International Women’s Day

“Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It’s splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.” – L.M. Montgomery in Anne of Green Gables

Stanley, Diane. Ada Lovelace: Poet of Science : the First Computer Programmer. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2016. 

What a brilliant biography! The style of writing is lively and humorous!  The illustrations by Jessica Hartland enhance the mood and extend the story.  Historical information, a bibliography, and a glossary are provided at the end of the book. Highly recommended for all ages. [Babbage, Charles; Lovelace, Ada King, Countess of; Mathematicians; Women computer programmers]

“I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves.” – Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein  

The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq by Jeanette Winter (Harcourt Children’s Books, 2005).

Alia Baker, a librarian in Iraq, hid books in her home before bombs and gunfire could destroy them; she hid more books in a building right beside the library, but then afraid that they would be nevertheless destroyed, being so close to the library, she hired a truck to move all thirty thousand books to the houses of friends farther away where they would be safe until the war was over.  This simple yet powerful biography will appeal to readers seven years old and up.

Viola Desmond Won’t Be Budged! by Jody Nyasha Warner (Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2010).

The story of an African Canadian who refused to give up her seat in a movie theatre and move to the balcony reserved for black patrons. This courageous act in Nova Scotia in 1946 started the move to end racial segregation in Canada. Illustrated by Richard Rudnicki and accompanied by additional historical information at the end, this picture book is recommended for readers 8 years old and up and could be compared to the story of Rosa Parks in America.

More Books about Girls and Women

“We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.” – Malala Yousafzai

The Tree Lady: the True Story of How One Tree-loving Woman Changed a City Forever by H. Joseph Hopkins (New York: Beach Lane Books, 2013).
In the late 1800s, an American moved to San Diego in southern California. Kate Sessions decided her new city needed more greenery, so she planted hundred and hundreds of trees and taught countless people how to grow gardens. She became known as the Mother of Balboa Park.

Seeds of Change: Planting a Path to Peace by Jen Cullerton Johnson (Lee & Low Books, 2010). 

Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the trees of Kenya by Donna Jo Napoli (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2010).

Planting the Trees of Kenya

Planting the Trees of Kenya: the Story of Wangari Maathai by Claire A. Nivoli (Frances Foster Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008). 

Wangari MaathaI: the Woman Who Planted Millions of Trees by Franck Prevot (Charlesbridge, 2015).

Wangari’s Trees of Peace: a True Story from Africa by Jeanette Winter (Harcourt, 2008).