March is Women's History Month—a time to celebrate achievements women have made throughout the course of American history in various fields. This booklist highlights four women: Alice Waters, Patsy Takemoto Mink, Florence Merriam Bailey, and Coco Chanel with an outstanding children's book about each along with recommended titles related to each woman's great passion (healthy eating, gender equality in sports, birds, and fashion). These would be wonderful additions during storytime or great titles to suggest for parents to encourage family and independent reading. 

Alice Waters

Alice Waters Cooks up a Food Revolution by Diane Stanley and illustrated by Jessie Hartland

The delicious story of pioneering chef Alice Waters who changed the way America eats and kickstarted the organic food movement. A pioneer of the slow and organic food movements, she is also known for creating Edible Schoolyard, a project that involves kids in the growing of their own food.

• Min/Max Grade level: 1–2
• Natural Foods

 

 

 

 

 

Explore more titles about healthy eating and gardening:

Grow a Garden! by Alexis Frederick-Frost

Assigned to the most unpopular teacher at Garden Gnome Academy, Violet, Will, and Basil learn unexpectedly engaging lessons about soil, compost and the secrets to growing a healthy garden, in a story that shares step-by-step instructions for growing a container garden.

 

 

 

 

• Min/Max Grade level: 4–6
• Vegetable gardening

 

 

How to Say Hello to a Worm: A First Guide to Outside by Kari Percival

The beautiful simplicity of a garden is depicted through digital woodcut illustrations and engaging nonfiction text presented as a series of sweet questions and gentle replies. Less of a traditional how-to and more of a how-to-appreciate, this soothingly sparse text paints an inviting and accessible picture of what a garden offers. And with an all-child cast, the absence of an adult presence empowers readers to view the garden and its creatures through their own eyes, driven by curiosity and wonder.

• Min/Max Grade level: Pre-K
• Gardening

Our Food: A Healthy Serving of Science and Poems by Grace Lin, Ranida T. McKneally and illustrated by Grace Zong

An introduction to the science of food, the food groups, and the qualities of a healthy meal answers basic questions in a sequence of haiku poems and Q&A entries. 

 

 

 

• Min/Max Grade level: 3 - 4
• Nutrition

 

Plant, Cook, Eat!: A Children's Cookbook by Joe Archer and Caroline Craig

For beginners and green-thumbed foodies, this unusually all-inclusive garden-to-kitchen cookbook is part lesson in gardening and part collection of healthy, delicious, kid-friendly recipes.

 

 

 

• Min/Max Grade level: 3 - 7
• Vegetable gardening

 

Patsy Takemoto Mink

Fall Down Seven Times, Stand up Eight: Patsy Takemoto Mink and the Fight for Title IX by Jen Bryant and illustrated by Toshiki Nakamura

A champion of equal rights who helped create a better future for all Americans, this biography of the first Asian American woman elected to Congress showed how she carved her own path to become a historic trailblazer.

 

• Min/Max Grade level: Pre-K–2
• Government and politics

Explore books about sports and gender equality:

Girls With Guts!: The Road to Breaking Barriers & Bashing Records by Debbie Gonzales and illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon

A celebration of the strength, endurance, and athleticism of women and girls throughout the ages, Girls With Guts! keeps score with examples of women athletes from the late 1800s up through the 1970s, sharing how women refused to take no for an answer, and how finally, they pushed for a law to protect their right to play, compete, and be athletes.

• Min/Max Grade level: 1–4
• Sex discrimination in sports

More than a Game: Race, Gender, and Politics in Sports by Matt Doeden

This book explores controversies in sports, including black boxer Jack Johnson, Jessie Owens in the 1936 Olympics, Jackie Robinson breaking baseball's color barrier, Muhammad Ali's refusal to fight in the Vietnam War, #MeToo, and the US gymnastics team, and much more.

 

 

• Min/Max Grade level: 5—12
• Discrimination in sports

Flipster: Access over 100 popular magazines, including Sports Illustrated Kids with your NYPL library card.

 

 

 

 

 

Florence Merriam Bailey

She Heard the Birds: The Story of Florence Merriam Bailey: Pioneering Nature Activist written and illustrated by Andrea D'Aquino

Tells the story of pioneering birder and activist Florence Merriam Bailey, whose compassionate approach to nature influenced modern bird-watching and inspired a lasting sense of curiosity and respect for the world's feathered creatures.

 

 

 

• Min/Max Grade level: K–2
• Ornithologists

Encourage children to look for birds all around and pay close attention to their feathers and beaks! Explore more books about birds:
 

A Garden to Save the Birds by Wendy McClure and illustrated by Beatriz Mayumi 

After a bird flies into their window, two children and their mother study how to keep birds safe, and soon their whole neighborhood is helping in different ways.

 

 

 

• Min/Max Grade level: 1–3
• Bird protection

 

The Beak Book by Robin Page

Birds around the world have so many amazing kinds of beaks! There are short beaks and long beaks, straight beaks and curved beaks, flat beaks, and even spoon-shaped beaks. But what do all of these beaks do? Discover how beaks of different shapes and sizes are adapted to help birds sip nectar, make nests, battle for mates, and more!

 

 

• Min/Max Grade level: K–2
• Bird identification

 

Bird Show by Susan Stockdale

Celebrates the beauty and diversity of some of the world's most remarkable birds, introducing amateur ornithologists to familiar and exotic species and their vibrant colors, patterns, and other feathered features.

 

 

• Min/Max Grade level: Pre-K–2
• Bird Identification

 

Birdology: 30 Activities and Observations for Exploring the World of Birds by Monica Russo, photographs by Kevin Byron

Provides thirty activities that encourage bird watching and observation in parks, zoos, farms, and backyards, and includes discussions on migration, nesting, food, territories, and wildlife preservation.

• Min/Max Grade level: 4–6
• Bird watching

 

Feathers: Not Just for Flying by Melissa Stewart and illustrated by Sarah S. Brannen

Profiles sixteen bird species and explores informative sidebars that underscore specific ways each bird uses its feather for a variety of practical purposes.

 

• Min/Max Grade level:1–4
• Feathers

 

Look Up!: Bird Watching in your own Backyard by Annette LeBlanc Cate

A conversational, lighthearted introduction to birdwatching encourages kids to get outdoors with a sketchbook and explains how to identify local varieties by referencing cartoon illustrations that whimsically profile bird characteristics.

 

 

• Min/Max Grade level: 3–5
• Bird Watching

Coco Chanel

Along Came Coco: A Story About Coco Chanel by Eva Byrne

In a time when children were meant to be seen and not heard, along came Coco, a small French orphan with an eye for style, a talent for sewing, and a big imagination. At a time when girls were told to brush their hair 100 times until their arms were sore, Coco promised herself that one day she would snip away her locks so that she wouldn't have to be so fussy—girls needed time for other things, and they needed some of the comforts that boys enjoyed. Why shouldn't girls have pockets? And why did they have to wear corsets all the time? Along Came Coco shows the ways in which Coco Chanel's imaginative spirit led her to grow into one of the world's most beloved fashion icons.

• Min/Max Grade level: K–3
• Fashion

Exploring books about sewing:

Catalina Incognito by Jennifer Torres and illustrated by Gladys Jose

Eight-year-old Catalina Castañeda uses Taia Abuela's sewing kit to turn ordinary clothing into a magical disguise, enabling her to uncover a thief at the local library.

 

 

 

 

 

• Min/Max Grade level: 2–3
• Being a friend

 

Create a Costume! by Sarah Myer

The comic convention is just a few short weeks away. All Bea and Parker need now are great costumes . . . but won’t the supplies and materials cost a fortune? Not if Bea and Parker follow a few simple instructions from Costume Critter, the world’s cutest cosplayer!

 

 

 

 

• Min/Max Grade level: 4–6
• How to 

 

Sadiq wants to Stitch by Mamta Nainy and illustrated by Niloufer Wadia

Sadiq loves stitching colorful patterns on rugs. However, his Ammi reminds him that boys in his community don't stitch, they tend to the livestock. But Sadiq is determined to pursue his passion.

 

 

• Min/Max Grade level: K–2
• Gender roles

 

Stitch + String Lab for Kids: 40+ Creative Projects to Sew, Embroider, Weave, Wrap, and Tie by Cassie Stephens

With 40+ inventive projects, Stitch and string lab for kids contains everything from simple sewing, embroidery, and weaving to string art, needle felting, and yarn crafts!

 

 

• Min/Max Grade level: 3 - 7
• Cookbooks

 

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Summaries provided via NYPL’s catalog, which draws from multiple sources. Click through to each book’s title for more.