Denver Public Library staff recommend these books in honor of Women's History Month. Some of them are true stories about trailblazing women and some are fictional tales of brave girls. All of them celebrate women and girls, and they are great reads!
Early Childhood | Early Elementary | Late Elementary and Middle School
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!
Asiya loves to visit Nanu's house and rummage through her katha chest filled with quilts that tell stories about the bold and brave women in Asiya's family.
A girl and her grandmother spend the day making mochi together in this gentle and joyous celebration of family, tradition, and the memories that matter most. Includes information on mochi and a recipe.
Girls are strong and powerful alone, but even stronger when they work to uplift one another. In this galvanizing original poem by presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman, girls and girlhood are celebrated in their many forms, all beautiful, not for how they look but for how they look into the face of fear.
A modern Wabanaki girl is excited to accompany her grandmother for the first time to harvest sweetgrass for basket making.
From Ella Fitzgerald and Oprah Winfrey to Katherine Johnson and Maya Angelou, with these extraordinary role models, your little leader will go to sleep inspired.
Follows the journey of a pink hat that is swiped out of a knitting basket by a pesky kitten, blown into a tree by a strong wind, and used as a cozy blanket for a new baby, then finally makes its way onto the head of a young girl marching for women's equality.
An exciting ABC board book featuring Black women musicians whose artistry and activism globally changed the way we hear and interact with music, one song at a time.
After watching an ice-skating movie, young Zahra sets her mind to learn how to ice skate even though her family and friends doubt her abilities. After all, she's too old to learn, the rink is too cold, and figure skaters don't look like her... not yet at least! Illustrated with Sara Alfageeh's energetic lines and colors that pop right off the page, we follow Zahra's story as she glides across the floors of her house in her socks all the way to the ice rink... and as she repeatedly says ''not yet'' to naysayers -- including herself -- who try to convince her to stop pursuing her dream.
Early Elementary
From an inquisitive and compassionate young girl to a world-renowned and award-winning architect and humanitarian, Yasmeen Lari has an empowering and inspiring life story. Learn about her success in a career dominated by men, her early work of advocating for and restoring historic buildings in Pakistan, and her turn to eco-friendly and sustainable design in the wake of natural disasters.
A nonfiction picture book biography about Barbara Hillary, the first Black woman to reach both the North and South Poles.
A ... picture book featuring a Korean girl and her haenyeo (free diving) grandmother about intergenerational bonds, finding courage in the face of fear, and connecting with our natural world.
A stunning love letter to the important women who shape us -- from our own mothers and grandmothers to the legends who paved the way for girls and women everywhere.
Tu Youyou had been interested in science and medicine since she was a child, so when malaria started infecting people all over the world in 1969, she went to work finding a treatment. Trained as a medical researcher in college and healed by traditional medicine techniques when she was young, Tu Youyou started experimenting with natural Chinese remedies. The treatment she discovered through years of research and experimentation is still used all over the world today.
This illustrated book introduces children to the story of Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson, the two transgender women of colour who helped kickstart the Stonewall Riots and dedicated their lives to fighting for LGBTQ+ equality. It introduces children to issues surrounding gender identity and diversity, accompanied by a reading guide and teaching materials to further the conversation.
Celebrates aunts, related by birth or not, who surround children with unyielding love and support. Includes author's note.
In 1969, a Black woman brings her two little boys along when she exercises her right to vote for the first time.
Indigenous women have always worked tirelessly to protect our water -- keeping it pure and clean for the generations to come. Yet there was a time when their voices and teachings were nearly drowned out, leaving entire communities and environments in danger and without clean water. But then came Grandma Josephine and her great-niece, Autumn. Speak for the water. Sing for the water. Dance for the water. With moving lyricism and arresting illustrations, Carole Lindstrom and Bridget George celebrate Josephine Mandamin and Autumn Peltier, two groundbreaking water warriors who have created a tidal wave of change.
Queens. Warriors. Witches. Revolutionaries. History is full of sisters making their mark. Meet incredible women in this nonfiction book for kids, from Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret to tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams. Authors (and sisters!) Olivia Meikle and Katie Nelson have scoured history for jaw-dropping stories of amazing siblings.
A biography of a powerhouse female Japanese chef and her rise to fame.
An African American girl finds inspiration and affirmation in the lives of historic women like Sojourner Truth, Michelle Obama, Billie Holiday, and Zora Neale Hurston.
A picture book biography of Delaware State Senator Sarah McBride.
Jovita didn't want to cook and clean like her sisters, and she especially didn't want to wear the skirts her abuela gave her. She wanted to race her brothers and climb the tallest mesquite trees in Rancho Palos Blancos, ride horses, and wear pants! When her father and brothers joined the Cristeros War to fight for the right to practice religion, she wanted to help. She wasn't allowed to fight, but that didn't stop her from observing how her father strategized and familiarizing herself with the terrain. When tragedy struck, she did the only thing that felt right to her -- cut her hair, donned a pair of pants, and continued the fight, commanding a battalion who followed her without question. Jovita Wore Pants is the story of a trailblazing revolutionary who fought for her freedom, told by her great niece, bestselling author Aida Salazar, and illustrated by Molly Mendoza.
A memoir in poems of award-winning singer and Civil Rights activist Mavis Staples.
When Jackie Ormes sees an opportunity, she takes it. She's a journalist, cartoonist, fashionista, philanthropist, and activist -- and she wants to use her artistry to bring joy and hope to Black people everywhere. But in post-World War II America, Black people are still being denied their civil rights, and Jackie has a dilemma: How can her art remain true to her signature Jackie joy, while also staying honest about the inequalities Black people have been fighting against? Traci N. Todd and Shannon Wright have crafted a gorgeous and moving tribute to the indelible legacy of America's first Black woman cartoonist.
In her grandmother's garden, a young Black girl learns about mindfulness and herbal medicine in this soothing intergenerational story about our connection to nature.
A young Black girl and her aunt celebrate the wonder and magic of their family's legacy through storytelling.r.
Late Elementary and Middle School
Set in 1776, this is the story of thirteen-year-old Elsbeth, who struggles to find her missing father amidst the smallpox epidemic sweeping across Boston during the American revolution.
After ice-skater and Olympic hopeful Mina wipes out at her biggest competition she gets recruited by a squad of vampires who need a human player to complete their Paranormal Roller Derby team.
A graphic novel collection of girl-centered fantasy stories, based on Indonesian traditional tales.
Spanning over five hundred years, a novel telling the stories of four girls from different generations of a Jewish family, many of them forced to leave their country and start a new life.
Life as a chicken girl isn't so bad, but Mella wants more. Though girls can't be official apprentices to artists in Florence, Mella has been secretly teaching herself to paint while tending to artist Sandro Botticelli's chickens. When one of Botticelli's actual apprentices discovers Mella's work, he threatens to take full credit for it. Why does it matter who drew it if it's good? With the help of unexpected allies, an important patron, and a tenacious stray dog named Blue, Mella must summon all her courage, smarts, and skills to prove her worth and demand the recognition she deserves.
Aware of the racial tumult in the years after the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act, Mei tries to remain blissfully focused on her job, her close friendship with the camp foreman's daughter, and telling stories about Paul Bunyan--reinvented as Po Pan Yin (Auntie Po), an elderly Chinese matriarch.
In 1910 New York City, four years after her Irish immigrant father dies of tuberculosis, ten-year-old Essie's fear and anxiety continue to grow uncontrollably, so much that when her mother, a brave nurse, remarries and the family moves to North Brother Island, where Essie's new stepfather runs a quarantine hospital for the incurably sick, Essie imagines all manner of horrors, including the ghost of a little girl--which might not be imaginary after all.
In this chapter book biography by acclaimed author Andrew Maraniss, readers learn more about the life and work of Jordan Marie Brings Three White Horses Whetstone-from growing up Lakota in South Dakota, to her journey to becoming a Division 1 runner in college and later a professional runner, to her work in Washington DC advocating for Indigenous people and communities. Jordan Marie Brings Three White Horses Whetstone has changed the world beyond sports.
A work of fiction inspired by a true story, Matt Tavares's debut graphic novel dramatizes the historic struggle for gender equality in high school sports. It is 1975 in Indiana, and the Wilkins Regional High School girls' basketball team is in their rookie season. Despite being undefeated, they practice at night in the elementary school and play to empty bleachers. Unlike the boys' team, the Lady Bears have no buses to deliver them to away games and no uniforms, much less a laundry service. They make their own uniforms out of T-shirts and electrical tape. And with help from a committed female coach, they push through to improbable victory after improbable victory.
Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy are having a really tough year: Not only is their father overseas with the military and their mother working overtime to make ends meet, but each girl is struggling with her own unique problems. Whether it's school woes, health issues, boy troubles or simply feeling lost, the March sisters all need the same thing: support from each other. By coming together -- and sharing lots of laughs and tears -- these four young women find the courage to discover who they truly are as individuals... and as a family.
This collection features 25 stories of extraordinary women in music--women who have moved hearts and minds with their lyrics, uplifted other musicians, and gotten people to jump, dance, and sing along with their music. Belt out pop anthems with Lizzo, bang on the drums with Nandi Bushell, and write country hits with Dolly Parton. The women in this book come from all around the world. They play different instruments, experiment with new sounds, and stand out in their genres. But one thing is true of them all: They rock!