When it comes to women's empowerment, sometimes you just need a role model to inspire your own — or your children's — path forward.
March is Women's History Month and National Reading Month, which means it's the perfect time to curl up with your little one and read books about women's achievements and contributions in music, politics, science, and more. By learning about these success, they'll have an easier time envisioning their own.
Yes, more work needs to be done. There's still a gender gap in STEM, the Equal Rights Amendment has not been ratified, and Congress is overwhelmingly unbalanced (just 27 percent is women). However, there are still a lot of successes to celebrate — and read about. We've come a long way, and from a young age, it's good to recognize the women who broke boundaries and made history, like NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, who calculated how to send the first American into space, and Emily Roebling, who helped build the Brooklyn Bridge.
Here are 13 children's books that will inspire young readers, no matter their age, to advocate for themselves, stand up for women's rights, and follow their dreams, whether that involves a pair of ballet shoes, a calculator, or a seat on the Supreme Court.
Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World (4 - 8 years)
By Susan Hood
Susan Hood's Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World is an artistic chronology of women leaders, spanning from the late 18th century all the way to 2014. Each of the 14 biographies, written as poems with accompanying short summaries at the bottom, is paired with its own woman illustrator, making the story both a thematically and visually diverse experience. Stories include that of investigative journalist Nellie Bly, Black female astronaut Mae Jemison, and even Molly Williams, the first known female firefighter in the United States.
Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré (4 - 8 years)
By Anika Aldamuy Denise, Illustrated by Paola Escobar
In Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré, Anika Aldamuy Denise highlights the life and legacy of New York City Public Library's first Puerto Rican librarian. Pura Belpré, bilingual librarian, author, and puppeteer, moved to New York in 1920 and left a lasting mark on the diverse communities of children and families who frequented the city's libraries. With stunning illustrations by Paola Escobar, the book is great for younger readers, New York City residents, and those interested in learning more about a woman who quietly made history.
Rad Women Worldwide, Rad American Women A-Z, and Rad Girls Can (10 years and up)
By Kate Schatz, Illustrated by Miriam Klein Stahl
Kate Schatz' Rad Women series is a trilogy of visually captivating and historically rich profiles about both known and unknown, history-making (and just plain rad) women and girls around the world. In Rad Women Worldwide, readers are introduced to dozens of women, girls, and feminist coalitions across centuries of history — you'll find well known names like Venus and Serena Williams alongside older women icons, like the Mesopotamian princess and world's first known author Enheduanna. Rad American Women A-Z is a brightly-illustrated compendium of famous American women. In the latest installment, Rad Girls Can: Stories of Bold, Brave, and Brilliant Young Women, Schatz focuses on young changemakers, present and past, like ballerina Misty Copeland, author Mary Shelley, or youth activist Marley Dias. The trilogy is best suited for children ages 10 and up or those who read close to a middle school level.
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