A Mighty Girl's top picks of books starring autistic girls and guides for autistic girls and their parents.

Every April people around the world recognize World Autism Month: a time to learn more about this common neurodivergence, build understanding and acceptable of autistic people, and celebrate how different perspectives can bring much needed variety and innovation to our world! Despite ongoing efforts by both autistic people and their allies, autism remains a subject of significant misunderstanding and prejudice. For girls, the problems caused by lack of awareness are often magnified: they are less frequently diagnosed, often show a different pattern of behaviors than autistic boys, and struggle with the burden of gendered expectations that make it more difficult for them to get the support they need. Continue reading → Continue reading

"Nobody, but nobody, is going to stop breathing on me."

You've likely heard doctors or parents talking about a baby's Apgar Score, but did you know that this lifesaving measure is named for its creator, Dr. Virginia Apgar, the pioneering anesthesiologist whose work has helped save countless newborns? The Apgar Score, which is now used in many countries around the world, helps doctors quickly assess the health of newborns to determine if they need medical intervention. Apgar also authored a groundbreaking book called Is My Baby All Right? which provided parents with a reassuring and informative guide to birth defects, which had previously been a taboo topic and a source of shame to many families. Apgar's unflagging determination to provide the best possible care for both women and their babies is perhaps best summed up by her famous quote: "Nobody, but nobody, is going to stop breathing on me." Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's Father's Day tribute showcases our favorite books celebrating the special father-daughter bond.

A father is a special presence in a girl’s life: he supports, encourages, and loves his daughter, even as he models to her what a man can be. Father’s Day provides a wonderful opportunity to celebrate this unique and important relationship in the lives of many Mighty Girls. Whether they’re dancing with their babies, walking in the dark and snow with their little girls, or teaching their tweens and teens to be self-sufficient, the fathers in these books know a thing or two about raising Mighty Girls! Continue reading → Continue reading

Dr. Andrea Ghez became the fourth woman in history to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for her discovery of a supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy.

Dr. Andrea Ghez was awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics this week for her discovery of a supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy! The astrophysicist, who is the Lauren B. Leichtman and Arthur E. Levine Professor of Astrophysics at UCLA, shares half of the prize with Reinhard Genzel of UC Berkeley; the other half recognizes Roger Penrose, a professor at the University of Oxford who proved that black holes must be a physical reality. Ghez was delighted to receive the award, particularly because she is only the fourth woman in history to receive a Nobel Prize in Physics. "I'm thrilled to receive the prize and I take very seriously the responsibility associated with being... the fourth woman to win," Ghez said after the announcement. "[And] I think today I feel more passionate about the teaching side of my job than I have ever. Because it's so important to convince the younger generation that their ability to question, and their ability to think, is just crucial to the future of the world." Continue reading → Continue reading

This second-ever assessment of students' technology and engineering abilities found that girls outscored boys in all six areas tested.

In a national assessment of engineering and technology skills, eighth-grade girls outperformed boys in all six areas tested — countering the long-held stereotype that boys have a more natural aptitude for these technical fields. The recently reported results of the 2018 Technology and Engineering Literacy (TEL) exam, which tests both content knowledge and ability to put that knowledge into practice, revealed that girls scored higher than boys in every category, even though fewer girls take technology and engineering classes in school than boys. "The girls have done extremely well in this assessment," says Peggy Carr, associate commissioner for assessment at the National Center for Education Statistics. "Girls are outperforming boys whether they take a class or not. And when girls take a course, they also score higher." Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of the best new biographies for children and teens about incredible women from around the world.

Some of the greatest minds in the history of the world have been dismissed because they were covered with curls and bows. — Historian Gerda Lerner, founder of the field of women's history

When you think back to your history classes in school, you may realize, as Gerda Lerner did, that "ostensibly one-half the human race is doing everything significant and the other half doesn’t exist." But increasingly, we are reclaiming history, telling the stories of the girls and women whose contributions to our shared story deserve to be celebrated! As parents and educators, it's also important that we tell these stories to all of our children, boys and girls alike, so that they live in a world where history has always been about the contributions of all of humanity.

In honor of Women's History Month, we've collected the best biographies that have been published in the past 12 months about remarkable, determined, trailblazing women! These books for children and teens feature a broad range of women in many different fields, from science to the arts to politics and activism, making them excellent additions to any bookshelf or school curriculum. Whether you're sharing a picture book biography at bedtime or introducing your teen to an inspiring new hero, these books will remind them to tell women's stories all year long! Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's 2017 Halloween Gallery is now live! A small sample of the nearly 2,000 photos submitted can be viewed in our Halloween Highlights post.

Thank you to everyone who submitted photos of their Mighty Girls in costume to our 2017 Halloween Gallery! We received nearly 2,000 photo submissions to this year's gallery and were awed by the creativity and variety of these Mighty Girls' amazing costumes. As we've always said, Mighty Girls know that their costume possibilities are limited only by their imaginations and with costumes ranging from ones based on favorite superheroes to ones inspired by historic role models, these Mighty Girls clearly know no bounds!

In this blog post, we've showcased a small sample of these incredible costumes -- to browse all of the amazing costume photos submitted, visit our 2017 Halloween Gallery. And, to help you and your Mighty Girl learn more about the wonderful historic figures and characters depicted, we've also linked to our character collection and biography section where relevant.

And, if you're seeking girl-empowering dress-up clothing or costumes anytime of year, visit our extensive costume collection with options for all ages from infants through adults in A Mighty Girl's Halloween Costume Guide. You can also find Mighty Girl stories for many of the upcoming holidays, including Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas, in our Holidays & Celebrations collection. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of books for kids -- and their parents -- on the joys of outdoor play, exploration, and discovery!

For many kids, there's nothing more fun than the chance to play outside! The winter's thaw has already provided plenty of opportunities for puddle jumping and planning this year's garden, and soon nicer weather and the end of the school year will soon provide more opportunities for hiking, beach trips, and lots of outdoor playtime. Best of all, it’s good for them: research shows how much benefit kids get from unstructured play outside. Continue reading → Continue reading

Our top picks of Mighty Girl fantasy adventure series for tweens and teens who loved the Harry Potter books.

It's no wonder that so many kids — and adults — love the Harry Potter series: an epic struggle between good and evil, a world full of magic, fantasy, and adventure, and a powerful coming of age story make a captivating combination! However, while Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, Ginny Weasley, and other strong female characters populate the Harry Potter universe, many girls would love to read a similarly thrilling book or series with a girl at the heart of the story. Continue reading → Continue reading

Emily Warren Roebling became the first female field engineer in history as the "surrogate chief engineer" of one of the greatest architectural projects of the 19th century, the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge.

When the Brooklyn Bridge was completed after fourteen years of construction in 1883, Emily Warren Roebling — the "woman who saved the Brooklyn Bridge" — was the first to cross it by carriage, carrying a live rooster in her lap as a sign of victory. Early in its construction, Roebling's husband, Washington, the chief engineer in charge of the bridge’s construction, became severely debilitated and bedridden due to decompression sickness. Emily Roebling stepped in and, for over a decade, oversaw the completion of one of the greatest architectural feats of the 19th century — making history by becoming the first female field engineer in the process. "I don’t think that the Brooklyn Bridge would be standing were it not for her," asserts Erica Wagner, the author a biography about Washington Roebling. "She was absolutely integral." Continue reading → Continue reading