If you're still on the lookout for the perfect gift for a Mighty Girl in your life, we've pulled together many of our favorite toys from our holiday gift series -- all of which are still available in time for Christmas! Like our annual Girl Empowerment Holiday Gift Guide, the toys featured in this post reflect the diverse range of girls' interests, including science toys, arts & crafts, building toys, dolls, active play toys, and games. We've also included recommendations for both children and teens and organized the selection from youngest to oldest to make it simple to find toys at just the right age. Regardless of what ends up under your tree this year, A Mighty Girl wishes you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Please note that all the toys featured in this post were verified to be available for delivery via Amazon Prime in time for Christmas as of 12/21. Prime shipping allows for 2-day shipping the US and Canada and 1-day shipping in the UK. Relevant links for ordering via Amazon Prime are included below each toy description. Toy availability does change continually so we recommend verifying delivery dates before ordering.

For more girl-empowering toys of all varieties, check out our 2015 Holiday Gift Guide and our 2015 Gift Guide Blog Series. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top tips for parents on keeping kids engaged at home while observing social distancing.

With schools closing, events cancelled, and many companies urging employees to work from home to prevent the spread of COVID-19, parents are facing an unexpected challenge. Since many of these closures overlap school March breaks, kids may not have homework to do — and even if they do, the lack of school and extracurricular activities will leave them with extra time on their hands. But that doesn't mean that parents can rely on their usual school holiday activities like playdates, playgrounds, and museum visits: as Dr. Asaf Bitton writes in Social Distancing: This Is Not A Snow Day, "even if you choose only one friend to have over, you are creating new links and possibilities for the type of transmission that all of our school/work/public event closures are trying to prevent.... We need to all do our part during these times, even if it means some discomfort for a while." Continue reading → Continue reading

A Q&A by the A Mighty Girl Team

When Target announced that they would be removing gendered signs from the toy sections of its US stores, A Mighty Girl – and many in our community – were thrilled. Our Facebook post announcing this change, as of this writing, went viral with over 75,000 likes and 30,000 shares. While the response in our community was overwhelmingly positive, as word of the announcement spread, some commentators also had questions and concerns about the change. How would this affect shoppers? What does it mean for girls, boys, and parents? And, perhaps the root of many concerns: what’s the big deal about gendered marketing anyway?

LEGO ad, 1981

As supporters of ending gender discrimination and stereotyping, we applaud Target’s decision – and the many other efforts like it happening both in North America and around the world – so we wanted to address some of the most common questions we’ve been hearing about gender-neutral signage and marketing: how it works, why it’s important, and how it fits into other efforts to change the way the world sees girls and boys.

Gender-neutral marketing and merchandising is about much more than political correctness; instead, it’s a sign of the times, one that points to a shift away from strictly limited gender roles and towards a world where everyone can pursue their interests and talents without feeling like the odd one out. By the end of this blog post, we hope those with concerns will see why this decision is about so much more than signs. And, if you'd like to explore these issues in more depth than is possible in a short post, we've also recommend several books on this topic in the resource section below. Among the recommendations is an excellent new release for parents filled with advice on how to raise kids who are less constrained by gender stereotypes, Parenting Beyond Pink and Blue. 

If you share our feelings about gender-neutral toy marketing, please support companies that are doing the right thing by changing the way they organize their toy departments. You can leave a message congratulating Target for their decision on their Facebook page. Continue reading → Continue reading

After Nora Keegan spent three years studying whether hand dryers hurt children's hearing, she's published her research in a scientific journal.

When she was nine years old, Nora Keegan noticed that many children didn't want to use hand dryers and would often cover their ears around them. She understood from personal experience why they would have this reaction, observing that "sometimes after using hand dryers my ears would start ringing." In the fifth grade, she decided to investigate the topic further for a science fair project and started studying "if they were dangerous to hearing." Three years later, the now 13-year-old Mighty Girl from Calgary, Canada has just published the results of her multi-year study in a scientific paper in the Paediatrics & Child Health, the premiere Canadian pediatric journal. In it, she concludes that "children who say hand dryers 'hurt my ears' are correct" since, as she discovered through her research, many hand dryers operate "at levels that are clearly dangerous to children’s hearing." Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of girl-empowering books for middle grade readers!

One of the great joys of summer for avid young readers is the opportunity to explore books all on their own! Tweens are ready for intriguing, original, and complex stories, which means that middle grade readers can find titles perfect for them in every genre. And with new titles coming out all the time — many of them starring Mighty Girl characters — there is an ever-growing selection of books to choose from! Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of books, toys, and gear to inspire young astronomers -- and introduce them to the women who helped us understand the stars.

On August 21, people across North America will get the chance to witness a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event: a solar eclipse! It's the first total eclipse in the continental US since 1979, and for central US states, the first total eclipse since 1918. Even for those not in the zone of totality, partial eclipses will be visible in many places. So it's no wonder that there is so much excitement brewing — and with it, a surge of interest in astronomy and all things space!

If the upcoming eclipse has your kids clamoring to learn more about astronomy, this is the perfect time to pursue their interest — and to share stories of the little-known women who have made enormous contributions to the field. In this blog post, we're providing a selection of books to talk about the eclipse itself and gear to view the eclipse safely,  as well as a variety of toys and science kits to support an interest in astronomy, and books about female astronomers throughout history. It's a great way to show kids of all ages that the sky doesn't have to be the limit! 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

The Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation Facility is located in the West Virginia native's home state.

"Hidden Figures" mathematician Katherine Johnson played a critical role in NASA's early space program — now, the space agency is honoring her contributions by renaming a NASA software facility after her! The Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation Facility , located in Johnson's home state of West Virginia, is the home of NASA's IV&V Program, which is dedicated to "contributing to the safety and success of NASA’s highest-profile missions" by improving the software used for a variety of space launches and flights. "I am thrilled we are honoring Katherine Johnson in this way as she is a true American icon who overcame incredible obstacles and inspired so many," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in an announcement. "It’s a fitting tribute to name the facility that carries on her legacy of mission-critical computations in her honor." Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of new girl-empowering releases for children and teens.

September is always a big month for new book releases, but with so many new titles, it can be challenging to keep track of the best new Mighty Girl books. With gorgeous new picture books, inspiring tales about real-life female role models, new additions to popular chapter book series, and thought-provoking young adult fantasy, there's something new for every lover of girl-empowering literature! And, for even more options, you can find over 3,000 Mighty Girl books for all ages, sortable by recommended reader age and theme, in our main Book Collection. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of girl-empowering graphic novels for children!

While many people think of graphic novels as "just comic books", the truth is that a good graphic novel doesn't simplify a story: instead, it amplifies it, drawing out details and adding emotional weight. For young or reluctant readers, in particular, a graphic novel format makes it easier to understand more complex stories. In fact, we'd argue that high-quality graphic novels are a key part of any library! Continue reading → Continue reading