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 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

Jeanne Villepreux-Power began her adult life as a dressmaker, but rose to become one of the preeminent marine biologists of her day.

If you've ever been captivated by colorful fish and sea creatures darting around an aquarium, you can thank 19th century French scientist Jeanne Villepreux-Power! Villepreux-Power began her adult life as a dressmaker, but rose to become one of the preeminent marine biologists of her day. Her invention of a glass box for holding and observing marine specimens — the first recognizable glass aquarium — earned her the title "Mother of Aquariophily" from British biologist Richard Owen. "[She] was not content with purely descriptive studies of dead specimens," French scientist Claude Arnal wrote in a tribute to her. "She was excited by life and its mysteries." Continue reading → Continue reading

Betty Reid Soskin began her career as a ranger at the age 85 at the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park.

Betty Reid Soskin, America's oldest National Park Service ranger, celebrated her 102nd birthday today! Soskin began her career as a ranger at age 85 at the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park in California — a park that she had helped plan in its early stages years earlier. Prior to her retirement in 2022 at the age of 100, Soskin gave a popular tour called “Untold Stories and Lost Conversations" during which she gave a tour of the park, shared her personal WWII story, and encouraged others to contribute their own stories to the park's collection of oral histories. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of stories starring Mighty Girl witches for children and teens.

On Halloween night, don't be surprised if you see a broomstick in the sky! Witches are a fixture of the Halloween tradition — and since most witches are depicted as female, there are plenty of stories out there starring Mighty Girl witches. From funny picture books to quirky and suspenseful middle grade novels to creepy young adult titles, there's something here to suit every witch-loving reader. Continue reading → Continue reading

While working with the French Resistance, Josephine Baker smuggled secrets written in invisible ink on her sheet music.

The popular image of Josephine Baker is of a daring entertainer, one who often shocked audiences by defying all the conventions of the day. But behind the tabloid fodder of  her dramatic stage performances and glamorous lifestyle — including a pet cheetah — there was a complex woman that many of her fans never saw. Baker was a French Resistance spy, a civil rights activist, and an adoptive mother to a "Rainbow Tribe" of a dozen diverse children that she hoped could model racial unity. "She never thought that anything was impossible," observes Bennetta Jules-Rosette, author of Josephine Baker in Art and Life: The Icon and the Image. "She could do things we would consider ahead of their time, because she never thought she would fail." Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of girl-empowering bilingual board and picture books in English and Spanish.

From the moment they're born, kids are like sponges for language, and many parents decide to take advantage of that natural ability by introducing more than one language early. Whether you speak multiple languages at home or want to teach your child a second language, bilingual books are a fun way to introduce kids to new vocabulary and develop fluency! And in the United States, where millions of people speak Spanish as a first or second language, there's a huge demand for high-quality books that incorporate both English and Spanish text. Continue reading → Continue reading

In order to be ready for her daring, adventurous days, your Mighty Girl needs to get a good night’s rest! But it can be hard settling down for sleep when there’s an exciting world out there to be discovered. Most kids love the chance to curl up and read together with the people they love as a way to wind down before bed. Whether you're reading a book about bedtime, or just one that gets her into a quiet, contemplative mood, bedtime books can make those last few minutes one of the favorite parts of her day — and yours.

To help get your kids ready for bed, we’re showcasing 25 of our favorite bedtime books starring Mighty Girls. Hopefully, these stories — ranging from the sweet and fanciful to the clever and funny — will help everyone in the family get a good night’s sleep!

If you'd like to find books to read together with older children who have moved beyond picture books, check out the recommendations in our special collection of 150 Read Aloud Books Starring Mighty Girls. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of new biographies about Mighty Women for adult readers.

It's been another incredible year of books celebrating mighty women! From a fascinating biography of the woman leading today's new scientific revolution to gripping accounts of clever spies who outwitted the Nazis to powerful memoirs by women grappling with grief to upbeat autobiographies by beloved popular figures, this year has seen a diverse range of new biographies for adult readers about extraordinary women. And, just as our Mighty Girls love reading books about smart, confident, and courageous girls and women, we know that our adult supporters love their stories too! Continue reading → Continue reading

Once a 'Rosie the Riveter' during WWII, today 94-year-old Mae Krier is making Rosie-themed face masks to help fight the pandemic.

When Mae Krier was 17 years old, she took a job at a Boeing factory in Seattle in the midst of World War II, joining millions of other American women filling critical labor shortages at factories and shipyards after the male workers left to fight overseas. Today, at 94, she's stepped up to help the country overcome another crisis by making fabric face masks to help prevent the spread of coronavirus — and, to pay tribute to the heroic women of WWII, her masks are in the polka dot fabric of Rosie the Riveter's iconic bandana! "This virus is actually like another war, and we’ve gotta pull together if we’re gonna conquer it," Krier asserts. "We did it, and we can do it." Continue reading → Continue reading