AD930L; Ages 6-10; K-Gr.3.
A poetic picture book celebrating the life and scientific discoveries of the groundbreaking astronomer Cecilia Payne! Astronomer and astrophysicist Cecilia Payne was the first person to discover what burns at the heart of stars. But she didn't start out as the groundbreaking scientist she would eventually become. She started out as a girl full of curiosity, hoping one day to unlock the mysteries of the universe.

Ages 4-8; PrK-gr.3 Pura Belpré Honor Book , Illustration 2023.
In 2019, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest congresswoman in America. How did this young Puertorriqueña become an unstoppable force in politics Find out in this accessible and engaging book for young readers.

Lexile measure 1240; Ages 12 and up; Gr.8 and up.
From Andrew Maraniss comes the inspirational true story of the birth of women's Olympic basketball at the 1976 Summer Games and the ragtag team that put US women's basketball on the map.

Ages 10 and up; Gr.4-6; Sydney Taylor notable book, 2023.
The moving true story of how young Ukrainian Jewish piano prodigies Zhanna (alias "Anna") and her sister Frina outplayed their pursuers while hiding in plain sight during the Holocaust.

Lexile measure 1040; Ages 8-12; Gr.3-6.
Discover the story of how an animal-loving kid in England grew up to become one of the world's leading sloth scientists, and learn how Dr. Sloth is using her discoveries to help keep sloths safe.

Ages 4-8; Gr.4-6.
Maria Anna "Nannerl" Mozart makes music fit for angels. Songs pour from her like water over the Austrian riverbanks in springtime. When she and her brother play the harpsichord together, she feels confident and carefree. But everything changes when Wolfgang plays a sonata Nannerl has composed. Papa fumes. Girls are not allowed to compose!

Ages 4-8; Gr.1-5; Sydney Taylor Book award, honor 2022.
Eliza Davis believed in speaking up for what was right. Even if it meant telling Charles Dickens he was wrong. In Eliza Davis's day, Charles Dickens was the most celebrated living writer in England. But some of his books reflected a prejudice that was all too common at the time: prejudice against Jewish people. Eliza was Jewish, and her heart hurt to see a Jewish character in Oliver Twist portrayed as ugly and selfish. So she wrote a letter to Charles Dickens. What happened next is history.

Lexile measure 1020; Ages 6-10; Gr.1-5; Pura Belpre award, author honor 2022.
She was Luz Jiménez, child of the flower-song people, the powerful Aztec, who called themselves Nahua- who lost their land but who did not disappear. But when the Mexican Revolution came to her village, Luz and her family were forced to flee and start a new life. In Mexico City, Luz became a model for painters, sculptors, and photographers such as Diego Rivera, Jean Charlot, and Tina Modotti. These artists were interested in showing the true face of Mexico and not a European version.

Ages 10 and up; Gr.5 and up.
Acclaimed novelist Ibi Zoboi illuminates the young life of the visionary storyteller Octavia E. Butler in poems and prose. Born into the Space Race, the Red Scare, and the dawning Civil Rights Movement, Butler experienced an American childhood that shaped her into the groundbreaking science-fiction storyteller whose novels continue to challenge and delight readers fifteen years after her death.

Lexile measure 730; Ages 8-12; Gr.5 and up; Pura Belpre award, author honor 2022.
Based on a true story, the tale of one girl's perilous journey to cross the U.S. border and lead her family to safety during the Mexican Revolution.

Ages 12 and up; Gr.7-9.
These 15 women work with animals on land, air, and sea. Corina Newsome is saving seaside sparrows while Michelle LaRue uses satellites to study Antarctic birds. Lizzy Lowe takes on what many fear in researching spiders, and Erin Ashe lives out the dream of many studying dolphins and whales. Kristen Hecht chases the elusive hellbender amphibian while Enikö Kubinyi uses robots to get information on wolf pups.

Lexile measure 770; Ages 4-8; K-Gr.3.
Discover the inspiring story of the first black woman elected to Congress and to run for president in this picture book biography. Meet Shirley, a little girl who asks way too many questions! After spending her early years on her grandparents' farm in Barbados, she returns home to Brooklyn and immediately makes herself known. Shirley kicks butt in school; she breaks her mother's curfew; she plays jazz piano instead of classical. And as a young adult, she fights against the injustice she sees around her, against women and black people.

Ages 7-10; Gr.2-5.
Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley was born in 1818, enslaved to a Virginian plantation owner. As a teenager, Lizzy was sent to work as the only slave on a small plantation, where the work was endless, and the masters treated her with unspeakable cruelty. A new master, learning Lizzy could sew, sent her to work for a tailor, who paid the master, not Lizzy, for Lizzy's work. The beautiful gowns that Lizzy created were displayed in the tailor's window and soon attracted the attention of the wealthiest women in Virginia. Though Lizzy first had to borrow money from her wealthy patrons to buy her freedom, once she was free, she was able to earn money of her own and pay them all back.

Ages 8-14; Gr.6-10.
Before there was Barack Obama, before there was Kamala Harris, there was Fighting Shirley Chisholm. Running for President chronicles the life of Shirley Chisholm, a woman of matchless integrity and great dignity who had a passion for social justice. Chisolm was the first black woman to seek presidential nomination from a major party when she announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination in 1972.

From author Megan Reid and artist Aaliya Jaleel comes the first picture book about trailblazing mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani, the first woman to win the world's most prestigious honor in mathematics.

Ages 7-11; Gr.2-5.
Mary Golda Ross designed classified airplanes and spacecraft as Lockheed Aircraft Corporation's first female engineer. Find out how her passion for math and the Cherokee values she was raised with shaped her life and work.

Ages 4-8; PrK-Gr.3; Coretta Scott King illustrator winner, 2021.
From a creative team with multiple Caldecott Honors comes this vibrant portrait of Aretha Franklin that pays her the R-E-S-P-E-C-T this Queen of Soul deserves. Aretha Franklin was born to sing. The daughter of a pastor and a gospel singer, her musical talent was clear from her earliest days in her father's Detroit church where her soaring voice spanned more than three octaves.

Ages 10-14; Gr.5-7; Coretta Scott King author honor, 2021.
An eye-opening book that tells the important, overlooked story of black women as a force in the suffrage movement--when fellow suffragists did not accept them as equal partners in the struggle. For African American women, the fight for the right to vote was only one battle. Women of color, especially African American women, were fighting for their right to vote and to be treated as full, equal citizens of the United States. Their battlefront wasn't just about gender. African American women had to deal with white abolitionist-suffragists who drew the line at sharing power with their black sisters. They had to overcome deep, exclusionary racial prejudices that were rife in the American suffrage movement. And they had to maintain their dignity--and safety--in a society that tried to keep them in its bottom ranks.

Lexile measure 680; ages 12 and up; Gr.7-9.
A sculptor of historical figures starts with givens but creates her own vision. Edmonia Lewis was just such a sculptor, but she never spoke or wrote much about her past, and the stories that have come down through time are often vague or contradictory. Some facts are known: Edmonia was the daughter of an Ojibwe woman and an African Haitian man. She had the rare opportunity to study art at Oberlin, one of the first schools to admit women and people of color, but lost her place after being accused of poisoning and theft, despite being acquitted of both. She moved to Boston and eventually Italy, where she became a successful sculptor.

Ages 6-8; Gr.2-3.
Award-winning photojournalist Jan Reynolds offers readers a fascinating glimpse into the world of the endangered Asiatic lions and the female forest rangers who fight to save them. In the far west of India, in Gir National Park, dwells one of the rarest big cats on Earth: the Asiatic lion. Known for its distinctive belly flap and the bushy tassels on its tail, the Asiatic lion once roamed from the Mediterranean Sea to the Bay of Bengal. But human hunting and expansion into their territory eroded the lions' numbers, until only twelve remained alive. Now more than six hundred lions stalk the forest and savannahs of Gir -- thanks in part to the work of the "Lion Queens," a team of female rangers who specialize in caring for the Asiatic lions.

Lexile measure 570; Ages 7-10; Gr.1-3.
In 1854, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Jennings, an African American schoolteacher, fought back when she was unjustly denied entry to a New York City streetcar, sparking the beginnings of the long struggle to gain equal rights on public transportation.

Ages 4-8; K-Gr.3.
From the Newbery Honor-winning author of Genesis Begins Again comes a shimmering picture book that shines the light on Zora Neale Hurston, the extraordinary writer and storycatcher extraordinaire who changed the face of American literature. Zora was a girl who hankered for tales like bees for honey. Now, her mama always told her that if she wanted something, "to jump at de sun", because even though you might not land quite that high, at least you'd get off the ground.

Lexile measure 940; Ages 10-15;Gr.5 and up.
Civil rights icon Ruby Bridges--who, at the age of six, was the first black child to integrate into an all-white elementary school in New Orleans--inspires readers and calls for action in this moving letter. Written as a letter from civil rights activist and icon Ruby Bridges to the reader, This Is Your Time is both a recounting of Ruby's experience as a child who had to be escorted to class by federal marshals when she was chosen to be one of the first black students to integrate into New Orleans' all-white public school system and an appeal to generations to come to effect change.

Lexile measure AD830L; Ages 4-8; PrK-Gr.3.
From Rita Lorraine Hubbard and rising star Oge More comes the inspirational story of Mary Walker, a woman whose long life spanned from the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement, and who--with perseverance and dedication--proved that you're never too old to learn.

Ages 8-12; Gr.5-8.
On the hundredth anniversary of the historic win for women's rights, it's time to celebrate the names and stories of the women whose stories have yet to be told. Gorgeous portraits accompany biographies of such fierce but forgotten women as Yankton Dakota Sioux writer and advocate Zitkála-Sá, Mary Eliza Church Terrell, who cofounded the National Association of Colored Women (NACW), and Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, who, at just sixteen years old, helped lead the biggest parade in history to promote the cause of suffrage.

Ages 4-8; K-Gr.3.
Discover the amazing true story of Maria Mitchell, America's first professional female astronomer. Every evening, from the time she was a child, Maria Mitchell stood on her rooftop with her telescope and swept the sky. And then one night she saw something unusual--a comet no one had ever seen before! Miss Mitchell's extraordinary discovery made her famous the world over and paved the way for her to become America's first professional female astronomer.

Lexile measure 900; Ages 14 and up; Gr.9 and up.
Bestselling author David Elliott explores how Joan of Arc changed the course of history and remains a figure of fascination centuries after her extraordinary life and death. Told through medieval poetic forms and in the voices of the people and objects in Joan of Arc's life, Voices offers an unforgettable perspective on an extraordinary young woman. Along the way it explores timely issues such as gender, misogyny, and the peril of speaking truth to power.

Lexile measure 660; Ages 5 and up; K-Gr.3.
Acclaimed writer Alice Faye Duncan tells the story of poet Gwendolyn Brooks, the first Black author to win the Pulitzer Prize. With a voice both wise and witty, Gwendolyn Brooks crafted poems that captured the urban Black experience and the role of women in society.

Ages 4-8; K-Gr.3.
From acclaimed author and illustrator pairing comes a beautiful picture book biography about the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin and how she fought for respect throughout her life. Aretha Franklin is the Queen of Soul, a legend. But before she became a star, she was a shy little girl with a voice so powerful it made people jump up, sway, and hum along.

Lexile measure 770; Ages 8-10; Gr.3-6
Congresswoman Barbara Jordan had a big, bold, confident voice--and she knew how to use it! Learn all about her amazing career in this illuminating and inspiring picture book biography of the lawyer, educator, politician, and civil rights leader.

Lexile measure 480; Ages 4-8; Prk-Gr.3.
At the mountain's base sits a cabin under an old hickory tree. And in that cabin lives a family -- loving, weaving, cooking, and singing. The strength in their song sustains them through trials on the ground and in the sky, as they wait for their daughter/sister/granddaughter/niece, a pilot, to return from war, with an author's note that pays homage to the true history of Native American U.S. service members like WWII pilot Ola Mildred "Millie" Rexroat.

Lexile measure 960; K-Gr.2.
When Wu Chien Shiung was born in China 100 years ago, most girls did not attend school; no one considered them as smart as boys. But her parents felt differently. Giving her a name meaning "Courageous Hero," they encouraged her love of learning and science. This engaging biography follows Wu Chien Shiung as she battles sexism and racism to become what Newsweek magazine called the "Queen of Physics" for her work on beta decay.

Ages 5-10
Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000) is known for her poems about "real life." She wrote about love, loneliness, family, and poverty--showing readers how just about anything could become a beautiful poem. Exquisite follows Gwendolyn from early girlhood into her adult life, showcasing her desire to write poetry from a very young age. This picture-book biography explores the intersections of race, gender, and the ubiquitous poverty of the Great Depression--all with a lyrical touch worthy of the subject.