Becoming RBG by Debbie Levy
Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a modern feminist icon–a leader in the fight for equal treatment of girls and women in society and the workplace. She blazed trails to the peaks of the male-centric worlds of education and law, where women had rarely risen before. Ruth Bader Ginsburg has often said that true and lasting change in society and law is accomplished slowly, one step at a time. That is how she has evolved too. Step by step, the shy little girl became a child who questioned unfairness, who became a student who persisted despite obstacles, who became an advocate who resisted injustice, who became a judge who revered the rule of law, who became…RBG.
Bloom: A story of fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli by Kyo Maclear
By the 1930s Elsa Schiaparelli had captivated the fashion world in Paris, but before that, she was a little girl in Rome who didn’t feel pretty at all. This is the enchanting story for young readers of how a young girl used her imagination and emerged from plain to extraordinary.
Danza!: Amalia Hernández and el Ballet Folklórico de México by Duncan Tonatiuh
A picture book biography about Amalia Hernández (1917-2000), the dancer and choreographer who founded the Mexican Folkloric Ballet, a dance organization that continues to perform today.
Elizabeth Started All the Trouble by Doreen Rappaport
She couldn’t go to college. She couldn’t become a politician. She couldn’t even vote. But Elizabeth Cady Stanton didn’t let that stop her. She called on women across the nation to stand together and demand to be treated as equal to men–and that included the right to vote. It took nearly seventy-five years and generations of women fighting for their rights through words, through action, and through pure determination–for things to slowly begin to change.
Game Changers: The Story of Venus and Serena Williams by Lesa Cline-Ransome
Shares the story of the sisters and tennis stars, including their special relationship as sisters and best friends, their constant training as children, and their incredible success in professional tennis.
Gloria’s Voice by Aura Lewis
Gloria Steinem is known as a leader of the feminist movement and a trailblazer who fights for equality for all people. This unofficial biography for young readers tells her story, from being a young girl with big dreams to her inspiring travels in India to the launch of Ms. magazine, which gave women a voice. Gloria’s message of believing in yourself and following your dreams will inspire a whole new generation.
Grace Banker and Her Hello Girls Answer the Call by Claudia Friddell
Led by twenty-five-year-old Grace Banker, thirty-two telephone operators — affectionately called Hello Girls back in the US — became the first female combatants in World War I. Follow Grace Banker’s journey from her busy life as a telephone switchboard trainer in New York to her pioneering role as the Chief Operator of the 1st Unit of World War I telephone operators in the battlefields of France. With expert skill, steady nerves, and steadfast loyalty, the Signal Corps operators transferred orders from commanders to battlefields and communicated top-secret messages between American and French headquarters. After faithfully serving her country–undaunted by freezing weather and fires; long hours and little sleep, and nearby shellings and far off explosions–Grace was the first and only woman operator in the Signal Corps to be awarded the Army’s Distinguished Service Medal.
Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life by Laurie Wallmark
Hedy Lamarr became a movie legend, but her true loves were always science and engineering. During World War II, Hedy collaborated with another inventor on an innovative technology called frequency hopping. It was designed to prevent the enemy from jamming torpedo radio signals and commanding weapons to go off course. Frequency hopping is still used today to keep our cell phone messages private and defend our computers from hackers.
Joan of Arc by Demi
As a young girl, Joan cared for the sick, gave money to the poor, and attended church services. She prayed daily that France would be delivered from the English and Burgundian invaders who were ravishing the country. When Joan was thirteen, she had a life-changing experience. The archangel Michael appeared in a vision and told her that she would save the kingdom of France and lead the dauphin (heir to the throne) to Reims Cathedral to be crowned king. Joan could not imagine how she, a peasant girl, could do these extraordinary things, but she also realized that she must follow God’s will. Calling herself the Maid of God, she set off to gather an army, win a number of crucial battles, and install the dauphin on crucial battles, and install the dauphin on the French throne. Although the king later deserted her when France’s enemies put her on trial for heresy and burned her at the stake, her bravery and faith inspired the French people and led them to victory
Maya Lin: Designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial by Jeanne Walker Harvey
The story of Maya Lin, the artist-architect who designed the Vietnam War Memorial.
Megan Rapinoe: Making a Difference as an Athlete by Katie Kawa
Athletes inspire people both on and off the field, and Megan Rapinoe understands her responsibility to use her fame and visibility to push for positive changes in her sport and in the world as a whole. Young sports fans are sure to be captivated by stories of Rapinoe’s soccer stardom, but as they learn about her game-winning goals, they’ll also learn about her advocacy for equal pay, racial equality, and LGBT+ rights.
Miss Mary Reporting by Sue Macy
Examines the career of Mary Garber, who “was a sportswriter for fifty-six years and was the first woman to receive the Associated Press Sports Editors Red Smith Award, presented for major contributions in sports journalism. And now, every year the Association of Women in Sports Media presents the Mary Garber Pioneer Award in her honor to a role model for women in sports media.
My Name is Gabriela by Monica Brown
Gabriela Mistral loved words, sounds and stories. Born in Chile, she would grow to become the first Nobel Prize-winning Latina woman in the world. As a poet and a teacher, she inspired children across many countries to let their voices be heard.
Runaway: The Daring Escape of Ona Judge by Ray Anthony Shepherd
An elegant, unforgiving poem narrating Ona Judge’s self-emancipation from George Washington’s household.
Shirley Chisholm is a Verb by Veronica Chambers
A picture book biography celebrating the life and contributions of Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman in Congress, who sought the Democratic nomination to be the president of the United States.
Sky High!: The Story of Maggie Gee by Marissa Moss
A biography of Maggie Gee who became one of only two Chinese American women pilots to serve in World War II.
The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles
For months six-year-old Ruby Bridges must confront the hostility of white parents when she becomes the first African American girl to integrate Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans in 1960.
Trailblazer: The Story of Raven Wilkinson by Leda Schubert
Tells the little-known story of Raven Wilkinson, the first African American woman to dance for a major classical ballet company and an inspiration to Misty Copeland. No black ballerina had ever danced with a major touring troupe before. Raven would be the first. From the time she was a little girl, all she wanted to do was dance. On Raven’s ninth birthday, her uncle gifted her with ballet lessons, and she completely fell in love with dance. While she was a student at Columbia University, Raven auditioned for the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and was finally accepted on her third try, even after being told she couldn’t dance with them because of her skin color. When she started touring with her troupe in the United States in 1955, Raven encountered much racism in the South, but the applause, alongside the opportunity to dance, made all the hardship worth it. Several years later she would dance for royalty with the Dutch National Ballet and regularly performed with the New York City Opera until she was fifty.
Turning Pages by Sonia Sotomayor
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor tells her own story for young readers for the very first time! As the first Latina Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor has inspired young people around the world to reach for their dreams. But what inspired her? For young Sonia, the answer was books! They were her mirrors, her maps, her friends, and her teachers. They helped her to connect with her family in New York and in Puerto Rico, to deal with her diabetes diagnosis, to cope with her father’s death, to uncover the secrets of the world, and to dream of a future for herself in which anything was possible.
What Miss Mitchell Saw by Hayley Barrett
Every evening, from the time she was a child, Maria Mitchell stood on her rooftop with her telescope and swept the sky. And then one night she saw something unusual–a comet no one had ever seen before! Miss Mitchell’s extraordinary discovery made her famous the world over and paved the way for her to become America’s first professional female astronomer.