A Mighty Girl's top picks of deals on girl-empowering toys and book box sets!

In our final gift round-up of the holiday season, we're helping out the last-minute shoppers: all of the girl-empowering toys and book box sets featured in this blog post are currently on sale and still available in time for Christmas. From science sets and craft kits to book series starring Mighty Girl characters, we've included a range of options to appeal to Mighty Girls' diverse interests. And, best of all, with free two-day shipping for Prime members, you still have time to have it under the tree on Christmas morning! Continue reading → Continue reading

This empowering collection will keep even the most voracious readers busy for weeks to come!

As coronavirus shutdowns lengthen, avid readers are facing a challenge: they're running out of reading material! E-books offer an excellent solution: choose your title and it will be on your device in minutes, ready to settle in for a reading session. To help tween readers and their parents find more girl-empowering books to read during the weeks ahead, we've featured a selection of Mighty Girl middle-grade titles — all of which are available as an e-book for under $5. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's round-up of the best last-minute deals on girl-empowering toys!

In our final toy round-up of the season, we're helping out the last-minute shoppers: all of the girl-empowering toys featured in this blog post are currently on sale and still available in time for Christmas. From science sets to pretend play sets featuring popular characters like Princess Leia and Wonder Women, we've included a range of options to appeal to Mighty Girls' diverse interests. And, best of all, with free two-day shipping for Prime members, you still have time to have it under the tree on Christmas morning! Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of picture books about girls who love to dance!

For many Mighty Girls, nothing is more fun than moving to music! Maybe she takes formal ballet lessons, or maybe she and her family just take joy in putting on their favorite tunes and dancing together for fun. Either way, a love of dance is a great way to get exercise, have fun, and express your creativity!

If you have a child who loves to step, twirl, plie, and more, in this blog post, we've put together a collection of our favorite picture books starring dance-loving Mighty Girls that are sure to inspire and delight dancers of all ages!

For books about real-life women dancers for children and teens, visit our Creative Arts book section. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

Maybe you first heard the name Hayao Miyazaki in 2003, when Spirited Away won the Academy Award for Best Animated Film, and wondered what was so remarkable that had everyone talking; maybe you had long since discovered the wondrous, fantastical works of this visionary writer and filmmaker; or maybe you’ve only just heard about Miyazaki’s work, and you’re wondering which film you might want to check out. Whatever your experience with Miyazaki, or Studio Ghibli, the animation studio he co-founded, chances are good that you’ll recognize the name!

Miyazaki’s body of work holds a special place with us at A Mighty Girl. In the world of animated films, girls are surprisingly under-represented, especially adventurous, daring girls. Unlike many anime or manga writers — and many children’s media writers in general — Miyazaki's films frequently star strong female characters. And while Western audience often think of animation as a medium strictly for children, Miyazaki’s works range from the fanciful and fun, like Kiki’s Delivery Service, to darker, more complex works that tackle challenging issues, like Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.

Miyazaki, who is often called “the Walt Disney of Japan”, has also inspired others with his love of traditional hand-drawn animation, his nuanced and complex characters, and his vivid fantasy settings. In fact, much like Walt Disney, the hallmarks of his work are clear, even on Studio Ghibli projects that he did not direct or write. Filmmakers and animators around the world have declared the powerful influence Miyazaki’s work had on their own, including John Lasseter, Akira Kurosawa, and Guillermo del Toro — as well as the creative team behind The Simpsons, which included a scene referencing multiple Miyazaki films in a 2014 episode.

In honor of Miyazaki’s retirement, A Mighty Girl has put together a tribute to the works of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. Here, we’ll share some of his manga comic titles and films, as well as toys, gear, clothing, and decor that celebrate these beautiful stories. If you're a fan of Miyazaki’s work, you’ll find some great products to celebrate your favorite characters, and if you’re new to Miyazaki, we hope this blog will inspire you to check out some of his work. We’re confident that you — and your Mighty Girl — will love Miyazaki as much as millions of other fans do. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

It’s been a wonderful year for Mighty Girls in literature! In 2013, we’ve seen many new releases from favorite authors, enjoyed additions to terrific Mighty Girl series, and found amazing works from first-time authors.

Now, we’re thrilled to share the over 130 new releases from 2013 that we’ve added to A Mighty Girl! And, because we know newly released books make great gifts during the holidays, we’re sharing some of our favorites in a two-part blog series to make it easy to choose a few special ones for the children in your life.

In this blog, we'll share our twenty favorite girl-empowering books for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and early elementary school children and, in the second part, we share our favorites for tweens and teens.

Of course, this is just a small sample of the many fantastic books released in 2013. To view our growing selection, visit our special feature on 2013 Mighty Girl Books. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Senior Research Intern

When you’re parenting a Mighty Girl, one of the top priorities is often making sure that she has confidence in herself and her abilities. After all, it’s hard to be daring, smart, inventive, creative, and all the other things we love in our Mighty Girls without being confident that you can handle what comes your way!

With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of our favorite Mighty Girl books for boosting confidence. Some are fiction, featuring characters that stand proudly facing the world, and others are guides to help your Mighty Girl find confidence in her day-to-day life. Whichever you pick, these books will have your Mighty Girl cheering, “I can do it!”

For parents who are looking for books to help their Mighty Girl overcome self-esteem struggles, check out our earlier blogs: 15 Self-Esteem Building Books for Mighty Girls and Ten Body Image Positive Books for Mighty Girls. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl recently launched its new toy section with nearly 2,000 high-quality, girl empowering toys. Liz Alarid, A Mighty Girl Research Intern and mother of a young Mighty Girl, was one of the interns instrumental in building this wonderful resource. In this essay, she shares her thoughts on genderization of toys and its repercussions on children's development.

To learn more about the new toy section, including a few tips on how to get the most out of your visit, visit our Toy FAQ. Continue reading → Continue reading

We receive questions quite frequently from people asking for recommendations of specific types of books or movies so we've decided to start anonymously sharing select messages in this new "Ask A Mighty Girl" feature. 

 

Hi A Mighty Girl,

My eight-year-old daughter is very shy and has a terrible fear of dogs and is a generally fearful person. Can you recommend any picture or chapter books about girls who overcome their fears?

She isn't the strongest independent reader right now, but I read to her all the time and she loved all the Harry Potter books and I've read her Alice in Wonderland, and The Graveyard Book by Niel Gaiman lately. But we also still read picture books. I love Pirate Girl by Cornelia Funke. I think she likes fantasy and adventure fiction best.

So I'd welcome anything that she could read herself or that I could read to her.

Thanks so much! Your site is a wonderful resource and I like your facebook postings.

All best,
Jane Continue reading → Continue reading

"Never play the princess when you can be the queen: rule the kingdom, swing a scepter, wear a crown of gold. Don't dance in glass slippers, crystal carving up your toes -- be a barefoot Amazon instead, for those shoes will surely shatter on your feet." We posted this fabulous... Continue reading