A Mighty Girl Reads
A Mighty Girl features recommendations for books, movies, TV, music, and much more that serve to empower girls and women. Read on below for a selection of their book choices this year! Visit https://www.amightygirl.com to see more.
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Sara Crewe grew up the child of a wealthy father, and she’s used to being treated like a princess. But when her father dies — and his wealth is suddenly lost — Sara finds her old friends and admirers have vanished, and Miss Minchin, her boarding school headmistress, forces her to work as an errand girl to cover her unpaid bills, starving her and making her stay in a freezing room in the attic. Sara, though, is convinced that was makes a girl a princess is determination, spirit, and generosity — attributes that can never be taken away.
One Grain of Rice by Demi
This is the story of Rani, a clever girl who outsmarts a very selfish raja and saves her village. When offered a reward for a good deed, she asks only for one grain of rice, doubled each day for 30 days. Remember your math? That’s lots of rice: enough to feed a village for a good long time — and to teach a greedy raja a lesson.
The Firefly Letters by Margarita Engle
The freedom to roam is something that women and girls in Cuba do not have. Yet when Fredrika Bremer visits from Sweden in 1851 to learn about the people of this magical island, she is accompanied by Cecilia, a young slave who longs for her lost home in Africa. Soon Elena, the wealthy daughter of the house, sneaks out to join them. As the three women explore the lush countryside, they form a bond that breaks the barriers of language and culture.
Girl Wonder written by Deborah Hopkinson; illustrated by Terry Widener
When Alta Weiss throws a corncob at a tomcat chasing her favorite hen, folks know one thing for sure: she may be a girl, but she’s got some arm. At the age of six Alta can nail any target, and by seventeen she’s outpitched every boy in town. Then one day her father takes Alta to Vermilion, Ohio — home of the semipro baseball team called the Independents. “Where do I sign up?” she asks. But one look at Alta tells the coach all he needs to know: She’s a girl, and girls can’t play baseball. But faster than you can say “strike out,” Alta proves him wrong: Girls can play baseball!
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger.
“Wild nights are my glory,” the unearthly stranger told them. “I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me sit down for a moment, and then I’ll be on my way. Speaking of ways, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract.”
A tesseract (in case the reader doesn’t know) is a wrinkle in time. To tell more would rob the reader of the enjoyment of Miss L’Engle’s unusual book. A Wrinkle in Time, winner of the Newbery Medal in 1963, is the story of the adventures in space and time of Meg, Charles Wallace, and their neighbor Calvin O’Keefe. They are in search of Meg’s father, a scientist who disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government on the tesseract problem.
Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
Kira, an orphan with a twisted leg, lives in a world where the weak are cast aside. When she is given a task that no other community member can carry out, Kira soon realizes that she is surrounded by many mysteries and secrets. No one must know of her plans to uncover the truth about her world — and to find out what exists beyond it.
Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully
Mirette was always fascinated by the strange and interesting people who stayed in her mother’s boarding house. But no one excited her as much as Bellini, who walks the clothesline with the grace and ease of a bird. When Mirette discovers that fear has kept him from performing for years, she sets out to show him that sometimes a student can be the greatest teacher of all.
The Rag Coat by Lauren Mills
Minna dreams of going to school, but the Appalachian winters are too cold to go without a coat — and since her father has recently died, her family is struggling too much to afford one. When the local quilting group, which meets in Minna’s house, hears about her predicament, they come up with a clever solution: each of them will provide some scrap fabric, and they’ll work together to make her a coat. And when classmates tease Minna for wearing rags, she reminds them that her coat is made of stories: one story from each of their homes, put together to make something beautiful.
Girls Think of Everything written by Catherine Thimmesh; illustrated by Melissa Sweet
In kitchens and living rooms, in garages and labs and basements, even in converted chicken coops, women and girls have invented ingenious innovations that have made our lives simpler and better. Their creations are some of the most enduring (the windshield wiper) and best loved (the chocolate chip cookie). What inspired these women, and just how did they turn their ideas into realities? This updated and expanded 2018 edition includes even more inventors and their inventions that reflect our diverse and technological world.
Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. Having heard stories about Manifest, Kansas, where her father grew up, Abilene is disappointed to find that it’s just a dried-up, worn-out old town. But her disappointment quickly turns to excitement when she discovers a hidden cigar box full of mementos, including some old letters that mention a spy known as the Rattler. These mysterious letters send Abilene and her new friends, Lettie and Ruthanne, on an honest-to-goodness spy hunt, even though they are warned to “Leave Well Enough Alone.”
Book descriptions taken from the Delaware County Libraries catalog, which pulls summaries provided by the publisher.
Recommended books featured in blogs are not intended to be a comprehensive list. We’d love to hear about your favorite books too, so leave a comment and tell us about your recommendations!