From imaginative child to visionary storyteller, Toni Morrison was a fiercely inspiring writer that helped change the world. This poetic picture book biography is part love letter and part biography, praising the power of this Nobel Prize winner.

Before Marie Curie was the first woman in France to earn the highest degree in physics, before she discovered two new radioactive elements, and became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize (and then the first person to win two!)– she was a little girl named Marie Sklodowska who dreamed of being a scientist–and was determined to make that dream come true.

A picture book biography of Delaware State Senator Sarah McBride.

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.

From the big stage to the US Navy, from laboratories to the boardroom, from the Olympics to the pages in books, these girls and women lead every line. Bold, bright, and empowering profiles by artist Nína Mata place these incredible changemakers at the very front and inspire readers to tap into their own greatness.

Whenever young Carol sang along to her family’s music, her heart felt light and full of joy. Learning from her grandfather, Moshum, Carol listened closely to the drums’ heartbeat until one day, Moshum made her a drum of her very own.

This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Hoopla.

A true tale of big cats and even bigger courage, inspired by the personal story of Gir Forest’s first female guard and Lion Queen, Rasila Vadher. ‘Never look a lion in the eyes,’ a mother tells her fearless girl. After a field trip to the Gir Forest, the girl learns all about the rare Asiatic lions of India, and from that day on, she dreams of taking care of them when she grows up.

This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Hoopla. 

Shirley Chisholm is a hero and trailblazer. She was the first African American woman in Congress (1968) and the first woman and African American to seek the nomination for president of the United States from one of the two major political parties (1972).

Born in South Africa, where her Jewish family fled from the danger in Europe during WWII, Ruth First was committed to speaking out against apartheid her whole life, and she never backed down.

This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Hoopla and in eAudio on Hoopla. 

Anita Yasuda’s evocative picture book biography about Junko Tabei, the first woman to summit Everest.

As a young girl, playwright Lorraine Hansberry walked everywhere with a notebook, eager to capture the sights, sounds, and stories of the people around her. First Lorraine watched her parents’ triumph in the Supreme Court case of Hansberry v. Lee. Then she discovered the magic of theater. Next, she unlocked the power of her voice, crafting A Raisin in the Sun.

Based on a true story, this inspiring picture book is about a curious, tinkering girl who grew up to become one of the first Black female engineers for NASA.