The Sky’s The Limit In These Books Without Barriers, Plus A Peek At A New Series In The Works!

The word of the week at our house has been perseverance. #thebigone and #thelittleone were playing some sort of rough-housing game together the other night, and when it didn’t go exactly as he wanted, #thelittleone got frustrated and totally abandoned their game. #thebigone chased after him, and scolded him in a surprisingly grown up way- ‘Gosh, you really need to work on persevering!’ Although it’s a trait we’ve actively worked to try to develop in our six year old, my husband and I looked at each other in amused shock, as we’d never heard him use the word before. (Apparently, he learned it in gym class. Thanks Coach!)

Around the time when the baby flat out refused to ‘just stick with it’, I heard about a new campaign that would be launching on KickStarter soon, and was really excited to see how it would develop. Queen Girls is a new book series being created that aims to level the playing field a bit in terms of the protagonists featured in children’s literature. By using tales of real women throughout history, Jimena, Andrea, & Chiara have created the opportunity for both education & inspiration while reading with your children.

For each book purchased, Queen Girls will donate another to provide a child in need with access to quality literature.

Some of you may be wondering why I would care about a book series that would on the surface appear to target only younger female readers, when I’m very clearly a boy mom. Quite simply, my sons need to see that women are strong, smart, capable, and admirable. #thelittleone and #thebigone need to grow up truly knowing that women do not always need rescuing, so that they can be part of the change in attitude that our world so desperately needs right now. I’ve selected books intentionally over the years, stocking their shelves with books that relay the ideals we hope to see grow in our children- these will make the perfect addition.

The new line of books from Queen Girls is going to be the perfect way for me to reinforce these values in an entertaining way to both boys. I’ll be totally honest and admit that after reading the names of the first 3 women slated to be featured in the series, I had to Google 2 of the 3! (Hanging my head in shame!) Am I the only one?! The series will begin with Bessie Coleman, followed by Isadora Duncan, and Savitribhai Phule.

[Go ahead, take a Google break if you need to. It’s okay, I’m not going anywhere!]

Bessie Coleman was the first African American woman to earn a pilot’s license- in the world!
And just look at the gorgeous watercolor illustrations that will be filling the books from Queen Girls!

Do your kids want to fly like Bessie too? Use the free printable I created to #BeBessie!

We were totally inspired after researching that list of amazing women – seriously, a pilot, the creator of modern dance, and an educational activist, do women get more impressive than that?! We started to wonder… If these were incredible women we had never heard of, what other tales exist out there? So, we hit our local library and spent an evening perusing the children’s biography section. #thebigone loves reading nonfiction, so biography hunting was a perfect task for him. We pulled a ton of books off the shelves to read through them, and narrowed them down to the 10 books we decided to check out. Some feature women we were familiar with, mainly based on books we’ve read previously, but some were completely new to us. All are inspiring with incredible accomplishments during their lifetime.

We’re anxious for the Queen Girls books to become a reality, but until then, we’re amusing ourselves making guesses at who else they might feature when the first three books are complete. Here’s our top 10 list of books about inspiring women- all stories we would LOVE to see given the Queen Girls ‘fairy tale treatment’.

Affiliate disclosure- this portion of the post contains affiliate links; see affiliate policy here. 

Frida by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Ana Juan.
The beautifully illustrated story of the life of famous artist Frida Kahlo, and the hardships she overcame.

Malala Yousafzai, Education Activist by Grace Hansen.
Stunning photographs and age-appropriate language relay the struggle of Malala Yousafzai without being overly frightening for children.

Marvelous Mattie, How Margaret E. Knight Became an Inventor by Emily Arnold McCully
This book with gestural, watercolor illustrations shares the journey of Mattie Knight, a thinker & tinkerer who fought to retain ownership of her own creations.

Miss Moore Thought Otherwise by Jan Pinborough, illustrated by Debby Atwell.
Vibrant images and informative text narrate the work of Anne Carroll Moore, the woman credited with originating the concept of children’s libraries.

Molly, by Golly! by Dianne Ochiltree, illustrated by Kathleen Kemly.
A thoroughly-researched book providing lots of opportunities to spark discussion, this tale shares the experience of America’s first female firefigher, Molly Williams.

Odetta, The Queen of Folk Conceived & illustrated by Stephen Alcorn, poem by Samantha Thornhill.
The gorgeous paintings in this selection, paired with lyrical text, weave together the civil rights movement and musical career that filled the life of Odetta Holmes.

Rachel, The Story of Rachel Carson by Amy Ehrlich, illustrated by Wendell Minor.
Incredible paintings truly shine through out this story of Rachel Carson, who spent her life studying nature and the environmental impact caused by humans.

She Loved Baseball, The Effa Manley Story by Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Don Tate.
This book’s personality-packed illustrations brought to life the story of Etta Manley, the first woman ever inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette Winter
The little-known narrative of Alia Muhammed Baker, a librarian from Iraq credited with organizing a movement to relocate and save 70% of her library’s volumes when the war reached her town in 2003.

Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors? by Tanya Lee Stone, illustrated by Marjorie Priceman.
The life of Elizabeth Blackwell, America’s first female doctor is told using whimsical, lively illustrations that lend an air of joy to a serious topic.

If you are thinking about adding any of these books to your home library, please consider purchasing via my Amazon Affiliate links above (the cover photos)- you’ll get a book that we love & highly recommend at no additional cost to you, while I earn a small commission that allows me to be home with my kiddos. Win-win, right?!

You can find out more about Queen Girls’ mission, future plans, and commitment to helping children worldwide access quality literature here on their website.
To keep up with them on social media and make sure you don’t miss any updates on the campaign or their products, like & follow them on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, if this is a line of books you’d love to share with your children or grandchildren, please consider supporting their KickStarter campaign. They have some great incentives if you are able to pledge funds, but even just a share or two can really help make sure they meet their campaign goals!

You can grab your own #BeBessie printable right here! I’d love to see your kids as pilots, so please feel free to email me photos or tag me on social media.

Lots of other great book lists can be found here, and more ideas for activities inspired by children’s books are waiting for you here.