone looking for reading recommendations for adults, don't miss our new blog post Stories of Mighty Women: 2016 Biographies for Adult Readers. Continue reading → Continue reading

From devoted friends to wise teachers to ferocious beasts, you'll find dragons of all varieties in our collection of Mighty Girl dragon stories!

When you talk about fantastic creatures, some people picture fairies, or unicorns, or elves — and some picture dragons! Your Mighty Girl may imagine herself as the daring soul who cows the dragon by force of arm or clever wit, or she might picture herself with a devoted dragon friend, flying to new heights and learning arcane secrets. With versions of dragons in almost every culture, filling every role from devoted mentors to ferocious beasts, there’s probably a dragon to suit any Mighty Girl’s dream. Continue reading → Continue reading