Women's History Month: Books for Kids, Middle Grades, and FamiliesUnpublished

Share

Celebrate the life-changing power of art in this inspiring and stunningly illustrated picture book biography of American artist Alma Thomas. Meet an incredible woman who broke down barriers throughout her whole life and is now known as one of the most preeminent painters of...

The inspiring story of an Iraqi librarian's courageous fight to save books from the Basra Central Library before it was destroyed in the war. It is 2003 and Alia Muhammad Baker, the chief librarian of the Central Library in Basra, Iraq, has grown worried given the increased likelihood of war...

Groundbreaking American pilot Amelia Earhart is the 2nd hero in the New York Times bestselling picture book biography series for ages 5 to 8. Amelia Earhart refused to accept no for an answer; she dared to do what no one had ever done before, and became the first woman to...

This tenth book in the New York Times bestselling biography series profiles Jane Goodall, the scientist and conservationist who is famous for her work with chimpanzees. After receivinga stuffed animal chimpanzee for her first birthday, Jane Goodall's love of animals only...

The youngest ever Nobel Prize laureate, Pakistani women's rights activist Malala Yousafzai, is the 26th hero in the New York Times bestselling picture book biography series for ages 5 to 8. Malala Yousafzai won the Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 17 for speaking out...

In the graphic novel Astronauts: Women on the Final Frontier, Jim Ottaviani and illustrator Maris Wicks capture the great humor and incredible drive of Mary Cleave, Valentina Tereshkova, and the first women in space. The U.S. may have put the first man on the moon, but...

Sing along in this joyful celebration of your baby's perfect belly. Named one of the Best Books of 2024 by Chicago Public Library! "As the pages celebrate many different kinds of human bellies, they simultaneously model a wealth of loving connections...

A dazzling first-person picture book biography of the life of iconic fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli by the award-winning team who created Julia, Child. Here is the life of iconic fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, who as a little girl in Rome, was told by her own...

Once books kick-start their brains, girls change history. Discover the foundation of reading that empowered some of the world's most influential women in this informative and inspirational illustrated middle grade collection of twenty biographies. What do Cleopatra, Audre Lorde,...

When Clara Lemlich arrived in America, she couldn't speak English. She didn't know that young women had to go to work, that they traded an education for long hours of labor, that she was expected to grow up fast. But that did not stop Clara. She went to night school,...

Published in collaboration with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, discover over fifty remarkable African American women whose unique skills and contributions paved the way for the next generation of young people. Perfect for fans of Rad Women Worldwide,...

This fascinating picture book biography tells the childhood story of Buffalo Bird Woman, a Hidatsa Indian born around 1839. Through her true story, readers will learn what it was like to be part of this Native American community that lived along the Missouri River in the Dakotas, a society that...

Summer and her family always spend relaxed summers in Alberta, Canada, on the reservation where her mom's family lives. But this year is turning out to be an eye-opening one. First, Summer has begun to have vivid dreams in which she's running away from one of the many real-life residential schools...

She was Luz Jiménez, child of the flower-song people, the powerful Aztec, who called themselves Nahua- who lost their land but who did not disappear. As a young Nahua girl in Mexico during the early 1900s, Luz learned how to...

An American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award Honor Picture BookMary Golda Ross designed classified airplanes and spacecraft as Lockheed Aircraft Corporation's first female engineer. Find out how her passion for math and the Cherokee values she was raised with shaped her life and...

Celebrate the life of the extraordinary civil and human rights activist Coretta Scott King with this picture book adaptation of her critically acclaimed adult memoir. This is the autobiography of Coretta Scott King--wife of Martin Luther King, Jr.; founder of the Martin Luther...

Award-winning author and illustrator Duncan Tonatiuh tells the story of Amalia Hern\u00e1ndez, dancer and founder of El Ballet Folkl\u00f3rico de M\u00e9xico. Published in time for the 100th anniversary of Hern\u00e1ndez's birth, Danza! is the first picture book about the famous...

If you like to think big, but some say you're too small,or they say you're too young or too slow or too tall...Meet Dr. Bath--the scientist who never lost sight of her dreams!As a girl coming of age during the Civil Rights Movement, Patricia Bath made it her...

Girls cannot be drummers. Long ago on an island filled with music, no one questioned that rule--until the drum dream girl. In her city of drumbeats, she dreamed of pounding tall congas and tapping small bongós. She had to keep quiet. She had to practice in secret. But when at...

A Junior Library Guild Selection, Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year, and National Science Teaching Association Best STEM Book ● Celebrate the groundbreaking life of astronaut and Johnson Space Center director Ellen Ochoa, the first Latina in...

A picture-book biography of celebrated poet Gwendolyn Brooks, the first Black person to win the Pulitzer Prize Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000) is known for her poems about "real life." She wrote about love, loneliness, family, and poverty-showing readers how just about anything could become a beautiful...

For fans of Inside Out and Back Again and Amina's Voice comes a breathtaking story of family, hope, and survival from Ellen Oh, cofounder of We Need Diverse Books. When Junie Kim is faced with middle school racism, she learns of her grandparents' extraordinary...

A New York Times Bestseller! In collaboration with the New York Times, Finish the Fight! reveals untold stories of diverse heroines who fought for the 19th amendment--celebrate the historic win for women's rights and voting rights that changed the fabric of America. ...

A2018 Pura Belpre Author Honor Book The First Rule of Punk is a wry and heartfelt exploration of friendship, finding your place, and learning to rock out like no one's watching. There are no shortcuts to surviving your first day at a new school-you can't fix...

Perfect for fans of The Marrow Thieves, Hatchet and The City of Ember, H.E. Edgmon's middle grade debut offers a bittersweet tale of hope and survival, a modern classic for the climate change generation. One year ago, a solar flare scorched the Earth and...

When Grandma comes for a visit, silliness and creativity are guaranteed, in this funny and endearing book by bestselling novelist Emma Straub; her kids' gaga, Susan Straub; and award-winning illustrator Jessica Love. Gaga days are the best! That's when this eccentric, mischievous...

The uplifting true story of Minda Dentler, the first female wheelchair athlete to complete the Ironman World Championship triathlon. Minda Dentler made history when she became the first female wheelchair athlete to complete the world's toughest triathlon, using only her arms to finish a 2...

Ezra Jack Keats Writer Award Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Kirkus Best Books of the Year Chicago Public Library Best Books of the Year New York Public Library Best Books of the Year Five Starred Reviews From an award-winning author and illustrator...

A fresh, fun, and "thought-provoking" New York Times bestseller about the American electoral college and why every vote counts from bestselling and award-winning duo Kelly DiPucchio and LeUyen Pham. "Where are the girls?" When Grace's teacher reveals that the...

"Unexpected emotional depth. . . . A thought-provoking read-aloud." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)  Nothing makes Sierra happy like soccer. Her shoes have flames as she spins the ball down the spread-out sea of grass. But nothing makes her sad like soccer, too,...

The life story of Harriet Tubman--escaped slave, abolitionist, and champion of women's rights--in graphic novel format.   Harriet Tubman: Fighter for Freedom! tells the inspiring story of a woman who not only escaped from slavery in 1849 but also risked her...

Move aside history--it's time for herstory. Celebrate fifty inspiring and powerful women who changed the world and left their mark in this lavishly illustrated biography compilation that's perfect for fans of Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls and She...

Based on the New York Times bestselling book and the Academy Award-nominated movie, author Margot Lee Shetterly and Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award winner Laura Freeman bring the incredibly inspiring true story of four black women who helped NASA launch men into space to picture book...

Discover the incredible story of a young daughter of immigrants who would grow up to be the first woman, first Black person, and first South Asian American ever elected Vice President of the United States--and in a history-making turn of events, became the Democrats' 2024 Presidential...

Perfect for readers of Song for a Whale and Counting by 7s, a neurodivergent girl campaigns for a memorial when she learns that her small Scottish town used to burn witches simply because they were different. "A must-read for students and adults alike." ...

In Founding Mothers, Cokie Roberts paid homage to the heroic women whose patriotism and sacrifice helped create a new nation. Now the number one New York Times bestselling author and renowned political commentator--praised in USA Today as a "custodian of time-honored values"--continues the story...

Winner of the John Newbery Medal Winner of the Pura Belpré Award From Pura Belpré Award winner and Newbery Medalist, Donna Barba Higuera--a brilliant journey through the stars, to the very heart of what makes us...

A beautiful picture book for sharing and marking special occasions such as graduation, inspired by the life of the first African American woman to travel in space, Mae Jemison. An Amazon Best Book of the Month! A great classroom and bedtime read-aloud, Mae Among the Stars is the...

Nobel Peace Prize winner and New York Times bestselling author Malala Yousafzai's first picture book, inspired by her own childhood. Malala's first picture book will inspire young readers everywhere to find the magic all around them. As a child in Pakistan, Malala...

From the award-winning creator of My Dad Used to Be So Cool and Tough Guys Have Feelings Too comes a charming picture book inspired by the true story of Mary Edwards Walker, a trailblazing 19th-century doctor who was arrested many times for wearing pants. Once upon a time (but not that...

From Althea Gibson author Megan Reid and rising star artist Aaliya Jaleel, illustrator of Under My Hijab, comes the first picture book about trailblazing mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani, the first woman to win the world's most prestigious honor in mathematics. Perfect for fans of Hidden Figures...

From the author of Lailah's Lunchbox and Unsettled comes a powerful picture book biography about Maryam Faruqi, the founder of the Happy Home Schools, which provided education to thousands of girls across Pakistan at a time when girls weren't encouraged to go to school. ...

A Kirkus Reviews' Best Picture Book of 2018Mina loves to play soccer all year round. Nothing comes close to it. But when the monsoon arrives, Mina is stuck indoors and she can't help feeling restless and bored. Her ammi doesn't understand. The doodhwalla doesn't understand. That's when Mina decides...

When Dorothy was a young girl, she loved books, and she loved people, so she decided that she would become a librarian. Dorothy's dearest wish is to be a librarian in a fine brick library just like the one she visited when she was small. But her new home in North Carolina has...

"A heartfelt, informative, and thoroughly engaging picture book biography." --School Library Journal (starred review) From beloved author Sue Macy comes an illustrated biography of Mary Garber, one of the first female sports journalists in American history! ...

Discover the Korean War through the eyes of a journalist who covered it in author-illustrator Nathan Hale's Cold War Correspondent, a Hazardous Tale in the New York Times bestselling graphic novel series. In 1950, Marguerite Higgins (1920-1966) was...

A 2022 Coretta Scott King Book Award Honoree!   This luminous, defining picture book biography illustrated by Caldecott Honoree Christian Robinson, tells the remarkable and inspiring story of acclaimed singer Nina Simone and her bold, defiant, and exultant legacy. ...

Imagine learning to read at the age of 116! Discover the true story of Mary Walker, the nation's oldest student who did just that, in this picture book from a Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator and a rising star author. In 1848, Mary Walker was born into slavery. At age 15, she...

A Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year! Meet Olga, the amazing child scientist who LOVES animals (because they are super-cute)! Brightly put this heavily illustrated don't-miss book on their "Ultimate Summer Reading List for 9- to 12-Year-Olds." Olga and...

A Horn Book selection for "Picture Book Biographies for Women's History Month 2022" Fatima had one wish . . . Fatima al-Fihri loved to learn. She wanted to know everything, like how birds flew, why the sky was blue, and how flowers grew. But more than anything, she wanted a school...

In this engaging and moving middle grade novel, Saadia Faruqi writes about a contemporary Pakistani American girl whose passion for journalism starts a conversation about her grandmother's experience of the Partition of India and Pakistan--and the bond that the two form as she helps...

RECIPIENT OF THE PURA BELPRÉ HONOR  * A Today Show's Best Kids' Books of 2019 * Indie Next List Pick * Junior Library Guild Selection *  "An appealing tribute and successful remedy to the lack of titles about the groundbreaking librarian...a must...

Lyrical, inspiring, and affecting text paired with bright, appealing illustrations make Ready to Fly perfect for aspiring ballerinas everywhere who are ready to leap and to spread their wings! Ready to Fly is the true story of Sylvia Townsend, an African American girl...

What do Beyonce and Blue Ivy or Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst have in common? What about Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton or Karen E. Laine and Mina Starsiak Hawk? They're all incredible mother-daughter duos who have used their creativity, cleverness, and unique talents to do something...

A CBC-NSTA Editors' Outstanding Science Trade Book for 2025 * An inspiring picture book biography about Rosalind Franklin, the groundbreaking chemist who helped discover the structure of DNA, by the award-winning, bestselling author of Who Says Women Can't Be...

"A profile as bold and vivacious as the singer herself." --Kirkus (starred review) "Terrific for all collections that want to inspire the musically inclined and highlight innovative pioneers." --Booklist (starred review) "Bolden uses alliteration, assonance, repetition...

This acclaimed picture book autobiography tells the triumphant story of Sharice Davids, one of the first Native American women elected to Congress, and the first LGBTQ congressperson to represent Kansas. When Sharice Davids was young, she never thought she'd be in Congress. And she never...

From Newbery Honor-winning author Kathryn Lasky comes a nonfiction picture book about the stars! Lasky tells the inspiring true story of astronomer Williamina Fleming, who helped lay the foundations for modern astronomy and overcame impossible odds as an immigrant and a woman. For stargazers...

Bestselling and award-winning author-illustrator Marissa Moss tells the gripping story of America's first female cryptanalyst, Elizebeth Smith Friedman, who busted Nazi spy rings. Praised for her accessible blend of narrative nonfiction with graphic novel-style chapter openers...

An exquisitely illustrated paean to everyone who struggles to learn how to read, and to everyone who won't give up on them. Cal is not the readin' type. Living way high up in the Appalachian Mountains, he'd rather help Pap plow or go out after wandering sheep than try some book...

An epic middle-grade memoir about sisterhood and coming-of-age in the three years leading up to the Bosnian Genocide. Three Summers is the story of five young cousins who grow closer than sisters as ethnic tensions escalate over three summers in 1980s Bosnia. They navigate the joys and pitfalls of...

Perfect for fans of Hidden Figures and Mae Among the Stars! To Boldly Go tells the true story of Nichelle Nichols and how she used her platform on Star Trek to inspire and recruit a new generation of diverse astronauts and many others in the space and STEM fields. As...

An inspiring picture book biography of the first woman to win a gold medal in track and field. Young readers intrigued by the Summer 2021 Olympics in Tokyo will be inspired by this story. This nonfiction picture book is an excellent choice to share during homeschooling, in particular for...

In the vein of I Am Enough and Hold Them Close, this inspiring and beautiful picture book celebrates how hair wrapping ties together past and present. When I wrap, my roots run deep. As deep as an African marketplace or a city sidewalk or the...

A 2023 Jane Addams Children's Book Award Finalist An awe-inspiring autobiographical picture book about a young African American girl who lived during the shutdown of public schools in Farmville, Virginia, following the landmark civil rights case Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka....