There’s no question that raising kids is tough. There’s no question that raising confident kids of color in the present climate is tough. There’s no question that raising a girl to understand her worth is tough but that haven’t stopped generations of women from doing it. Difficult maybe, but not impossible. I always believe that one of the best ways to show my children how they can make an impact on the world is by inspiring them with stories of people who have overcome many of the challenges that they may face in life so they understand on a deep level that they can overcome anything. This is why I was excited a few months ago when my mom gifted my daughter Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 tales of Extraordinary women by Elena Favilli.

As you could probably tell from the title, this book is about women who have fought against the status quo for their rights, the rights of other women and the powerless. Women who not only fought but proved that women can achieve whatever they put their mind to regardless of their origin, their age, their size or their educational background. My daughter who is almost 7 is always fired up by the stories in the book and many times after reading a story we do a little Google research to learn more about the heroine and get answers to her questions. In the process, she gets to learn about the rest of the world, not just the United States and she sometimes has to look up the country on our globe.

If there is a woman you admire in politics, business, fashion, entertainment, publishing etc. you might find her in this book. Hilary Clinton, Maya Angelou, Coco Chanel, Michelle Obama, are just some of the women featured. Each story is told on a separate page and they highlight an inspirational quote from the woman and an accompanying illustration of the her. The illustrations are really beautiful, colorful and intriguing.

This book can be emotionally heavy but it’s more empowering and inspirational as it always shows how the woman succeeded even if through the worst challenges like war. I think regardless of what your daughter may encounter as she grows up, there is a story in this book about a woman who also had a similar challenge and rose past it who she can look to for inspiration.

I’m going to be gifting this book to all the young girls in my life moving forward and it’s even a good read for us adults too.

Have you read Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls?