Call Me Miss Hamilton: One Woman’s Case for Equality and Respect by Carole Boston Weatherford

This picture book biography in verse tells the story of Mary Hamilton, an African American woman and Civil Rights activist, who was found to be in contempt of court when she would not respond to questions from an Alabama judge who used only her first name, while calling white people “Mr.,” “Mrs.,” or “Miss.” The NAACP took her case, which appealed all the way to the US Supreme Court, which ruled in Mary Hamilton’s favor.

Listen : How Evelyn Glennie, a Deaf Girl, Changed Percussion by Shannon Stocker

A nonfiction picture book biography celebrating Evelyn Glennie, a deaf woman, who became the first full-time solo percussionist in the world.

The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs by Chana Stiefel

“Thirty-five years after Nazis destroyed her beloved shtetl of Eishyshok, Poland, Yaffa Eliach recovered thousands of precious photographs preserved by relatives and survivors to recreate her community at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. Susan Gal’s expressive illustrations bring to life this true story of love and remembrance.” – ALA

Warrior Princess: The Story of Khutulun by Sally Deng

An empowering and informative picture book biography about Khutulun, the great-great-granddaughter of Genghis Khan, and how she defied the expectations of her time to become commander of the Khan’s army.

Phenomenal AOC: The Roots and Rise of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez by Anika Denise

An inspiring biography of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from Pura Belpre Honor-winning creators Anika Aldamuy Denise and Loris Lora! In 2019, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest congresswoman in America. How did this young Puertoriquena become an unstoppable force in politics? Find out in this accessible and engaging book for young readers. AOC’s remarkable story begins in her childhood Bronx home and comes full circle the moment AOC became America’s youngest Congresswoman. Ocasio-Cortez’s empowering journey reminds us that everyone, regardless of their age, race, creed, wealth, or zip code, is capable of being a voice for change.

The Girl Who Built an Ocean: An Artist, an Argonaut, and the True Story of the World’s First Aquarium by Jess Keating

“Jeanne Villepreux-Power began her career as a dressmaker, sewing beautiful gowns for the Parisian aristocracy. But her heart longed for more, and when she moved to the seaside, she became fascinated by the ocean’s mysteries. She filled her pockets with seashells and specimens, and filled her notebooks with oservations about coral and crustaceans and all manner of marine life. The argonaut interested her most of all, but Jeanne’s observations of this shy creature were confounded by its tendency to swim away when approached. Jeanne wanted a way to bring a piece of the ocean home with her, and that’s she came to build the world’s first aquarium–an invention that would pave the way for countless scientific discoveries in the years to come” – From Publisher

One Wish: Fatima Al-Fihri and the World’s Oldest University by M. O. Yuksel

Fatima al-Fihri loved to learn. She wanted to know everything, like how birds flew, why the sky was blue, and how flowers grew. But more than anything, she wanted a school for all, where anyone could study and become whatever they wanted. This true-lifeportrait of an extraordinary Muslim woman shows the importance of never giving up on your dreams and how we all have the power to change the world for the better.

She Persisted: Diana Taurasi by Monica Brown

When Diana Taurasi was a girl, professional women’s basketball didn’t exist in the US. But she worked hard to create opportunities for herself, winning championships throughout college and eventually going on to play for the WNBA with the Phoenix Mercuryand winning multiple Olympic gold medals.

Breaking Through the Clouds: The Sometimes Turbulent Life of Meteorologist Joanne Simpson by Sandra Nickel

Joanne Simpson made groundbreaking-or should we say cloudbreaking-discoveries about weather and how it worked. Born in Massachusetts in 1923, she became interested in clouds while sailing in Cape Cod. As a young adult, she went to the University of Chicago and began studying and then teaching meteorology. After the war, women were expected to go back to being homemakers, but Joanne instead received her Masters Degree and began a PhD program. She decided to focus on tropical cumulous clouds, even though at the time no one thought that clouds affected the weather-they thought they were just a byproduct. Though the scientific establishment–mostly men–tried to stop her at every turn, her stubborn determination prevailed. She was the first woman in the United States to receive her PhD in meteorology, and her discoveries still affect how we think about clouds and the weather today!

The Woman Who Split the Atom: The Life of Lise Meitner by Marissa Moss

As a female Jewish physicist in Berlin during the early 20th century, Lise Meitner had to fight for an education, a job, and equal treatment in her field, like having her name listed on her own research papers. Meitner made groundbreaking strides in thestudy of radiation, but when Hitler came to power in Germany, she suddenly had to face not only sexism, but also life-threatening anti-Semitism as well. Nevertheless, she persevered and one day made a discovery that rocked the world: thesplitting of theatom. While her male lab partner was awarded a Nobel Prize for the achievement, the committee refused to give her any credit. Suddenly, the race to build theatomic bomb was on-although Meitner was horrified to be associated with such a weapon. “A physicist who never lost her humanity,” Meitner wanted only to figure out how the world works, and advocated for pacifism while others called for war.

Pirate Queens : Dauntless Women Who Dared to Rule the High Seas by Leigh Lewis

A collection of fact-filled profiles, poetry, and illustrations of women pirates who made their mark on the high seas. Each profile includes an original poem presented against a backdrop of full-color art by illustrator Sara Woolley Gomez. The profile is followed by information about the real life and times of these daring women.