By Lili Sandler, A Mighty Girl Senior Research Intern

If you’ve ever attended a baby shower for the mama-to-be of a baby girl, you’ve probably witnessed the overwhelmingly pink and princess-themed gifts that are, well, showered upon the guest of honor. In this day and age, the majority of women know the sex of their baby before she or he is born, and thus the heavily gendered gift-giving begins before the baby takes her or his first breath.

If you're looking for alternatives to stereotypical baby shower gifts — ones that celebrate the whole girl, even as they recognize and celebrate the joyous fact that she is, indeed, a girl — you'll find them in this selection of baby gifts perfect for any new mom or dad to share with their baby girl!

For more recommendations beyond those included in this post, you'll find many girl-empowering baby toys and gifts in A Mighty Girl's For Baby section. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Senior Research Intern

When your Mighty Girl was young, you probably marveled at her incredible confidence: no matter what she wore, said, or did, she did it with a big grin that said, “This is who I am, like it or not!” But as kids get older, they start to be affected by the opinions of others, especially their peers. So the 3-year-old who proudly declared, “I’m the best!” can turn into a 5-year-old who says, “Nobody at school likes me!” or “I can’t do that — it’s for boys!”

Fortunately, while it’s normal for children to have bumps in the road where they question their worth, parents can do a lot to make sure that the bumps are small and that their daughters pass them quickly! By reading books about girls who face challenges to their self-esteem — either from questioning themselves, or brought on by disapproval from others — and overcome them, parents can teach their daughters that everyone struggles with self-esteem sometimes but that everyone is valuable and special in her own way. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Senior Research Intern

Since A Mighty Girl launched in April 2012, one question we’ve received from many parents is what parenting books we recommend to help them raise strong, confident, independent, and courageous girls. With that in mind, A Mighty Girl is proud to launch our new parenting section, featuring over 150 carefully-selected books about a wide variety of parenting issues.

A Mighty Girl’s parenting philosophy is that kids should be encouraged to explore their own interests and strengths, rather than following society’s narrow idea of what is gender appropriate. We believe in encouraging girls and supporting the development of their healthy self-image while fostering their compassion and respect for others.

We also believe that kids need to learn basic life skills like financial management, responsible technology use, and stress management so that they can be happy and safe, even as their world expands from childhood life with Mom and Dad to teenage freedom and eventually adult independence. Most importantly, we believe that parents can make all of those things happen. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Lili Sandler, A Mighty Girl Senior Research Intern

Each May the United States celebrates the history and culture of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. during Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month. The month of May was selected to commemorate the diverse and important roles of Asian-Pacific Americans for two reasons. First, early Japanese immigrants arrived in the United States on May 7, 1843, and second, the transcontinental railroad -- built predominantly by Chinese immigrants -- was completed on May 10, 1869.

Asian-Pacific heritage encompasses a broad and diverse array of cultures from an expansive geographic region. All of the Asian continent, as well as the Pacific islands of Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia are included in this celebration. In honor of the essential role all of these cultures play in modern-day American culture, we’ve selected a dozen books which tell different stories of Asian-Pacific American girls. We’ve organized these selections by the age group for which they’re intended, and hope that you’ll enjoy our choices as much as we do! Continue reading → Continue reading

By Jennifer de Beer, A Mighty Girl Senior Research Intern

To visit our expanded "Read Aloud" collection, visit our special feature, found in our "Best of A Mighty Girl" section, on the Top Read Aloud Books Starring Mighty Girls.

“Storytime” typically evokes images of small children seated in a ring on the floor, or perhaps a parent & child cuddled together before bed. Whisked away into a world filled with dragons and magical spells, the nuances of friendships, or glimpses into another time and place, read aloud sessions open up a world of possibilities. Often, these shared stories allow children to engage in material that would be beyond their independent reading levels.

Solid and extensive research exists on the importance and positive effects of reading aloud to young children. A recent analysis of international data, conducted by the OECD, supports the strong link between oral language development and reading skills, and even goes so far as to say that nurturing such skills at an early age is directly related to success rates in later school years. The practice of reading aloud is widely encouraged by many from Day One (if not before!), and the benefits are plentiful: increased literacy, school readiness, stimulation of language development, imagination, and memory -- the list goes on. Reading aloud also provides a prime opportunity for bonding and strengthening the connection with the children in your life. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Lili Sandler, A Mighty Girl Senior Research Intern

Happy Earth Day! Earth Day is celebrated on April 22nd in almost 200 countries all over the world as a day to support and protect the Earth. Many communities have volunteer opportunities during the entire week -- often referred to as Earth Week -- so that individuals can take part in environmental activities to help care for the Earth.

At A Mighty Girl, our Earth Week focus is on the Mighty Girls and women of the environmental movement. How have girls and women contributed to our global understanding of ecology, recycling, alternative energies, and many other environmental issues? More ways than you can count!

Below you’ll find many of our favorite books and films about real-life environmentalists to share with the eco-kids in your life! And, if you missed the first two blogs in our Earth Day series, you can learn more great fictional stories about the environment starring Mighty Girl in our post on Ten Mighty Girl Books to Inspire Young Environmentalists and about toys to teach children about the environment in our post on post on Eco-Toys, Games, and Gear for Green Girls. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Jennifer de Beer, A Mighty Girl Senior Research Intern

We are pleased to continue our new blog series, A Mighty Girl Creators, with our latest installment: a conversation with author Doreen Rappaport. An award-winning creator of nearly forty books for children and young adults, Ms. Rappaport often shares the true stories of remarkable individuals from over the course of history. In particular, she likes to feature those figures whom she calls “not-yet-celebrated.” She is an especially appropriate subject for Women’s History Month, as her writing so often celebrates the lives and contributions of women while making their stories accessible to young readers.

On A Mighty Girl’s website, you will find multiple books from Ms. Rappaport’s pen, and the selections cover a wide range of non-fiction territory. There are picture books presenting engaging biographies of Eleanor Roosevelt and Helen Keller, and a gripping tale of female baseball legends. Older children will be invited to read stories of danger and bravery in Escape from Slavery: Five Journeys to Freedom, a collection of five true tales, four of which focus on girls or women. A young adult audience will discover fascinating historic content within the covers of The Flight of Red Bird: The Life of Zitkala-Ša and American Women: Their Lives in Their Words, two publications that heavily feature primary source material. Continue reading → Continue reading

Lola at the Library

By Lili Sandler, A Mighty Girl Senior Research Intern

As a final tribute in our celebration of Black History Month this year, we’re sharing ten of our favorite picture books featuring little Mighty Girls girls of color for the youngest readers. This is only a sampling of what’s available on the site; there are so many fabulous picture books for babies, preschoolers, and beyond with diverse protagonists that we couldn’t possibly highlight them all in one blog post!

It’s never too early to share a love of reading with little ones, and going to the library is one of the best ways to accomplish that goal! With Anna McQuinn’s book, Lola at the Library, your little one will learn to look forward to visiting the library just like Lola does. With bright, vibrant illustrations courtesy of Rosalind Beardshaw, this book is not only a delight to read, but a delight to look at as well.

Another book sure to be a hit with babies and toddlers is Rachel Isadora’s Peekaboo Morning. Every toddler loves to play peekaboo, and they’ll have such fun following the active and adorable protagonist of this story going through her morning, playing peekaboo with her mommy, her daddy, her puppy, and more! This is one of those books your child will want to read again and again. Continue reading → Continue reading