All the Way to the Top: How One Girl's Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything
By Annette Bay Pimentel, Nabi H. Ali, Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins
Jennifer Keelan was determined to make a change―even if she was just a kid. She never thought her wheelchair could slow her down, but the way the world around her was built made it hard to do even simple things. Like going to school or eating lunch in the cafeteria.
Jennifer knew that everyone deserves a voice! Then the Americans with Disabilities Act, a law that would make public spaces much more accessible to people with disabilities, was proposed to Congress. And to make sure it passed, Jennifer went to the steps of the Capitol building in Washington DC to convince them. And, without her wheelchair, she climbed...ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP!
Bo the Brave
By Bethan Woollvin
Bo wants to be just like her brothers and capture a fearsome monster, but Bo is small―too small to catch a monster. Or so her brothers say. Luckily, Bo isn’t one to take no for an answer, and so she sets off on a quest to catch a monster of her own. Can she defeat the furious griffin, conquer the hideous kraken, and triumph over the monstrous dragon? Or has Bo got the wrong idea about who the real monsters are?
Author-illustrator Bethan Woollvin, creator of the New York Times Best Illustrated Book Little Red, delivers an original fairy tale with a spirited female protagonist, a vibrant medieval backdrop, and a clever twist ending.
A Girl Can Build Anything
By e.E. Charlton-Trujillo, Pat Zietlow Miller, Keisha Morris
Have you ever dreamed of building something? Maybe something little—like a birdhouse? Or something big—like a skyscraper? If you can envision it, you can build it! A Girl Can Build Anything is a playful celebration of all the different ways girls can make things—from tinkering to tool wielding, from ideas on paper to big, lived-out dreams that require brick and mortar. This fun and empowering ode to self expression will inspire readers to jump up and immediately start to build. Because they can. They can do anything!
Grace for President
By Kelly DiPucchio, LeUyen Pham
When Grace's teacher reveals that the United States has never had a female president, Grace decides she wants to be the nation's first and immediately jumpstarts her political career by running in her school's mock election! The race is tougher than she expected: her popular opponent declares that he's the ""best man for the job"" and seems to have captured the votes of all of the class's boys. But Grace is more determined than ever. Even if she can't be the best man for the job, she can certainly try to be the best person!
This timely story not only gives readers a fun introduction to the American electoral system but also teaches the value of hard work, courage, independent thought -- and offers an inspiring example of how to choose our leaders.
Lucy! How Lucille Ball Did It All
By Amy Guglielmo, Brigette Barrager, Jacqueline Tourville
Lucy was not a proper little girl. She was sassy. She was bold. She was funny. She was a rule-breaking, chance-taking, comedy pioneer.
Can’t act? Can’t sing? Can’t dance? Lucy proves them all wrong—and then has the last laugh when she finally lets her inner funny girl shine. In 1951, the hit show I Love Lucy took television by storm, and has made millions laugh ever since. Lucy! is the true story of how Lucille Ball overcame the odds to become the world’s Queen of Comedy.
Miss MacDonald Has a Farm
By Kalee Gwarjanski, Elizabet Vukovic
In this female-forward spin on the traditional children's song "Old MacDonald", readers can join Miss MacDonald on her vegetable farm and see all the work that goes into growing healthy and delicious produce.
“Miss MacDonald has a farm,
She loves things that grow!"
E-I-E-I-GROW! With a "weed-weed" here and a "pick-pick" there, young readers can follow Miss MacDonald as she tends to her vegetable farm. It's a rollicking, rhyming read-aloud that ends in a community feast and celebrates themes of healthy eating, plant-based meals, local produce, gardening, seasons, and female farmers.
Miss Moore Thought Otherwise: How Anne Carroll Moore Created Libraries for Children
By Jan Pinborough, Debby Atwell
Once upon a time, American children couldn’t borrow library books. Reading wasn’t all that important for children, many thought. Luckily Miss Anne Carroll Moore thought otherwise! This is the true story of how Miss Moore created the first children’s room at the New York Public Library, a bright, warm room filled with artwork, window seats, and most important of all, borrowing privileges to the world’s best children’s books in many different languages.
The Peach Pit Parade: A WWI Story
By Shana Keller, Margeaux Lucas
When Polly's father goes overseas to fight in World War I, her whole world changes. Though the war is in Europe, its effects are felt on American soil. There are food, fuel, and other supply shortages everywhere. Even something as simple and enjoyable as a family Sunday car ride isn't possible anymore. Everyone must do their part to help the war effort. Victory gardens are planted and scrap metal is collected. "It's the biggest event in our history. And it involves every single adult, every single boy, and every single girl," says Polly's teacher. As Polly struggles to make sense of the war, she wonders how she can contribute. When the government puts out a notice requesting peach pits to be used in gas mask filters, Polly (who is a Girl Scout!) knows how she can help
Saving the Countryside: The Story of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit
By Linda Marshall, Ilaria Urbinati
Growing up in London, Beatrix Potter felt the restraints of Victorian times. Girls didn't go to school and weren't expected to work. But she longed to do something important, something that truly mattered. As Beatrix spent her summers in the country and found inspiration in nature, it was through this passion that her creativity flourished.
There, she crafted The Tale of Peter Rabbit. She would eventually move to the countryside full-time, but developers sought to change the land. To save it, Beatrix used the money from the success of her books and bought acres and acres of land and farms to prevent the development of the countryside that both she and Peter Rabbit so cherished. Because of her efforts, it's been preserved just as she left it.
This beautiful picture book shines a light on Beatrix Potter's lesser-known history and her desire to do something for the greater good.
She Was the First!: The Trailblazing Life of Shirley Chisholm
By Katheryn Russell-Brown, Eric Velasquez
Even as a young child growing up in the 1920s, Shirley Chisholm was a leader. At the age of three, older children were already following her lead in their Brooklyn neighborhood.
As a student at Brooklyn College, Shirley could outtalk anyone who opposed her on the debate team. After graduating, she used her voice and leadership to fight for educational change. In community groups, she stood up for the rights of women and minorities. Her small stature and fiery determination often took people by surprise. But they listened.
In 1964, Shirley took her voice and leadership to politics, becoming the first Black woman elected to the New York State Assembly, and in 1968, the first Black woman elected to Congress. Then in 1972, she became the first Black woman to seek the presidency of the United States. She pushed for laws that helped women, children, students, poor people, farm workers, Native people, and others who were often ignored. She fought for healthcare. She spoke up for military veterans. She spoke out against war.
A Take-Charge Girl Blazes a Trail to Congress: The Story of Jeannette Rankin
By Gretchen Woelfle, Rebecca Gibbon
Jeannette Rankin was always a take-charge girl. Whether taking care of horses or her little brothers and sisters—Jeannette knew what to do and got the job done. That’s why, when she saw poor children living in bad conditions in San Francisco, she knew she had to take charge and change things. But in the early twentieth century, women like Jeannette couldn’t vote to change the laws that failed to protect children. Jeannette became an activist and led the charge, campaigning for women’s right to vote. And when her home state, Montana, gave women that right, Jeannette ran for Congress and became America’s first congressWOMAN!
Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors? The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell
By Tanya Lee Stone, Marjorie Priceman
In the 1830s, when a brave and curious girl named Elizabeth Blackwell was growing up, women were supposed to be wives and mothers. Some women could be teachers or seamstresses, but career options were few. Certainly no women were doctors.
But Elizabeth refused to accept the common beliefs that women weren’t smart enough to be doctors, or that they were too weak for such hard work. And she would not take no for an answer. Although she faced much opposition, she worked hard and finally—when she graduated from medical school and went on to have a brilliant career—proved her detractors wrong. This inspiring story of the first female doctor shows how one strong-willed woman opened the doors for all the female doctors to come.
