By Lili Sandler, A Mighty Girl Senior Research Intern

April has arrived, and with it, baseball and softball season! Both iconic and poetic, few games have captivated the American public year after year with the same level of passion and devotion. While baseball has, unfortunately, remained a male-dominated sport in the professional realm, its steadfast allure has earned it a place in the heart of many a Mighty Girl, young and old alike.

For that reason, we have pulled together a list of some of our favorite books, toys, clothes, and more for the baseball and softball lover in your life. Whether watching her favorite team on TV or at the ballpark, learning about women’s roles in the history of baseball and softball, tossing a ball around in her own backyard, or playing on a real live team, if you know a Mighty Girl with an interest in America’s pastime, there’s sure to be something for her here!

WOMEN IN BASEBALL HISTORY

While girls and women have always been interested in the game of baseball (Vassar College boasts an all-girl’s baseball team as early as 1866, only 9 years after the first national baseball association was formed) their ability to play at a professional level was limited to only 12 seasons. From 1943 - 1954, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was home to more than 600 women athletes who played for 15 different teams throughout the midwestern United States. Many books have been published discussing the history of the AAGPBL, several of which you can find in our baseball and softball section.

For a survey of the AAGPBL and an introduction to some of the players therein, readers 10 and up will enjoy Sue Macy’s A Whole New Ball Game: The Story of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League. In it, Macy addresses many of the societal issues the young women of the time were forced to deal with in order to play ball, as well as the economic issues of running a baseball league.

A well-known and equally-loved movie, Penny Marshall’s A League of Their Own tells the story of the AAGPBL through the eyes of a pair of sisters who play for the Rockford Peaches. Starring Geena Davis, Madonna, Rosie O’Donnell, and Tom Hanks, this film is recommended for ages 9 and up. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

For some, it’s a blankie; for others a doll; and for others, a creature entirely of their own imagination! It’s a rare child who doesn’t form a special relationship with a toy or imaginary friend at some point in their life. And while some adults forget how important that relationship can be, others remember how that special friend was the one they could always count on. That’s why there are some amazing books capturing the importance, intensity, and value of all manner of special friends.

To celebrate that unique relationship, we’ve put together a collection of books that star Mighty Girls and their dolls, stuffed animals, imaginary friends, and other, more surprising creatures. Your Mighty Girl will love reading about how these characters and their friends interact — and the stories might just have you digging through attics and storage boxes looking for an old friend of your own!

And, if these stories inspire you to find a new special friend for your Mighty Girl, you can find many girl-empowering dolls and stuffed animals in our Dolls & Action Figures collection. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

After a long winter, the first signs of spring are a welcome sight! Whether your winter has been snowy, icy, rainy, or just grey, spring always seems to bring new energy to everyone — including Mighty Girls. To celebrate the first day of spring, we’ve put together a collection of books and toys that recognize all the joys this season brings.

Celebrating The Changing Season: Books About Spring

For the youngest Mighty Girls, changing seasons are especially fascinating! The world, while still familiar, changes around them as days grow longer and the weather changes. By reading these Mighty Girl books, you’ll give her an idea what to expect and introduce her to the joys that come with spring.

Toddlers will love the Spring Board Book by Gerda Muller (age 0 - 3). One of a series of four wordless books about the seasons, this book showcases all the special things that come with spring — sowing seeds in a garden, playing with lambs, painting Easter eggs, and spotting baby birds. It’s a great way to introduce the season while also fostering imagination and creativity as you talk about the pictures with her.

Another book to inspire your Mighty Girl to think about spring is The Listening Walk by Paul Showers (age 3 - 7). A little girl and her father go on a walk during which no talking is allowed. As they take an unhurried stroll, the sounds they hear hint at all the activity of people and animals in the neighborhood. This revised edition of a classic title features color illustrations that showcase a diverse contemporary community. It’s sure to inspire your own listening walk! Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

In our new Mighty Careers series, we celebrate careers that your Mighty Girl may be dreaming of pursuing one day. In each blog, we’ll profile a career role model and provide recommendations for books, toys, clothing, and even room decor to help inspire your Mighty Girl. Whether she’s three or thirteen, there will be resources to help her learn more about her dream job, imagine herself living it, and let the world know what she hopes to be when she grows up.

This post is dedicated to all the Mighty Girls who dream of taking to the skies and all of the trailblazing women pilots who have come before them! Currently, with women accounting for only 6% of licensed pilots, we are still very much in the minority but we’re betting this next generation of Mighty Girls is going to change that.

If your Mighty Girl can’t wait for the day she gets to lay her hand on the controls of a real airplane or you'd like to encourage her interest, this post provides recommendations for girl-empowering books, toys, clothing, and room decor that celebrate a love of flight. So put your seat backs and tray tables in their upright and locked position, and prepare for takeoff! With a determined Mighty Girl at the helm, she’s sure to soar to great heights.

To read the first two posts in our new Mighty Careers series, check out: I Want To Be An Astronaut! and I Want To Be A Wildlife Biologist!. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

Welcome to the next installment of our blog series, Mighty Careers! In this series, we celebrate careers that your Mighty Girl may be dreaming of pursuing one day. In each blog, we’ll profile a career role model and provide recommendations for books, toys, clothing, and even room decor to help inspire your Mighty Girl. Whether she’s three or thirteen, there will be resources to help her learn more about her dream job, imagine herself living it, and let the world know what she hopes to be when she grows up.

In this blog, we’ll be showcasing a career that can take your Mighty Girl deep into a jungle or to the bottom of a reef: wildlife biologist! Most kids love animals, but for some, seeing them in pictures or in a zoo isn’t enough. Instead, they want to watch them in the wild, living in their natural environment. But despite the prominent women who have made great strides in primatology, marine biology, and other fields, it can still be hard to find good resources featuring female characters.

In this post, we’ve collected a variety of different books featuring female wildlife biologists, as well as toys, clothing, and room decor to encourage and celebrate her love of animals. Whether she’s crazy for manatees or giraffes, lions or chimpanzees, you’ll find some great options here!

To find the first post from our new series, check out our post, Mighty Careers: I Want To Be An Astronaut. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

Welcome to our new blog series, Mighty Careers! In this series, we’re going to celebrate careers that your Mighty Girl may be dreaming of pursuing one day. In each blog, we’ll profile a career role model and provide recommendations for books, toys, clothing, and even room decor to help inspire your Mighty Girl in her aspirations. Whether she’s three or thirteen, there will be resources to help her learn more about her dream job, imagine herself living it, and let the world know what she hopes to be when she grows up.

In the first blog post of the series, we’re focusing on a career field that is popular with many Mighty Girls: astronaut! There’s something about space that captivates many kids, but it's often difficult to find resources that feature girls and women as astronauts.

To make it easier, we've pulled together a series of great fictional books and biographies about female astronauts and space scientists. We've also included recommendations for great pretend play or learning toys to foster her interest in space and astronomy. And, of course, since no space-crazy Mighty Girl’s wardrobe would be complete without a nod or two to her love of the stars, we've also sought out a collection of space-themed clothing.

So take a look at what’s out there to help your Mighty Girl’s dream of space grow! Even if a career in space isn’t in her future, she’ll always remember that you encouraged her to reach for the stars.

For more ways to encourage your Mighty Girl to aim high, check out the other entries in our Mighty Careers series.
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By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

A few days ago, we announced the release of our special feature on the top 2013 Mighty Girl Books with a blog post featuring our favorite 2013 releases for younger readers. In today's post, we're showcasing twenty of the fantastic girl-empowering tween and teen books released this past year!

Our selection features new authors as well as returning ones, and both stand-alone books and volumes of some of our top Mighty Girl series. No matter what your Mighty Girl enjoys reading, she’ll find something to intrigue her here!

Of course, this is just a small sample of the many wonderful books released in 2013. Narrowing down our favorites was truly tricky, so you're sure to discover more great titles in our complete 2013 Mighty Girl Books.

And, if you'd like to discover more recent releases starring Mighty Girls, check out our round-up of the top Mighty Girl stories from last year in our special feature on the 2012 Mighty Girl Books: A Year in Review.

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 Katie Quirk, Author, A Girl Called Problem

Today, Friday, October 11th, the world is celebrating the second annual Day of the Girl Child, and I couldn’t be more excited. I have a personal stake in the growing awareness that educating and empowering girls can transform whole communities — all of us do I suppose, but my dear friend and sister, Modesta, exemplifies that notion for me in a very personal way.

Modesta

Modesta Pounds Rice

I met Modesta in Tanzania in 1998. I was an American volunteer, teaching in a newly-formed university on the southern shore of Lake Victoria. Modesta was a spunky, 12-year-old girl with an infectious laugh who sold papayas and mangoes door to door. She also turned out to be the key to my survival in Tanzania.

In addition to teaching me how to speak Swahili, Modesta schooled me in village living — everything from how to carry buckets of water on my head, to how to bargain with vendors at the vegetable market, to how to rid my mattress of bedbugs. In return, I tried to do whatever I could for Modesta. I didn’t have a lot to offer — an open ear, a willingness to play with her on days when she had energy to spare after going to school, selling fruit, gathering firewood, washing her laundry by hand, cleaning dishes, carrying water…you get the picture. 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