A Mighty Girl's recommendations for books, toys, and activities to inspire a lifelong love of writing and storytelling in kids of all ages.

If there’s one thing anyone who spends time around young kids knows, it’s that they are born storytellers! Children’s vivid imaginations and lack of preconceptions make for wild, fascinating, unexpected stories, and during their toddler and preschool years, we encourage them to explore and elaborate on their inventions. And most kids are thrilled when they start learning to write — finally, they have the opportunity to make their vision permanent, and share their ideas whenever they please.

But as kids move through elementary school and beyond, it’s all too easy for them to lose their love of writing and storytelling. The scrutiny of teachers and peers can make kids doubt their ability to create a “good” story, and too often writing becomes a chore, rather than a pleasure.

Fortunately, that’s not the way things have to end! It is possible to kids to keep their love of telling a good story, and develop it into a lifelong passion — and for some, even a career. This blog post provides a selection of books, toys, and activities for all ages that will get your child’s creative writing juices flowing. And who knows? You might find your own fingers itching for paper and pen… Continue reading → Continue reading

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

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

It’s played by 250 million people in over 200 countries, and in many nations, it’s the most prominent women’s team sport. Women’s soccer games have been recorded since the late 19th century, and today, 177 nations have national women’s soccer teams. Best of all, the future looks bright for women’s soccer: girls’ soccer leagues continue to thrive, with gender representation among youth soccer players almost exactly 50-50. With such an incredible love of the Beautiful Game out there, it’s no wonder that many Mighty Girls have been eagerly awaiting the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup!

To celebrate this event — and the love of girls and women everywhere for the sport — we’ve collected some of our favorite books, toys, posters, and clothes celebrating the great game of soccer. We hope that these resources will have your Mighty Girl dreaming of her favorite game long after the World Cup is won.

In addition to our recommendations below, there's also a guidebook to everything going on during the 2015 Women's World Cup, FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015: The Official Book. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

With all of the amazing girl-empowering books out there it might seem like book lovers are easy to buy gifts for, but what if you want to get them something other than more titles for their library? Fortunately, there’s a whole world of gift options to help your Mighty Girl -- or the adult book lovers in your life -- celebrate their love of books, literature, and reading.

You could find the perfect literary-themed T-shirt or a beautiful book-themed poster. Maybe she’s crazy for a particular book character or she just loves to play with words and stories. This blog will provide you with some inspiration for almost any reader, whether she’s still enjoying story time on Mom or Dad’s knee or she’s sharing her childhood favorites with a new generation of Mighty Girls.

For more books, toys, and other resources to encourage your Mighty Girl's interest in storytelling and creative writing, check out our blog post on Fantastic Adventures and Amazing Tales: Encouraging Creative Writing and Storytelling.

To learn about more of our favorite toys of all varieties for Mighty Girls, check out our Girl Empowerment Toy Blog Series or visit our 2014 Holiday Guide. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

For kids who love to find out how things work: from electricity to computers to alternative energy sources, their curiosity knows no bounds. While it can seem challenging to work engineering, technology, or math into play, the truth is that there are lots of great toys available that give kids the chance to learn about engineering and technology -- all while having a great time!

Whether you have a budding engineer on your holiday list or you just want your Mighty Girl to feel comfortable with technology, the 25 engineering, technology, and math toys featured here will no doubt encourage her interest in learning more! It’s the perfect way to encourage kids to explore these subjects in fun, creative ways.

For our top picks of basic building toys, including more options for young children, check out our previous blog post, Putting It All Together: Top 20 Building Toys for Mighty Girls.

For more toys for young engineers and scientists, check out the STEM section of our 2014 Holiday Gift Guide or A Mighty Girl's entire selection of Science / Math Toys.

To learn about more of our favorite toys of all varieties for Mighty Girls, check out our Girl Empowerment Toy Blog Series or visit our 2014 Holiday Guide. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

In our Mighty Careers blog series, we celebrate the careers that Mighty Girls around the world are dreaming of pursuing one day! In each blog, we provide a career role model, as well as recommendations for books, clothing, and toys to support and encourage her aspirations. Whether she’s three or thirteen, you’ll find options here to teach her more about her dream job — and help her start preparing to live it!

In this post, we’re highlighting resources for budding veterinarians! Whether your Mighty Girl pictures herself in a small animal practice, taking care of beloved dogs and cats; a large animal practice, caring for horses and cattle; or a more specialized practice like caring for exotic or zoo animals, her dream job requires a combination of a love for animals and a fascination with science.

And she’s not alone in her aspirations: as of 2009, women actually outnumbered men in the American Veterinary Medicine Association, and as of this year, women make up 78% of veterinary medicine students. But it takes determination, drive, and an awful lot of work to earn your Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) scrubs, so the support she gets from her family and friends will make all the difference in the world to her future success.

To support your Mighty Girl’s interest in veterinary medicine, we’ve collected a variety of books, toys, clothing, and decor that celebrates an interest in animal medicine. With these resources, you can help her achieve her goal of adding the coveted DVM to her name!

For more Mighty Career ideas, check out our earlier posts on engineers, pilots, wildlife biologists, and astronauts.

You can find more stories about Mighty Girl animal lovers in our blog Animal Friends: 20 Mighty Girl Stories About Caring for Animals. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Lili Sandler, A Mighty Girl Senior Research Intern

Summer is here! It’s time to get outside and enjoy the long hours of sunshine! There are so many ways to explore the outdoors with the Mighty Girls in your life, and in this post we recommend a few of our favorite outdoor toys, games, and gear to consider for your adventures. If you'd like to discover more options beyond our recommendations below, you can also visit A Mighty Girl's extensive Outdoor Play section to learn about a wide range of excellent toys and games for children and teens.

INDEPENDENT ACTIVE PLAY

When it’s time to graduate from a ride-on to a two-wheeler, instead of using the typical training wheels, many studies — and more importantly, parents — agree that the best way for a child to learn to ride her own bike is by first mastering balancing. If your child can run, she is ready to try her own balance running bike with the Strider PREbike! She’ll be whizzing up and down the sidewalk in no time, and developing both pre-bicycling skills and confidence, too!

For more wheel-based fun, check out this cherry blossom skateboard from Punisher Skateboards. All that time on her balancing bike will come in handy as she weaves her way around obstacles and over bumps. This board is 31 inches long, made of Canadian Maple, and is sure to delight girls 6 and older. Continue reading → Continue reading

By Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl Communications Specialist

In our Mighty Careers blog series, we celebrate the careers that Mighty Girls around the world are dreaming of pursuing one day! In each blog, we provide a career role model, as well as recommendations for books, clothing, and toys to support and encourage her aspirations. Whether she’s three or thirteen, you’ll find options here to teach her more about her dream job — and help her start preparing to live it!

In this post, we’ll talk about the Mighty Girls who dream of designing the future as engineers. From the first day your infant Mighty Girl tried to figure out how to make her stack of blocks taller, she’s been engineering; but, while numbers are rising, in most nations fewer than 12% of engineers are female. We’re betting this generation of Mighty Girls will change that, but to do so, they need all the support and encouragement we have to give!

If you want to foster your Mighty Girl’s interest in engineering, this blog will give you the resources to do that. Whether you’re sharing stories of women engineers, tinkering with some great engineering toys, or getting her a shirt that lets her declare to everyone what she wants to be when she grows up, you’ll be letting her know that her dream can become reality.

For more Mighty Careers posts, check out the earlier entries in the series about astronauts, wildlife biologists, and pilots. Continue reading → Continue reading

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