I love you to the moon and back…And they lived happily ever after…A person’s a person, no matter how small – you remember all of those fabulous lines from our favorite children’s stories. Eva can still recite all of the words from Green Eggs and Ham.
In the elementary years, chapter books became the rage: Magic Tree House, Cam Jansen, Ramona the Brave, Super Fudge, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and one of Eva’s favorite, Junie B. Jones (yes, I am THAT Mother who allowed her daughter to read Junie B. despite all of the horrid grammar). It seemed that there was an endless supply of appropriate books, and many built upon one another making book selection endless.
Fast forward to 4th through 8th grades, it seems that we have a lot more to think about, Glitter Girls. Our reading levels have often spiked, our curiosity grown and we are getting introduced to new things about the World everyday. How do we find books that fit our reading level but at the same time, have appropriate content for our age? I know for us, Eva is at a place in between the children’s section and the Young Adult section at our local library. How do we find books that celebrate our fabulousness, keep our minds focused on what is truly important and inspire us?
Well, thankfully my dear friend, Ali (the same dear friend who started the book club), shared a Facebook post late last year about www.amightygirl.com. “A Mighty Girl” describes itself as “the world’s largest collection of books, toys, movies, and music for parents, teachers, and others dedicated to raising smart, confident, and courageous girls and, of course, for girls themselves!”
And, what a collection it is – The Best Mighty Girl Books of 2015, Top Graphic Novels Starring Mighty Girls, 20 Books for Tweens and Teens About Healthy Relationships, Mighty Girl Books on Managing Emotion (I actually found a couple where I can learn some things), and the list goes on. There are literally thousands of books for various age groups that pull descriptions, age ranges and more from Amazon to allow for immediate purchase. The best part is that you have the expertise of 3rd party reviewers (two women who have been involved in technology; public policy; and women’s rights and environmental issues that are putting their stamp of approval to the list. Both are proud alumni of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and are seeking books that are empowering to girls).
Quick searches have found some of Eva’s favorites – Flora & Ulysses, Smile, all the Judy Blumes (that are appropriate), and many more. As it touts, most of the books are focused on strong female characters. And, it provides a great selection of fiction and non-fiction books making it also a wonderful resource for learning about issues of importance to our girls. We give it a big THUMBS UP!
So, Glitter Girls, the next time you are seeking a good book, check out www.amightygirl.com. One thing though, we are pretty frugal over here at GG headquarters so we usually look for some titles, and then head right on over to our local library website to see if the book is available there before buying it 🙂 If not though, amightgirl.com links to Amazon so you can find the book for the right price – oh, and one more tip – don’t forget to use smile.amazon.com where the same purchase possibly donates a percentage of the purchase price back to your favorite charity.
And, remember, you can always find a friend in a good book!
xo,
Hilary and Eva