6 Children's Books To Read For Women's Day

I'm a day late with this, but I'm choosing to extend myself some grace because, you know.  Teething baby.  Also, we've decided to make it a Women's Weekend, so there! :)

Here are my top 6 books to read to your kiddos this weekend (and anytime) that feature strong women!

1. She Persisted by Chelsea Clinton

This is a great book that highlights some of the women in US history who left their mark - from Ruby Bridges to Virginia Apgar, Maria Tallchief to Helen Keller and many more, it's a great way to introduce your child to women who wouldn't take no for an answer.  There's an "Around The World" version I'd love to own, too!

2. I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont

This is a great book that teaches kids (especially young girls of color) about healthy body positivity.  It's an important message about natural beauty and strength, and speaking about yourself in a positive way.  I used this in my classroom a lot as a kindergarten teacher.  It's important to read books like this to caucasian kids too, so that they too recognize the beauty and individuality in their peers who may not look like them.

3. Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

I recently bought this book for Jocelyn.  The illustrations are scrumptious! It's the story of a young woman whose grandfather encourages her to see the world, live by the ocean, and make the world a more beautiful place.  I especially like this one, because she remains single, but it's a a total non-issue, it isn't even mentioned.

4. When Jessie Came Across The Sea by Amy Hest

This thoughtful and beautiful book is the story of Jessie, a 13-year-old young girl from Eastern-Europe.  Her rabbi gives her a ticket to sail to the new world, America.  My favorite part, is that she saves up enough money to send for her grandmother (who raised her) to join her.  Talk about powerful!  She becomes a seamstress specializing in bridal gowns - eventually making her own, as well.

5. Be A Star Wonder Woman by Michael Dahl

This one is a little more lighthearted, because often kids remember things better when it's wrapped in something that already interests them.  Aidan is crazy about superheroes, so I loved getting him this one that featured a strong girl.  My favorite part of this book, is that being kind, helping your friends and asking for help when you need it are all shown as strengths.

6. Historical American Girl Books

Someday maybe I'll write a whole post about how amazing the original Historical American Girl books are.  If you're interested in these, you can find them in 6 book box sets, each set featuring one girl, in a specific era.  They are great representatives of the times, and teach kids about history, bravery and strength of character.  I had at least 8 sets of these growing up, and they heavily influenced me!  Names (girls) to search for: Molly (World War II era girl), Kit (Depression era girl), Kirsten (pioneer era girl), Kaya (Native American girl from the 1760s), Josefina (Mexican American girl from the 1820s), Samantha (Victorian era girl), Addy (African American girl, whose family escapes slavery), and Felicity (Revolutionary War era girl).

There are many-many more, but these are my top picks for this year. What is your favorite children's book about a strong girl?

Love Affair With Books - New Edition

Every once in a while, I like to give you the titles of some kids' books that I love!  If reading children's books was a viable career, I'd be all over that!

So, here are my latest suggestions:

1. This Is Me by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell

Aidan got this book for his birthday from my best friend.  This book is amazing!  I love this dynamic duo writing illustrating team, that brought you classics, like "Today I Feel Silly".  This book is about a teacher who gives her students an assignment - her great-grandmother came over to America from an unnamed far distant place.  All she could take with her was what she could fit in a small suitcase.  The teacher then produces that small bag, and each student takes turns taking it home, and deciding what they would take with them.  This is a PERFECT book for us right now, because we are going through something similar, and in a few months, Aidan will be having to make some similar decisions.  Thankfully, we're able to take more than one small suitcase, but there will be some tough choices coming up, especially if you're 3 years old.

2. Too Many Mittens by Florence and Louis Slobodkin

Louis Slobodkin was a prolific writer in the 50's and 60's.  This was one of my books when I was little, and I love it!  It's about a grandma who babysits her twin grandsons for a week.  One of them loses a mitten, and the whole town ends up finding lost mittens everywhere, and brings them to the boys' house.  Grandma and the boys decide to make a clothesline for all the extra "missing mittens", so that anyone who lost a red mitten can go there and find it.  Then, mom and dad come back from vacation, and brought back everyone a little something, and the boys got...

The link to this book is actually a single volume edition of three of their books, one of them being "A Good Place To Hide", which is another wonderful story!

3. I Love You Night and Day by Smriti Prasdan Halls

This is one of those sweet, bedtime, love-affirming books.  The words, although gentle and well-written, aren't the reason this book made the list.  It's the illustrations.  The reason I love the illustrations, is because the "parent" figure is a bear, and the "child" figure is a bunny.  Of course, it's never pointed out or mentioned.  I think this would a wonderful addition for families with adopted children, or even foster children - showing that you don't have to look alike, for the love to be real, unconditional and unwavering.

4. Rechenka's Eggs by Patricia Polacco

I am a BIG Patricia Polacco fan!  Her book the Keeping Quilt will always be a Top 3 of mine!  My principal at the school I worked at introduced me to this one, and I love it too!  It's about a little old lady, Babushka, who paints beautiful eggs to sell every year in Moscow.  One day, she sees an injured goose, and takes her in, to nurse her back to health.  They become very close, but one day, the goose (Rechenka) gets startled and accidentally knocks over all of Babushka's painted eggs, and they all break.  Babushka is devastated, as she won't have anything to sell at market.  But the next day, Rechenka starts to lay beautifully painted eggs...

5. It Will Be Okay by Lysa TerKeurst

This book gets me emotional every time.  It's about a Little Seed and a Little Fox, who both have to overcome their fears when life changes.  The seed loves living in a cozy seed packet in the Farmer's shed, but one day the Farmer tells him, that he has a plan for him, and plants him in the dirt.  The seed doesn't understand why he's in a dark, messy place, but decides to trust the Farmer.  There's a recurring line in it, that says "The Farmer was good, and the Farmer was kind, and the Farmer was always watching over them.  Even when they didn't know it."  

6. Hello, I'm Johnny Cash by G. Neri

We had the great pleasure of driving through Nashville last year, and visited the Johnny Cash Museum.  We found this book there!  The author has written poems about Johnny Cash's life, and used Johnny Cash's song titles as the names for each one.  The illustrations are very beautiful!  We're big Johnny Cash fans, so for us this was a great find!  

7. Are We There Yet? by Dan Santat

I added this one for Aidan, haha!  This is a fun flight of imagination for a boy who is bored on a road trip.  This one may appeal to me because of all the itinerating we've been doing, but it really is full of all-boy fun!

So there you have it!  Those are my latest children's book recommendations!  Do you have any you think I should check out for next time?  What's your favorite children's book?