School Age Storytime: Women's History Month 2022 Hold Fast to Dreams!

 

(K-1st grade, virtual Bedminster School)
Women’s History Month, sharing real & fictional stories of girls who defied convention, worked hard and followed their dreams. 

Amazing Grace – Mary Hoffman  Grace loves acting out stories. Told by her classmates that she can’t play the part of Peter Pan because she’s a girl & black, she learns that she can do anything she puts her mind to.

Every-Day Dress Up – Selina Alko – A girl ditches her princess duds in favor of daring dames – Amelia Earhart, Ella Fitzgerald, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Marie Carie & more. Briefly discussed each woman presented. (When I read this in person and get to Stanton, I mention women couldn’t even vote in the US until a little less than 100 years ago – had them figure out how old the US is (240 years) so for most of that time, women couldn’t vote. Long battle, Stanton and others spent their whole lives (70 years!) trying to get women’s voting rights.

“It is fun to dress up in princess skirts for dress up or a party, but how would they like to wear long heavy skirts (as heavy as a box of books!) everyday?  They couldn’t bike, or climb a tree, or run and play…”

You Forgot Your Skirt, Amelia Bloomer! --- Shana Corey –  Delightful biography of the suffragist & newspaper founder who founded a movement to get women out of long limiting skirts.

Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors: The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell by Tanya Lee Stone -- In the 1830s, Elizabeth Blackwell refused to accept the common belief that women weren't smart enough or were too weak to be doctors. She wouldn't take "no" for an answer, was finally accepted at medical school and went on to become America's first female physician...paving the way for women doctors today.  

Nobody Owns the Sky: The Story of “Brave Bessie” Coleman – Reeve Lindbergh (youngest daughter of Charles) – No American flying school would teach Bessie because she was black so she sailed to France for lessons then returned to the states with the dream of starting her own school for African American pilots.

Movement – “Stretch High, Bend Low, Reach to the Sky, Then to Your Sides, Spread Your Wings, Turn around , then sit back down.”

Book: Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty   Rosie loves to invent until an uncle laughs at her cheddar cheese hat, but her Great-Aunt Rose (a tribute to the “Rosie the Riviters” of WW2) convinces her that inventions that fail are not failures….your brilliant first flop was a raging success…come on, let’s get busy and on to the next!…The only true failure can come if you quit.” 

 

Fun related book: Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty (2nd grade boy saves the day when his class is stranded on an island and he builds a suspension bridge.)

Speaking of architects, true story of unconventional architect Zaha Hadid
The World is Not a Rectangle by Jeannette Winter

Finished with the new book from our national poet Laureate

Change Sings by Amanda Gorman -- As a young girl leads a cast of characters on a musical journey, they learn that they have the power to make changes—big or small—in the world, in their communities, and in most importantly, in themselves.

(As needed, did a variety of stretches and chants encouraging the kids to dream high & work hard to achieve their dreams)

Previous years: 
https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Women%27s%20History%20Month 
http://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2014/03/school-age-storytimes-womens-history.html

Some other great titles:

An Equal Shot: How the Law Title IX Changed America by Helaine Becker
She Persited: 13 American Women Who Changed the World by Chelsea Clinton (and others in the series
Sky High: The True Story of Maggie Gee – Marissa Moss
My Name is Not Isabella: Just How Big Can a Little Girl Dream? – Jennifer Fosberry
To the Stars: The First American Woman to Walk in Space – Carmella Van Vleet
Wilma Unlimited – Kathleen Krull&  Go Wilma Go! by Amira Rose Davis & Michael G. Long
Elizabeth Leads the Way:Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote – Tanya Lee Stone
I Could Do That: Esther Morris Gets Women the Vote – Linda Arms White
Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea: Marie Tharp Maps the Ocean Floor – Robert Burleigh

Many more here:

Telling Her Story: Picture Books About 99 Real-Life Mighty Girls & Women

New Mighty Girl Books for Women's History Month 2022

50 Children's Books About Mighty Girls & Women Around The World

Ignite Her Curiosity: 60 Children's Books to Inspire Science-Loving Mighty Girls

Science Is For Girls: 30 New Children's Books About Girls and Women in Science

Girls Make It Work: 30 Books About Mighty Girls and Women in Engineering

 http://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2015/03/celebrating-women-history-month.html    http://www.whatdowedoallday.com/2013/03/women-in-history-best-books-for-kids.html

More on early pilots:  https://nobodyownsthesky.wordpress.com/

Bedm. 3/22.

School Age Storytimes: Women’s History Month

Storytimes for grades K-3 celebrating women in history and encouraging girls and boys to go beyond their comfort zones, to take risks and make history!

"Do something every day that scares you." -- Eleanor Roosevelt
"Do what you feel in your heart to be right -- for you'll be criticized
anyway." -- Eleanor Roosevelt from Eleanor: Quiet No More by Doreen Rappaport. 

Another great biography: 

Unshakable Eleanor: How Our 32nd First Lady Used Her Voice to Fight for Human Rights by Michelle Markel

There was a young woman who wanted to fly.
But the people said, "Kiss that wish good-bye!
The sky's too big and the sky's too high,
And you never will fly, so you'd better not try."
But this woman laughed, and she just said, "Why?
Nobody owns the sky!"
-- from Nobody Owns the Sky: The Story of
"Brave Bessie" Coleman by Reeve Lindbergh

 

Elizabeth Leads the Way (Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote)

by Tanya Lee Stone (JB Stanton)
(some classes) sing/chant: "V-O-T-E (form letters with bodies – tune “YMCA”)-- Women Want Equality!!"

Eleanor: Quiet No More by Doreen Rappaport (JB Roosevelt)

 

 

Nobody Owns the Sky -- The Story of "Brave Bessie" Coleman by Reeve Lindbergh (black woman who became a pilot in 1921 when everyone said she couldn't do that), ...mentioned Amelia Earhart books, Soar Elinor by Tami Lewis Brown, Sky High, The True Story of Maggie Gee by Marissa Moss (WWII women pilots finally receiving Congressional Medals of Honor a couple of years ago) & compared with the fictional picture book "Amazing Grace" by Mary Hoffman).  Other great female pilot books at: http://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2013/09/school-age-storytime-to-fly-stories.html

 

Miss Lady Bird's Wildflowers -- Kathi Appelt (JB Roosevelt) (just told segments in some groups) (inspiration for Barbara Cooney's picture book "Miss Rumphius"?) finished with quote: ...When asked why she helped found the National Wildflower Research Center, Lady Bird said that it was her way of
"paying rent for the space I have taken up in this highly interesting world!"

 

3/13

 

 

 

3/16  School Age Storytime: Hold Fast to Dreams–Fly High!

http://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2016/03/school-age-storytime-hold-fast-to.html

School Age Storytime: Hold Fast to Dreams–Fly High!

(K-3rd grade)
At the tale end of  Read Across America week celebrating Dr. Seuss’ birthday and the beginning of Women’s History Month, we shared stories of girls who defied convention, worked hard and followed their dreams.
(Relates to Dr. Seuss’ book Oh the Places You’ll Go)

Amazing Grace – Mary Hoffman  Grace loves acting out stories. Told by her classmates that she can’t play the part of Peter Pan because she’s a girl & black, she learns that she can do anything she puts her mind to.

Asked what they wanted to be when they grew up. Women often were told they couldn’t be what they wanted to be.

Every-Day Dress Up – Selina Alko – A girl ditches her princess duds in favor of daring dames – Amelia Earhart, Ella Fitzgerald, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Marie Carie & more. Briefly discussed each woman presented. When we discussed Stanton, mentioned women couldn’t even vote in the US until a little less than 100 years ago – had them figure out how old the US is (240 years) so for most of that time, women couldn’t vote. Long battle, Stanton and others spent their whole lives (70 years!) trying to get women’s voting rights.

“It is fun to dress up in princess skirts for dress up or a party, but how would they like to wear long heavy skirts (as heavy as a box of books!) everyday?  They couldn’t bike, or climb a tree, or run and play…”

You Forgot Your Skirt, Amelia Bloomer! --- Shana Corey –  Delightful biography of the suffragist & newspaper founder who founded a movement to get women out of long limiting skirts.

Nobody Owns the Sky: The Story of “Brave Bessie” Coleman – Reeve Lindbergh (youngest daughter of Charles) – No American flying school would teach Bessie because she was black so she sailed to France for lessons then returned to the states with the dream of starting her own school for African American pilots.

Movement – “Stretch High, Bend Low, Reach to the Sky, Then to Your Sides, Spread Your Wings, Turn around , then sit back down.”

Sky High: The True Story of Maggie Gee – Marissa Moss – Maggie Gee, who dreamed of flying from the time she was a girl, finally gets her chance during WW2 when she becomes one of only two Chinese-American WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots).

(did a variety of stretches and chants encouraging the kids to dream high & work hard to achieve their dreams)

Some other great titles:

My Name is Not Isabella: Just How Big Can a Little Girl Dream? – Jennifer Fosberry
To the Stars: The First American Woman to Walk in Space – Carmella Van Vleet
Wilma Unlimited – Kathleen Krull
Elizabeth Leads the Way:Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote – Tanya Lee Stone
I Could Do That: Esther Morris Gets Women the Vote – Linda Arms White
Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea: Marie Tharp Maps the Ocean Floor – Robert Burleigh
many more here: http://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2015/03/celebrating-women-history-month.html
and here: http://www.whatdowedoallday.com/2013/03/women-in-history-best-books-for-kids.html

Arrived too late: To The Stars: The First American Woman to Walk in Space by Caremella Van Vleet & Dr. Kathy Sullivan

More on early pilots:  https://nobodyownsthesky.wordpress.com/

Bedm. 3/16.

 

 

Girls Can! Determination Succeeds.

Showed "Boy Meets Girl" from "Free to Be You and Me"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUpLiJfV4_A&feature=related ...discussed how for much of US (and world) history, women have not been allowed to do the same things as men...vote, jobs, even drive (Saudi Arabia)...

Asked children “Who has a woman doctor?” – lots – wasn’t always that way. (Kindergarten only) Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman (black girl told she can’t be Peter Pan in the class play discovers she can do anything she puts her mind to. Booktalked: Boundless Grace and Princess Grace – great book for promoting powerful princesses!)

Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors: The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell by Tanya Lee Stone
Rough Tough Charley by Verla Kay (one class) – rhyming tale based on true story of stagecoach driver who spent her life disguised as a man

Tillie the Terrible Swede: How One Woman, a Sewing Needle and a Bicycle Changed History by Sue Stauffacher. (no time in Kindergarten) Art in Society: Toulouse Lautrec, The Bicycle and the Women’s Movement  (Background: article (for adults) analyzing the role of the bicycle in the women’s movement.)

On the topic of overcoming personal odds…even disability (talked about this word)…


Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World’s Fastest Woman by Kathleen Krull (The amazing story of a tiny, sickly black girl stricken by polio who ended up winning gold medals in track at the 1960 Olympics!)  (This is a long text so I talk it rather than reading the text aloud to younger classes.) Newer title: Go Wilma Go by Amira Rose Davis & Michael G. Long

Another story about a running race --  "Atalanta" from "Free to Be You and Me" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-77_cVnmUQ

3/14

 

 

“I Could Do That!”

Sybil’s Night Ride (Sybil Ludington) by Karen B. Winnick (The story of young Sybil Ludington, who, like Paul Revere, rode through the countryside to alert the colonists that the British were coming.)

Marvelous Mattie: How Margaret Knight Became an Inventor by Emily Arnold McCully or In The Bag!: Margaret Knight Wraps it Up by Monica Kulling --  both Biography Knight (Each tells the story of Margaret Knight, eventual holder of twenty patents, who fought discrimination and proved that she was just as intelligent an inventor as a man.) Could also use Kulling's Spic-in-Span: Lillian Gilbreth's Wonder Kitchen JB Gilbreth, which tells the story of the world's first female efficiency expert and the first woman elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

I Could Do That! Esther Morris Gets the Vote by Linda Arms White –JB Morris (In 1869, a woman whose "can-do" attitude had shaped her life was instrumental in making Wyoming the first state to allow women to vote, then became the first woman to hold public office in the United States -- 50 years before women across the country finally got the vote with the 19th Amendment.)

Annie Jump Cannon, Astronomer by Carole Gerber – JB Cannon (Introduces a trailblazer in the field of astronomy, who developed the Harvard Spectral Classification System, a system to classify a star's light, still used today. Also presents insight into the challenges of women interested in science during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.)

Meet My Grandmother: She’s a Deep Sea Diver by Lisa Tucker McElroy  (Groundbreaking marine biologist and diver whose ocean exploration and advocacy have made her known around the world.) Life in the Ocean: The Story of Sylvia Earle by Claire A. Nivola – JB Earle is beautiful but small pictures make it problematic for sharing in a large group.
3/12

3/15: reprised: Sybil's Night Ride (K-3 kids didn't know about Paul Revere or the American Revolution) and I Could Do That! (lots of historical items to discuss along with women getting right to vote (note: both a bit long), added Goldie Takes a Stand by Barbara Krasner (true story of 10 year old immigrant girl (discussed meaning of "immigrant", where families came from) who organized a fund-raising drive so kids in her school could have textbooks -- that girl grew up to become Golda Meir, Prime Minister of Israel. -- Had kids consider what they might want to do to make the world a better place.  sing/chant: "V-O-T-E (form letters with bodies – tune “YMCA”)-- Women Want Equality!!"

 

Girls Can Do Anything(long…have to pick and choose for 40 min.)

 

Showed "Boy Meets Girl" from "Free to Be You and Me"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUpLiJfV4_A&feature=related
...discussed how for much of US (and world) history, women have not been  allowed to do the same things as men...vote, jobs, even drive (Saudi Arabia)...

Rough Tough Charley by Verla Kay (some classes) -- based on true story of stagecoach driver who was a woman disguised as a man.

Mama Went to Jail for the Vote by Kathleen Krull ...after the vote was achieved, women still not allowed to do many jobs...until WW2 necessitated (booktalked Rosie the Riveter J940.531 PRI)

Sky High -- Biography Gee (Chinese American Woman who became a WASP,
then a physicist)

Overcoming personal odds Wilma Rudolph (shared poem from All by Myself  J811.54 PAU)

Told story Wilma Unlimited (abridged the text by Kathleen Krull)
Finished with "Atalanta" from "Free to Be You and Me" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-77_cVnmUQ
(some classes also got to see a 14 year old Michael Jackson:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsRIbyZ5rqE
3/11







Other possible empowering women read-aloud titles include:


History:
The Ballot Box Battle by Emily Arnold McCully
The Bobbin Girl by Emily Arnold McCully
Heart on Fire: Susan B. Anthony Votes for President by Ann Malaspina
Marching with Aunt Susan: Susan B. Anthony and the Fight for Women’s Suffrage by Claire Rudolph  Murphy
A Woman for President: The Story of Victoria Woodhull by Kathleen Krull
The Taxing Case of the Cows by Iris Van Rynbach and Shea Pegi Deitz
Liberty’s Voice: The Story of Emma Lazarus by Erica Silverman
Emma’s Poem by Linda Glaser
Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth by Anne Rockwell
Nurse, Soldier, Spy: The Story of Sarah Edmonds: a Civil War Hero by Marissa Moss
The Daring Nellie Bly: America’s Star Reporter by  Bonnie Christensen 
Patience Wright: America’s First Sculptor and Revolutionary Spy by Pegi Deitz Shea
They Called her Molly Pitcher by Anne Rockwell
Mary Walker Wears the Pants: The True Story of the Doctor, Reformer, and Civil War Hero by Cheryl Harness
Friends for Freedom: The Story of Susan B. Anthony & Frederick Douglas by Susanne Slade (J303.484 SLA)
Brave Girl: Clara & the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909 by Michelle Markel

Environment:
Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World by Laurie Lawlor
Seeds of Change by Jen Cullerton Johnson,
Mama Miti by Donna Jo Napoli
The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever by Joseph Hopkins
Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea: Marie Tharp Maps the Ocean Floor by Robert Burleigh

Trailblazers:
Look Up! Henrietta Leavitt, Pioneering Woman Astronomer by Robert Burleigh
Of Numbers and Stars: The Story of Hypatia by  D. Anne  Love
Julia Morgan Built a Castle by  Celeste Davidson Mannis
To The Stars: The First American Woman to Walk in Space by Caremella Van Vleet & Dr. Kathy Sullivan

Sports:
Queen of the Track: Alice Coachman Olympic High-Jump Champion by Heather Lang
Fearless: the true story of racing legend Louise Smith by Barbara Rosenstock
Mermaid queen: the spectacular true story of Annette Kellerman, who swam her way to fame, fortune and swimsuit history by Shana Corey
Players in Pigtails by Shana Corey
Girl Wonder by  Deborah Hopkinson
She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story by Audrey Vernick
The Bravest Woman in America by Marissa Moss

Misc:
Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty
Red bird sings: the story of Zitkala-Sa by Gina Capaldi
The Librarian of Basra : A True Story of Basra  by Jeanette Winter

Looking for many more suggestions?  Check out:
http://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2015/03/celebrating-women-history-month.html

Note, there are a LOT of books about female pilots. Find them at: http://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2013/09/school-age-storytime-to-fly-stories.html

There are many more book possibilities for this program – check out the early reader’s section of the annual lists at http://ameliabloomer.wordpress.com for more great suggestions.

And Karen Chace has posted an excellent list of Women's History Sources here:
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2010/03/celebrate-womens-history-month-women-in.html



Reading Rainbow: Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express
Collective Biography: Amelia to Zora: Twenty-six Women Who Changed the World by Cynthia Chin-Lee

Celebrating Women's History Month

(graphic from the National Women's History Museum)

Celebrating Women's History Month

Encouraging girls and boys to go beyond their comfort zones, to take risks and make history!

I wrote this post on one of my passions -- sharing the stories of "fascinating women history (mostly) forgot" with kids --for kateywrites.wordpress.com – a delightful blog about children and reading – take a look!

There was a young woman who wanted to fly.
But the people said, "Kiss that wish good-bye!
The sky's too big and the sky's too high,
And you never will fly, so you'd better not try."
But this woman laughed, and she just said, "Why?
Nobody owns the sky!"

from Nobody Owns the Sky: The Story of
"Brave Bessie" Coleman by Reeve Lindbergh

 

(Bessie Coleman was a black woman who,
when denied admission to any flying school in the USA,
went to France and became the first black pilot in the world.)

 

I am a big fan of biographies.  Biographies are histories with personality.  In telling the story of one person in the context of historical events, they provide close-up windows into the past -- bringing the reader the emotion and immediacy of fiction in the context of real information.  They are also fascinating and fun!   Of course, there are many wonderful biographies about men, but since this is March, I'm going to focus on the women in this post...

New to biographies and not sure how to interest your kids?  Tie biographies into your child's passions. 

Have a dinosaur fan at your home?  Mary Anning & the Sea Dragon by Jeannine Atkins tells how the first dinosaur bones were found by a twelve year-old girl 200 years ago!  There are other good versions including Fossil Girl by Catherine Brighton (done in a graphic novel format, great for reluctant readers!) Stone Girl, Bone Girl by Lawrence Anholt and Rare Treasure by Don Brown (Note: If your library has more than one, consider comparing what each author chose to mention and leave out.)  http://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2015/02/school-age-storytime-dinosaurs-galore.html

 

Or an aspiring dancer or musican?  Share Josephine : the dazzling life of Josephine Baker by Patricia Hruby Powell, A Dance Like Starlight: One Ballerina’s Dream by Kristy Dempsey, Little Melba and her Big Trombone by Katheryn Russell-Brown, Skit-Scat Raggedy Cat by Roxane Orgill, Harlem’s Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills by Renee Watson, Mahalia Jackson: Walking with Kings and Queens by Nina Nolan, The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marion Anderson and the Struggle for Civil Rights by  Russell Freedman or  When Marian sang : the true recital of Marian Anderson : the voice of a century by Pam Muñoz Ryan -- all tell the stories of talented and determined black girls and women who wouldn't bow down to discrimination's limitations – real-life examples of Mary Hoffman’s classic picture book Amazing Grace!

 

How about a sports fan? Slam dunk Basketball Belles: How Two Teams and One Scrappy Player Put Women’s Hoops on the Map by Sue Macy. Players in Pigtails by Shana Corey introduces kids to the Women's Professional Baseball League established during World War Two after the men were sent off to fight. Make a movie night as well and show A League of Their Own.     Introduce the trailblazing female bat-welders  Queen of the Diamond: The Lizzie Murphy Story by Emily Arnold McCully,  Mighty Jackie: The Strike Out Queen by Marissa Moss and Girl Wonder by Deborah Hopkinson.  She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story by Audrey Vernick profiles the first female sports executive and the first woman inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

 http://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2013/12/school-age-storycraft-take-me-out-to.html  
For those more inclined to run track than around the bases, Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World’s Fastest Woman by Kathleen Krull tells the amazing story of a tiny, sickly black girl stricken by polio who ended up winning gold medals in track at the 1960 Olympics!  Newer title Go Wilma Go! by Amira Rose Davis & Michael G. Long. Pair this with the wonderful feminist fable about a running race:  "Atalanta" from Marlo Thomas and Friends’ 1974 feminist classic Free to Be You and Me (book, DVD, and CD available).  You can watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-77_cVnmUQ. 

Did you know that the bicycle helped lead to women’s voting rights?  Tillie the Terrible Swede: How One Woman, a Sewing Needle, and a Bicycle Changed History by Sue Stauffacher and Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way) by Sue Macy tell the extraordinary story of how the bicycle and women's rights were linked. You Forgot Your Skit Amelia Bloomer! by Shana Corey shows how wearing less-restrictive clothing opened up women to new opportunities. Mama Went to Jail for the Vote by Kathleen Krull and Marching with Aunt Susan: Susan B. Anthony and the Fight for Women’s Suffrage by Claire Rudolph Murphy present a child's eye view of the struggle for women's suffrage. Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote by Tanya Lee Stone, The Ballot Box Battle by Emily Arnold McCully and Heart on Fire: Susan B. Anthony Votes for President by Ann Malaspina bring immediacy to the story of the pioneers of the suffrage moment who spent their lives trying to get the vote for women and never actually got to vote.  Rediscover some unknown vote-seeking women with I Could Do That! Esther Morris Gets the Vote by Linda Arms White which profiles the woman whose "can-do" attitude was instrumental in making Wyoming the first state to allow women to vote (in 1869), then became the first woman to hold public office in the United States! A Woman for President: The Story of Victoria Woodhull by Kathleen Krull introduces the first woman to own a newspaper, to speak before Congress, and to have a seat on the stock exchange – but her boldest act was announcing herself as the first female candidate for the presidency of the United States in 1872--before women even had the right to vote!  An overview of the history of women’s attempts to hold elected office can be found in Madam President: The Extraordinary, True (and Evolving) Story of Women in Politics by Catherine Timmesh.

Move from bicycles to buses and blackboards -- Rosa by Nikki Giovanni is a moving and thought-provoking depiction of Rosa Parks. Back of the Bus by Aaron Reynolds and If a Bus Could Talk by Faith Ringgold offer two other interesting perspectives on this seminal act of Civil Disobedience.  Kids and teens have stood up for their rights too.  The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles shows the courage of the tiny six year old girl who was the first African-American child to integrate a New Orleans school and Separate But Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family's Fight of Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh profiles a Mexican American family’s struggle for their children to be allowed to attend white schools.  More recently, several books by and about Malala Yousafzai including I am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World show that the struggle for girls’ education continues.

On a lighter note, maybe you have an aspiring inventor at your house?  Marvelous Mattie: How Margaret Knight Became an Inventor by Emily Arnold McCully or In The Bag!: Margaret Knight Wraps it Up by Monica Kulling both tell the story of Margaret Knight, eventual holder of twenty patents, who fought discrimination and proved that she was just as intelligent an inventor as a man.  Monica Kulling has also just published Spic-in-Span: Lillian Gilbreth's Wonder Kitchen about the world's first female efficiency expert and the first woman elected to the National Academy of Engineering.  Catherine Thimmesh's Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women tells how correction fluid, windshield wipers, disposable diapers, and space helmets were all dreamed up by women.  Speaking of outer space, Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty, the fictional story of a young tinkerer with big ideas, is going to be read from the International Space Station! http://www.slj.com/2015/03/books-media/rosie-revere-engineer-headed-to-the-international-space-station  More invention program ideas: http://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Inventors%20and%20Inventions

Inspire your budding space scientist… Carole Gerber’s Annie Jump Cannon, Astronomer introduces the woman who developed the Harvard Spectral Classification System still used today to classify a star's light -- but also presents insights into the challenges of women interested in science during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  Look Up! Henrietta Leavitt, Pioneering Woman Astronomer by Robert Burleigh and Of Numbers and Stars: The Story of Hypatia by  D. Anne  Love profile two other star-gazing pioneers.

Girls who not only want to look up at the sky but fly up there will enjoy Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride by Pam Muñoz Ryan, Robert Burleigh's Night Flight : Amelia Earhart Crosses the Atlantic, Candice Fleming's Amelia Lost: the Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart or one of the many other biographies of the world's most famous female flyer.  But don't stop there -- there are many more great aviatrices to discover.  In Nobody Owns the Sky: The Story of "Brave Bessie" Coleman, Reeve Lindbergh (youngest daughter of the famous Charles) poetically tells the story of the first black woman to became a pilot. Fly High! The Story of Bessie Coleman by Louise Borden and Mary Kay Kroeger offers another version of her story.  Suzanne Whitaker’s The Daring Miss Quimby introduces America's first licensed female flyer and the first woman to solo across the English Channel. Read about the sixteen-year-old girl who flew under all four bridges in NYC's East  River in Soar Elinor by Tami Lewis Brown or about a Chinese-American woman who flew with the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II in Sky High, The True Story of Maggie Gee by Marissa Moss.  Learn more about her fellow WASPs in Amy Nathan's Yankee Doodle Gals: Women Pilots of World War II.  Want more?  There are dozens more amazing flyers you've never heard of in The Roaring 20: the First Cross-Country Air Race for Women by Margaret Whitman Blair and Women Aviators: 26 Stories of Pioneer Flights, Daring Missions, and Record-Setting Journeys by Karen Bush Gibson. Seeking even higher altitudes?   Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Stone tells the about the women who were recruited by NASA in the early 1960s but never allowed to fly.   More ideas at: http://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search?q=flight and my bibliography at https://nobodyownsthesky.wordpress.com

Back on solid earth, share the story of an amazing architect. Julia Morgan Built a Castle by Celeste Davidson Mannis shows the determination of the first woman in the world to become a licensed architect (like Bessie Coleman, she had to travel to Paris to do it because no US school would accept her) and who went on to design seven hundred buildings and spend nearly thirty years on the design and construction of William Randolph Hearst's "castle" in California. http://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2013/12/picture-this-designing-castle.html  Speaking of women with patience and drive, check out Helen's Eyes: a Photobiography of Annie Sullivan, Helen Keller's teacher by Marfe Ferguson Delano.

Do you know young people who seek challenge or adventure? Introduce them to the courageous women in Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led her People to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford, Sojourner Truth’s Step-Stomp Stride by Andrea and Brian Pinckney, Joan of Arc and Cleopatra both by Diane Stanley  (the latter starts with the memorable line: “Everything we know about Cleopatra was written by her enemies…”), The Librarian of Basra: a True Story from Iraq by Jeanette Winter, Nurse, Soldier, Spy: The Story of Sarah Edmonds: a Civil War Hero by Marissa Moss, The Daring Nellie Bly: America’s Star Reporter by Bonnie Christensen, Patience Wright: America’s First Sculptor and Revolutionary Spy by Pegi Deitz Shea, They Called her Molly Pitcher by Anne Rockwell, Mary Walker Wears the Pants: The True Story of the Doctor, Reformer, and Civil War Hero by Cheryl Harness, Molly, by Golly! : The Legend of America’s First Female Firefighter by Dianne Ochiltree, Brave girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909 by Michelle Markel,  Delores Huerta: a Hero to Migrant Workers by Sarah E. Warren, She Sang Promise: The Story of Betty Mae Jumper, Seminole Tribal Leader by Jan Godown Annino and Irena Sendler and the children of the Warsaw Ghetto by  Susan Goldman Rubin -- gripping true stories all!   Older readers will appreciate Kathryn J. Atwood’s two books Women Heroes of World War I: 16 Remarkable Resisters, Soldiers, Spies, and Medics and Women Heroes of World War II: 26 Stories of Espionage, Sabotage, Resistance, and Rescue, and Cheryl Mullenbach’s Double victory: How African American Women Broke Race and Gender Barriers to Help Win World War II.

Or maybe someone passionate about nature?  In The Chimpanzee Children of Gombe: 50 Years with Jane Goodall at Gombe National Park, the famed naturalist and tireless advocate for our nearest biological relatives shares her mission with young people. Life in the Ocean: The Story of Sylvia Earle by Claire A. Nivola or Meet My Grandmother: She’s a Deep Sea Diver by Lisa Tucker McElroy present the groundbreaking marine biologist and diver whose ocean exploration and advocacy have made her known around the world. Seeds of Change: Planting a Path to Peace by Jen Johnson, Mama Miti by Donna Jo Napoli, Wangari’s Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa by Jeannette Winter, and Planting the Trees of Kenya all tell the inspiring true story of Wangari Maathai, courageous environmentalist and winner of the Nobel Peace prize, whose passion & determination inspired hundreds of thousands of women across Africa to reforest their continent. Another fascinating tale out of Africa is One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia by Miranda Paul which shows how one enterprising woman turned plastic bags into purses and became an economic engine for her region. Closer to home, Miss Lady Bird's Wildflowers: How a First Lady Changed America by Kathi Appelt tells how we largely owe the presence of wildflowers instead of junk and billboards along the nation's highways to her tireless campaign. For more great role models, read Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World by Laurie Lawlor, The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever by Joseph Hopkins, and Bring Me Some Apples and I’ll Make You A Pie: A Story about Edna Lewis by Robbin Gourley and Alice Waters and the Trip to Delicious by Jacqueline Briggs Martin both tell about chefs who initiated the “farm to table” movement many years before it became the trend it is today.  http://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Earth%20Day%20%26%20Environment

All of these and many more are the History-Makers -- well-known and unknown girls and women who pushed the envelope  -- without whom our world would be a very different place.   

I’ve only presented a small sampling of the possibilities – there are many other excellent books on these and other fascinating women.  Kathleen Krull’s Lives of Extraordinary Women: Rulers, Rebels (and What the Neighbors Thought), Cynthia Chin-Lee’s Amelia to Zora: Twenty-Six Women Who Changed the World, Cheryl Harness’ Rabble Rousers: 20 Women Who Made a Difference, Miriam Klein Stahl’s Rad American Women A-Z, Sylvia Branzai’s Adventurers, Julie Cummins’ Women Explorers and Women Daredevils, Holly George-Warren’s The Cowgirl Way: Hats Off to America's Women of the West, and Amelie Weldon’s Girls Who Rocked the World all provide fun and fascinating tidbits which hopefully will have your children eager to find out more!   A librarian can help them find these titles and offer additional suggestions. 

Most kids today take for granted the choices they have and have no idea of the limits that were (and still are) placed on women around the world.   As kids read about the obstacles people overcame, they build their own resiliency.  Hopefully, as they learn about these inspiring people, kids may say "I can do that!" and build dreams for themselves. 

 

"Do something every day that scares you."
"Do what you feel in your heart to be right -- for you'll be criticized anyway."

-- -- Eleanor Roosevelt from Eleanor: Quiet No More by Doreen Rappaport. 

Another great biography: 

Unshakable Eleanor: How Our 32nd First Lady Used Her Voice to Fight for Human Rights by Michelle Markel

 

Looking for other inspiring women? -- check out these links:

http://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Women%27s%20History%20Month -- many program ideas and bibliographies on these and other titles (type names or titles in the search box to see how I’ve used many in programs)

www.tellingherstories.com -- “fascinating women history forgot” links to my impersonations of women in engineering and flight and extensive bibliographies.

http://www.amightygirl.com/-- splendid booklists to inspire your girls, including this great bibliography of biographies  http://www.amightygirl.com/books/history-biography/biography-- also daily stories at: http://www.facebook.com/amightygirl

https://ameliabloomer.wordpress.com/-- Named after the pioneering 19^th century newspaper editor, public speaker and suffragist, this annual list features books for children and teens about girls and women that spur the imagination while confronting traditional female stereotypes. If you are looking to create a bulletin board of these award-winners, check out my post: http://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search?q=amelia+bloomer

http://www.girlssucceed.blogspot.com/ and http://www.facebook.com/TellingHerstory --- profiles of amazing but lesser-known women & girls
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kidlit-Celebrates-Womens-History-Month/629392300461620-- guest posts by children's authors, illustrators, and librarians
http://www.slj.com/2015/03/collection-development/focus-on-collection-development/gamechangers-women-making-history-focus-on  -- Recommended titles and websites for students and teachers

Carol Simon Levin is a Youth Services Librarian, author, storyteller and program presenter based in Bridgewater N.J. Whether she is telling the amazing stories of early women in aviation, engaging families in a rousing Halloween Hootenanny of songs and stories, expanding on the mathematical and artistic possibilities of a simple square, or sharing the story of a dolphin who learned to swim with an artificial tail (along with activities to help children understand what it is like to live with a disability), she always strives to create exciting programs that engage her audience’s interests and expand their horizons. Check out her blog carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com for many more ideas. She also does historical impersonations/STEM programs of "fascinating women history forgot." Information at TellingHerStories.com.
Carol Simon Levin is a member of the New Jersey Storytelling Network, the New Jersey Library Association, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.