March 2, 2015 | lovetta
March is Women's History Month. To celebrate, try one of these great picture books with positive stories featuring strong female characters.
Dancing in the wings by Debbie Allen ; pictures by Kadir Nelson
Sassy tries out for a summer dance festival in Washington, D.C., despite the other girls' taunts that she is much too tall.
The dot by Peter H. Reynolds
Vashti believes that she cannot draw, but her art teacher's encouragement leads her to change her mind.
The girl with a brave heart: a tale from Tehran by written by Rita Jahan-Fouruz ; illustrated by Vali Mintzi
After showing kindness to a strange old woman, Shiraz receives the gift of beauty but her lazy and unkind stepsister, Nargues, suffers a less pleasant fate in this adaptation of the Grimm's fairy tale, Mother Hulda, reset in Tehran, Iran.
Grace for president by Kelly DiPucchio ; pictures to LeUyen Pham
When Grace discovers that there has never been a female U.S. president, she decides to run for school president.
Marisol McDonald doesn't match by story, Monica Brown ; illustrations, Sara Palacios ; Spanish translation, Adriana Domínguez = Marisol McDonald no combina / cuento, Monica Brown ; ilustraciones, Sara Palacios ; traducción al español, Adriana Domínguez
Marisol McDonald, a biracial, nonconformist, soccer-playing pirate-princess with brown skin and red hair, celebrates her uniqueness.
Me— Jane by Patrick McDonnell
Holding her stuffed toy chimpanzee, young Jane Goodall observes nature, reads Tarzan books, and dreams of living in Africa and helping animals.
Not all princesses dress in pink by Jane Yolen and Heidi Stemple Yolen ; illustrated by Anne-Sophie Lanquetin
Rhyming text affirms that girls can pursue their many interests, from playing sports to planting flowers in the dirt, without giving up their tiaras.
The paper bag princess by story, Robert N. Munsch ; illus- trations, Michael Martchenko
The Princess Elizabeth is slated to marry Prince Ronald when a dragon attacks the castle and kidnaps Ronald. In resourceful and humorous fashion, Elizabeth finds the dragon, outsmarts him, and rescues Ronald --- who is less than pleased at her un-princess-like appearance.
Pirate girl by Cornelia Funke ; illustrated by Kerstin Meyer ; translated by Chantal Wright
Ferocious Captian Firebeard thinks that he and his band of ruthless pirates rule the high seas. But Firebeard's crew meet their match when they kidnap a girl named Molly
Players in pigtails by Shana Corey ; illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon
Katie Casey, a fictional character, helps start the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which gave women the opportunity to play professional baseball while America was involved in World War II.
Princess Grace by Mary Hoffman ; pictures by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu
Grace wants to participate in her community festival's princess float, but first she must decide what sort of a princess she wants to be--from an African princess in kente cloth robes to a floaty pink fairy tale princess.
Rosie Revere, engineer by Andrea Beaty ; illustrated by David Roberts
A young aspiring engineer must first conquer her fear of failure.
Rumpelstiltskin's daughter by Diane Stanley
Rumpelstiltskin's daughter may not be able to spin straw into gold, but she is more than a match for a monarch whose greed has blighted an entire kingdom.
SkySisters by Jan Bourdeau Waboose ; illustrated by Brian Deines
Two Ojibway sisters trek across the frozen north country to see the SkySpirits, the Northern Lights.
Sparrow Girl by written by Sara Pennypacker ; illustrated by Yoko Tanaka
When China's leader declares a war on sparrows, Ming-Li cannot think of the sky without birds in it, and while her countrymen are killing the birds, she and her brother try to save as many as they can.
Stand tall, Molly Lou Melon by written by Patty Lovell ; illustrated by David Catrow
Even when the class bully at her new school makes fun of her, Molly remembers what her grandmother told her and she feels good about herself.
Swamp Angel by Anne Isaacs ; illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
Along with other amazing feats, Angelica Longrider, also known as Swamp Angel, wrestles a huge bear, known as Thundering Tarnation, to save the winter supplies of the settlers in Tennessee.
Thunder Rose by Jerdine Nolen ; illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Unusual from the day she is born, Thunder Rose performs all sorts of amazing feats, including building fences, taming a stampeding herd of steers, capturing a gang of rustlers, and turning aside a tornado.