Inspiring Women’s History Books for Kids and Teens
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What is women’s history? In theory, it is simply the role that women have played throughout history. Unfortunately, these stories have largely been ignored until now. For much of history, women were assumed to play just a minor background role in important history-making events. That just isn’t true though. The true stories are finally being published.
I like to include books about women’s history whenever possible in our history curriculum to give a more complete picture. History books tend to focus on men or a few token famous women.
There are so many women who are only now being recognized for their contributions to society.
These women’s history books can be used in a few ways:
- Incorporated into history and science curricula to give a more complete picture and offer fresh perspectives
- Assigned as part of language arts
- Read in March, Women’s History Month
- Read aloud – they might even pique new interests!
Women have of course helped shaped history around the globe, but I kept this list focused on women’s history in America to keep it from being too long. However, I encourage you to always seek out and include women’s voices and stories when teaching any historical time period.
Women’s History Books for Kids and Teens
Women’s History Picture Books
Dinosaur Lady: The Daring Discoveries of Mary Anning, the First Paleontologist by Linda Skeers
Last update on 2026-11-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Mary loved exploring the beaches near her home in England. One day she made an amazing discovery! She was not given much credit at the time, but she made a big impact on scientific beliefs.
Last update on 2026-11-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Euguenie Clark devoted her life’s work to studying sharks. She earned multiple degrees and spent countless hours underwater so she could learn as much as possible. Her efforts improved understanding about the importance of sharks.
This book would be an excellent addition to a marine biology curriculum.
Harriet Tubman: Freedom Fighter by Nadia L. Hohn
Last update on 2026-11-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Harriet Tubman was an amazing woman who helped people escape to freedom. Kids can learn about her life with this early reader biography.
Beatrix Potter, Scientist by Lindsay H. Metcalf
- Amazon Kindle Edition
Last update on 2026-11-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Most people know Beatrix Potter as the beloved author of the classic children’s book series Peter Rabbit. However, before she was an author, she was a scientist. At the time, she was unrecognized for her contributions to the scientific world.
Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly
Last update on 2026-11-02 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Four women helped tremendously in the race to the moon. The popular movie is now a children’s picture book!
Leave It to Abigail!: The Revolutionary Life of Abigail Adams
Last update on 2026-11-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Abigail Adams, one of America’s founding mothers, was an unusual woman for her time. She spoke her mind and was full of ideas.
The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles
Last update on 2026-11-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Ruby Bridges made history when she was only 6 years old when she entered a traditionally white school. She bravely walked through the school doors and to her first-grade class, desegregating the school.
The Girl Who Named Pluto: The Story of Venetia Burney
- Hardcover Book
Last update on 2026-11-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Venetia was only 11 years old when she suggested that a newly discovered planet be named Pluto.
Related: Educational Solar System Resources for Kids
- Used Book in Good Condition
- Hardcover Book
Last update on 2026-11-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Dr. Mary Walker was quite unusual for the Civil War era. She was a doctor, she was a suffragist, and she dressed for practicality – not custom. She is to this day the only woman to have ever been awarded the Medal of Honor!
The Only Woman in the Photo: Frances Perkins & Her New Deal for America by Kathleen Krull
Last update on 2026-11-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Frances Perkins was the first woman to ever serve in a Presidential cabinet. Her service was instrumental in creating the New Deal that helped pull America out of the Great Depression.
Women’s History Early Chapter Books
How Women Won the Vote: Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and Their Big Idea by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Last update on 2026-11-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
This book about the women’s suffrage movement in the United States is broken down into 5 sections:
- Under Arrest
- A Big Idea
- Parade
- Boycott
- Victory
Last update on 2026-11-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
This important book shines a light on the diverse group of women who fought for the right to vote.
50 Fearless Women Who Made American History by Jenifer Bazzit
Last update on 2026-11-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Check out 50 incredible women who boldly contributed to American history.
This book covers a wide variety of historical periods and topics. Reading an interesting chapter might interest your kids in learning more about a specific event.
Eighteen Roses Red: A Young Girl’s Heroic Mission in the Revolutionary War by Ruth H. Maxwell
Last update on 2026-11-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
This historical fiction book tells the story of a young teenage girl who must deliver an important message to General Washington during the Revolutionary War.
The Secret Soldier: Story of Deborah Sampson by Ann McGovern
- Used Book in Good Condition
Last update on 2026-11-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Deborah Sampson wanted to fight in the Revolutionary War; however, women were not allowed to be soldiers. She came up with a plan to join the army after all.
The Double Life of Pocahontas by Jean Fritz
Last update on 2026-11-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Pocahontas was a brave young woman. She helped Jamestown settlers survive, despite this putting her in danger.
The March on Washington by Bonnie Bader
Last update on 2026-11-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
This book describes the peaceful march in Washington with Martin Luther King through the eyes of Melody, a young girl.
The Radium Girls: Young Readers Edition by Kate Moore
Last update on 2026-11-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Radium girls were young women who worked with the lethal poison radium. They were bullied and shamed into silence, but ultimately fought hard for increased worker protections.
This version of The Radium Girls tells the same general story as the adult edition, but it has been edited for 8- to 12-year-olds.
The Incredible Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League by Anika Orrock
- Features stories of grit and perseverance against all odds told by the players themselves|Filled with player statistics historical beats headlines and…
- Hardcover Book
Last update on 2026-11-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
During WWI, women helped keep the country entertained by playing baseball. Learn about this moment in women’s history by reading first-hand accounts.
Last update on 2026-11-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Women worked to help crack codes during World War II, but the highly classified nature of the job kept their stories secret. Now they are finally getting the recognition they deserve. This version is adapted for a middle school level.
Women’s History Novels for Teens
Last update on 2026-11-02 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Ida Mae Jones has always wanted to fly. That is a big goal for a black woman in the 1940s. She gets a shot at her dream when America enters World War II, but it comes at a cost. She has to deny part of her identity if she wants to fly as a WASP.
Behind Rebel Lines: The Incredible Story of Emma Edmonds, Civil War Spy by Seymour Reit
- Amazon Kindle Edition
Last update on 2026-11-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
This is the true story of a young woman who joined the Union Army. She took on a variety of disguises in order to repeatedly cross the Confederate line.
The Radium Girls by Kate Moore
Last update on 2026-11-02 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
In the 1910s and 20s, teenage girls and young women were often hired to paint surfaces with glow-in-the-dark paint. Unfortunately, they were working with highly poisonous radium and suffered fatal consequences. They stood up to the corporations and fought for safer working conditions.
Louisa On the Front Lines: Louisa May Alcott in the Civil War by Samantha Seiple
Last update on 2026-11-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
We typically think of Louisa May Alcott as the author of Little Women, but she did more than just write. She was also a Civil War nurse and an abolitionist.
The Queens of Animation: The Untold Story of the Women Who Transformed the World of Disney and Made Cinematic History by Nathalia Holt
Last update on 2026-11-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Women were instrumental in making Disney an animation legend.
Be sure to save this list so you can easily reference it when you are lesson planning!
Keep reading . . .
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- A Long Walk to Water Lesson Plans
- How to Create a Unit Study for Any Topic
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