Women's History Month Booklist - Plainfield-Guilford Township Public Library

12 Mar Women’s History Month Booklist

Posted at 13:00h in Kids, Readers' Advisory by Maureen

Every year, March is designated Women’s History Month which honors women’s contributions throughout history. It’s the perfect time for young readers to learn more, whether they have a role model or wish to seek more information about influential figures who left their marks on the world we know today. Below is a collection of books dedicated to the stories of women, the adversities they overcame, and how they continue to make history.

HerStory: 50 Women and Girls Who Shook Up the World by Katherine Halligan

It’s time for herstory—a celebration of not only what girls can do, but the remarkable things women have already accomplished, even when others tried to stop them.

In this uplifting and inspiring book, follow the stories of fifty powerhouse women from around the world and across time who each managed to change the world as they knew it forever. Telling the stories of their childhood, the challenges they faced, and the impact of their achievements, each lavishly illustrated spread is a celebration of girl power in its many forms. From astronauts to activists, musicians to mathematicians, these women are sure to motivate young readers of all backgrounds to focus not on the can’ts and shouldn’ts, but on what they can do: anything!

Source: Simon & Schuster

Rad Women Worldwide: Artists and Athletes, Pirates and Punks, and Other Revolutionaries Who Shaped History by Kate Schatz

Rad Women Worldwide tells fresh, engaging, and amazing tales of perseverance and radical success by pairing well-researched and riveting biographies with powerful and expressive cut-paper portraits. The book features an array of diverse figures from 430 BCE to 2016, spanning 31 countries around the world, from Hatshepsut (the great female king who ruled Egypt peacefully for two decades) and Malala Yousafzi (the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize) to Poly Styrene (legendary teenage punk and lead singer of X-Ray Spex) and Liv Arnesen and Ann Bancroft (polar explorers and the first women to cross Antarctica).

An additional 250 names of international rad women are also included as a reference for readers to continue their own research. Together, these stories show the immense range of what women have done and can do. May we all have the courage to be rad!

Source: Penguin Random House

Leading the Way: Women in Power by Senator Janet Howell & Theresa Howell

Meet some of the most influential leaders in America, including Jeannette Rankin, who, in 1916, became the first woman elected to Congress; Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American woman elected to Congress; Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court; and Bella Abzug, who famously declared, “This woman’s place is in the House . . . the House of Representatives!”

This engaging and wide-ranging collection of biographies highlights the actions, struggles, and accomplishments of more than fifty of the most influential leaders in American political history — leaders who have stood up, blazed trails, and led the way. Virginia Senator Janet Howell and her daughter-in-law Theresa Howell spotlight the careers of fifty American women in politics — and inspire readers to make a difference. With foreword by Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Source: Candlewick Press

Wonder Women of Science: Twelve Geniuses Who Are Currently Rocking Science, Technology, and the World by Tiera Fletcher & Ginger Rue

Searching the cosmos for a new Earth. Using math to fight human trafficking. Designing invisible (and safer) cars. Unlocking climate-change secrets. All of this groundbreaking science, and much more, is happening right now, spearheaded by the diverse female scientists and engineers profiled in this book.

Meet award-winning aerospace engineer Tiera Fletcher and twelve other science superstars and hear them tell in their own words not only about their fascinating work, but also about their childhoods and the paths they traveled to get where they are—paths that often involved failures and unexpected changes in direction, but also persistence, serendipity, and brilliant insights. Their careers range from computer scientist to microbiologist to unique specialties that didn’t exist before some amazing women profiled here created them. Here is a book to surprise and inspire not only die-hard science fans, but also those who don’t (yet!) think of themselves as scientists. Back matter includes reading suggestions, an index, a glossary, and some surprising ideas for how to get involved in the world of STEM.

Source: Penguin Random House

Forgotten Founders: Black Patriots, Women Soldiers, and Other Thinkers and Heroes Who Shaped Early America by Mifflin Lowe

The miraculous founding of America was not accomplished by a handful of people; it required the heart, soul, and grit of an entire nation. Today, we rightfully honor the efforts of the Founding Fathers, but what about everyone else who sacrificed for the cause? Introducing Forgotten Founders, the inspiring book of stories about the heroic women, African Americans, Native Americans, immigrants, and others who played pivotal roles in America’s birth. Make no mistake: these were no historical footnotes. These were brave men and women—soldiers, spies, housewives, physicians, musicians—without whom the war simply could never have been won and the new republic never begun.

Readers will meet Sybil Ludington, the sixteen-year-old girl who rode all night to warn of a British attack (and didn’t get caught!); Nancy Hart: the indomitable woman who captured six Loyalist soldiers; Cuffee Wells Saunders, the talented physician who won his freedom and saved lives serving in the Continental Army; Phyllis Wheatley, the gifted Black poet whose work was praised by Voltaire and George Washington; Deborah Sampson, the colonial woman who dressed as a man to enlist in the Continental Army; Peter Salem, the former slave who became the hero of the Battle of Bunker Hill; and many more! Read, learn, and discover in beautiful new ways that America’s origin story really is everybody’s story.

Source: Bushel & Peck Books

Latinitas: Celebrating 40 Big Dreamers by Juliet Menéndez

Discover how 40 influential Latinas became the women we celebrate today! In this collection of short biographies from all over Latin America and across the United States, Juliet Menéndez explores the first small steps that set the Latinitas off on their journeys. With gorgeous, hand-painted illustrations, Menéndez shines a spotlight on the power of childhood dreams.

From Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to singer Selena Quintanilla to NASA’s first virtual reality engineer, Evelyn Miralles, this is a book for aspiring artists, scientists, activists, and more. These women followed their dreams—and just might encourage you to follow yours!

Source: MacMillan

There is no limit to what women can do! Like each of the women explored in the stories above, they all started as children with dreams, just like you! Read about more inspiring leaders, trailblazers, and champions by checking out these books from the Evergreen catalog: