The impact of women’s contributions throughout history has long been overlooked. In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re highlighting works for young readers that reflect on the many women throughout time who have overcome obstacles to leave their mark. To see our interviews with authors of new picture book biographies on feminist icons, click here.
Best Believe: The Tres Hermanas, a Sisterhood for the Common Good by NoNieqa Ramos, illus. by Nicole Medina. Carolrhoda, Feb., $18.99 ISBN 978-1-72846-044-4. This picture book pays honor to Puerto Rico–born activists Evelina Antonetty, Lillian López, and Elba Cabrera, whose life work led to major changes in the Bronx.
Comet Chaser: The True Cinderella Story of Caroline Herschel, the First Professional Woman Astronomer by Pamela S. Turner, illus. by Vivien Mildenberger. Chronicle, Mar., $19.99 ISBN 978-1-4521-4543-3. This picture book charts German-born female astronomer Herschel’s transformation to acclaimed career scientist.
Coretta: The Autobiography of Mrs. Coretta Scott King by Coretta Scott King, illus. by Ekua Holmes. Macmillan/Godwin Books, Jan., $18.99 ISBN 978-1-250-16710-1. The creators blend poetry and prose to chart the path of Coretta Scott King from her childhood in segregated Alabama to her career as an activist alongside her husband, Martin Luther King Jr.
Dancing Through Space: Dr. Mae Jamison Soars to New Heights by Lydia Lukidis, illus. by Sawyer Cloud. Albert Whitman, Apr., $18.99, ISBN 978-0-8075-1458-0. This account of Black female astronaut Jemison’s career highlights her passions for dance and astronomy.
Determined Dreamer: The Story of Marie Curie by Deborah Hopkinson, illus. by Jen Hill. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, Feb., $19.99, ISBN 978-0-06-237332-8. Curie finds ways to overcome financial challenges and discrimination to achieve her dreams of becoming a scientist.
Extraordinary Magic: The Storytelling Life of Virginia Hamilton by Nina Crews. Little, Brown/Ottaviano, Jan, $18.99 ISBN 978-0-316-38359-2. This picture book traces the life of Hamilton before she became an acclaimed children’s book author, including her Ohio upbringing and her move to New York to find success.
The Fabulous Fannie Farmer: Kitchen Scientist and America’s Cook by Emma Bland Smith, illus. by Susan Reagan. Calkins Creek, Jan., $18.99 ISBN 978-1-63592-612-5. Readers can learn about Farmer, the woman who broke cooking down into a science for a cookbook.
The Fastest Drummer: Clap Your Hands for Viola Smith! by Dean Robbins, illus. by Susanna Chapman. Candlewick, Mar., $17.99 ISBN 978-1-5362-2486-3. Legendary jazz musician Smith gets a much-deserved spotlight in Robbins’s ringing tribute.
Gifts from Georgia’s Garden: How Georgia O’Keeffe Nourished Her Art by Lisa Robinson, illus. by Hadley Hooper. Holiday House/Porter, Mar., $18.99 ISBN 978-0-8234-5266-8. This picture book highlights how renowned artist O’Keeffe’s journey to New Mexico inspired her creative work.
The Girl Who Figured It Out: The Inspiring True Story of Wheelchair Athlete Minda Dentler Becoming an Ironman World Champion by Minda Dentler, illus. by Stephanie Dehennin. Sourcebooks Explore, Mar., $18.99 ISBN 978-1-72827-653-3. Readers can follow the journey of how Dentler became the first female wheelchair athlete to complete the Ironman World Championship triathlon.
Go Forth and Tell: The Life of Augusta Baker, Librarian and Master Storyteller by Breanna J. McDaniel, illus. by April Harrison. Dial, Feb., $18.99 ISBN 978-0-593-32420-2. Ages 5–8. McDaniel chronicles the life of storytelling librarian Baker, starting with her Baltimore childhood and closing with the long-lasting effects of her career. The book received a starred review from PW.
Guts for Glory: The Story of Civil War Soldier Rosetta Wakeman by Joanna Lapati. Eerdmans, Feb., $19.99 ISBN 978-0-8028-5464-3. Lapati presents the wartime experiences of Rosetta Wakeman, who fought for the Union Army as a man named Lyons.
I Am Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Brad Meltzer, illus. by Christopher Eliopoulos. Rocky Pond, Jan., $16.99 ISBN 978-0-593-53333-8. The 32nd installment of the Ordinary People Change the World series highlights the achievements of this Supreme Court Justice.
Ida B. Wells Marches for the Vote by Dinah Johnson, illus. by Jerry Jordan. Little, Brown/Ottaviano, Jan., $18.99 ISBN 978-0-316-32247-8. Born in Mississippi just a few months shy of the Emancipation Proclamation, suffragist Wells experienced what is “not a perfect freedom”—growing up in a Black family denied the right to vote.
Journey to the Stars: Kalpana Chawla, Astronaut by Laurie Wallmark and Raakhee Mirchandani, illus. by Maitreyi Ghosh. Beaming Books, Feb. $18.99 ISBN 978-1-5064-8469-3. Readers can follow Chawla’s journey from her childhood as an eager student to her experience as the first Indian American female astronaut.
Lucy!: How Lucille Ball Did It All by Amy Guglielmo, Jacqueline Tourville, illus. by Brigette Barrager. Abrams, Mar., $19.99 ISBN 978-1-4197-4992-6. This picture book biography highlights Ball’s evolution from an extroverted child to a TV star.
Miles of Style: Eunice W. Johnson and the ‘Ebony’ Fashion Fair by Lisa D. Brathwaite, illus. by Lynn Gaines. Lee & Low, Feb., $20.95 ISBN 978-1-62014-312-4. Ages 6–11. This picture book traces the fashion-forward life of entrepreneur Johnson.
Not Yet: The Story of an Unstoppable Skater by Zahra Lari and Hadley Davis, illus. by Sara Alfageeh. Orchard, Feb., $18.99 ISBN 978-1-338-86520-2. In this collaboration, Lari highlights her experience as the first skater to internationally compete in a hijab, and her preparations to take the ice for the first time.
One of a Kind: The Life of Sydney Taylor by Richard Michelson, illus. by Sarah Green. Calkins Creek, Feb., $18.99 ISBN 978-1-63592-531-9. This picture book follows Taylor from her upbringing on New York’s Lower East Side into her adulthood, and how a lack of books depicting Jewish families inspired her to write her own.
Remembering Rosalind Franklin: Rosalind Franklin & the Discovery of the Double Helix Structure of DNA by Tanya Lee Stone, illus. by Gretchen Ellen Powers. Little, Brown/Ottaviano, Feb., $18.99 ISBN 978-0-316-35124-9. Despite few women working in the science field in the 1950s, Franklin made the historic discovery behind the structure of DNA.
We Dream a World: Carrying the Light from My Grandparents Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King by Yolanda Renee King, illus. by Nicole Tadgell. Orchard, Jan., $18.99 ISBN 978-1-338-75397-4. Ages 4–8. Adolescent activist King affirms the hopes of her late grandparents in this picture book declaration about honoring their legacy.
