Books to Inspire Youth for Women’s History Month

Women’s History Month celebrates the accomplishments of women from around the world. We have selected a few books that will inspire boys and girls to dream and help make their visions come true!

Early Childhood

Dumpling Dream: How Joyce Chen Brought The Dumpling From Beijing to Cambridge. With this inspiring story, author Carrie Clickard uses rhymes to tell how Joyce Chen, a girl born in Communist China, immigrated to the United States and popularized Chinese cooking. The images that illustrator Katy Wu provides help to bring this wonderful story to life. Another great book for little ones is, Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music. This book is inspired by the childhood of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, a Chinese-African-Cuban girl, who broke Cuba's traditional taboo against female drummers.

School Age

Children can learn all about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark. This biographical picture book tells her story as she proves that disagreeing does not make you disagreeable! For kids who are interested in sports, Women In Sports: 50 Fearless Athletes Who Played To Win is an inspiring book that highlights the achievements and stories of 50 notable women athletes. Some of the women athletes mentioned are well-known figures like tennis player Billie Jean King and gymnast Simone Biles, and less popular women athletes like skateboarding pioneer, Patti McGee, and Toni Stone, the first woman to play baseball in a men's professional league.

Adolescents/ Secondary

Did you know that nine months before Rosa Parks sat down on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, a fifteen-year-old girl named Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat to a white woman on a bus?  Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice is based on interviews with Claudette and others as they retell her story about the Montgomery bus boycott and a court case that would change the course of the Jim Crow south. This book is the 2009 National Book Award Winner for Young People's Literature and a 2010 Newbery Honor Book.

 I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education And Changed The World (Young Readers Edition) is a memoir by Malala Yousafzai. Her powerful story will open your eyes to a whole world and make you believe in the possibility that one person can inspire change in a community and beyond. Malala fought for her right to be educated and on October 9, 2012, she nearly lost her life for the cause. She now is an international symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize winner.

These are just a few examples of books that are written about wonderful women and all the things they have done in this world!  We know you may have many more that are your favorites, so please feel free to share them with us on our WILL Education Facebook page.