For girls who want to learn more about civic leadership, the blog, A Mighty Girl, has a helpful list for all ages:

Remember the Ladies:  25 Children’s Books on Women in Politics

In fact, we highly recommend A Mighty Girl in general as they offer “the world’s largest collection of books, toys and movies for smart, confident, and courageous girls.”   You can also follow them on Facebook.

Separately, we have compiled a list of books that have female leads and authors, and/or that address topics that are important to many women and girls.  The reading levels range from ages 10-15. Many thanks to our Mentors, Tara Krishna and Audrey Porter, for compiling this list!  Here is their message  ….

Books provide a passageway to knowledge and imagination for the reader to enjoy. We hope that the protagonists in these books inspire the girls to reach for their highest dreams and overcome their own obstacles with grace and poise. The following list of books cover a variety of topics ranging from women’s roles in historical events to images of dauntless women challenging the status quo, as well as essays by writers who want to demystify the concept of feminism for young girls.  Happy reading!
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Historical Fiction

• Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
• Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein
• Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
• Prisoners in the Palace by Michaela MacColl
• Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
• In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner
• Fever by Laurie Halse Anderson
• A Letter to Mrs. Roosevelt by C. Coco De Young
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• Revolution by Deborah Wiles
• Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys
• Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys
• The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
• The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Tate
• Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez

Realistic Fiction

• Kira Kira by Cynthia Kadohata
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
• My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
• The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
• The President’s Daughter by Ellen Emerson White
• Words in the Dust by Trent Reedy
• The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen
• Out of my Mind by Sharon Draper
• Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature by Robin Brande
• The Talented Clementine by Sara Pennypacker
• Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett
• Same Sun Here by Silas House & Neela Vaswani
• Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
• Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan
• Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
• The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks  by E. Lockhart

Feminism, Self-Empowerment, Social Justice  

• We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• RAD American Women A-Z by Kate Schatz
• Hidden Figures (Young Reader’s Edition) by Margot Lee Shetterly
• Poisoned Apples by Christine Heppermann
• Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (and Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
• Here We Are, Feminism for the Real World  by assorted authors
• Full Frontal Feminism by Jessica Valenti
• You Don’t Have to Like Me by Alida Nugent
• I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
• Monster by Walter Dean Myers
• Angel de la Luna by M. Evelina Galang
• The Anthropology of the American Girl by Hilary Thayer Hamann

Classics

• Matilda by Roald Dahl
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• Orphan Train by Christina Baker Klein
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Book Series

• Divergent by Veronica Roth
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
• Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter
• The Mother Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick and Shireen Dodson
• The Year of the Dog by Pacey Lin
• The Winnie Years by Lauren Myracle
• Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows
• Dear America by Numerous Writers
• Beacon Street Girls by Annie Bryant
• The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares