By Phoebe Farag Mikhail

I have not stopped talking about the movie Hidden Figures since I saw it this summer. Watching those three African-American women overcome almost impossible obstacles in the segregated South to achieve not just their own professional goals, but to help the country achieve its goal to send someone to the moon, made me feel like I could do anything. I don’t have to petition a court to go to school, or go to the bathroom half a mile away like these women did—with style, too. Even my five year old daughter got something out of it, even though she did fall asleep the first time we watched it together.

Needless to say I bought the book and cannot wait to read it. This summer, I had the opportunity to read and review some wonderfully empowering books for children and young adults, and I’m so excited to share them with you. These books have girl protagonists and managed to attract both my daughter and my sons’ interests. In addition, I have giveaway copies for each of the books.

To enter the giveaway, subscribe to my email newsletter, then comment below telling which book you want to be entered for, and sharing the title of one book (or movie) that you have found inspiring and empowering. ALL newsletter subscribers receive a free copy of my guide to helping children love reading. The giveaway closes on Tuesday, October 10th at 11:59 pm EST. US and Canada addresses only please.

 

Bessie, Queen of the Sky (for children)

I was so excited to back the Kickstarter Project for Bessie, Queen of the Sky by Andrea Doshi and Jimena Duran, and when I received this storybook I was not disappointed. This beautifully illustrated fairy tale is a retelling of the true story of Bessie Coleman, the first African-American female pilot. Bessie overcomes major obstacles to learn how to fly, even learning French and traveling to Paris to go to flight school there since she was not accepted at US flight schools. The retelling and the illustrations have enough of a “fairy tale” character to grab the initial interests of my princess-and-pink loving daughter, while the story of overcoming the obstacles to Bessie’s dream hooked her AND her older, airplane obsessed brother. I cannot wait until the next books in this series come out. In the works are the stories of Isadora Duncan, the founder of modern dance, and Savitribai Phule, the first female teacher at the first girls’ school in India. QueenGirls Publications, the team behind this project, have kindly provided one giveaway copy for my readers.

 

When God Made You (for children)

I can’t describe how much it hurts my heart to hear my children compare themselves to other kids—and feel bad about themselves, especially my daughter, who as early as age four complained that her gorgeous curls don’t “flow” like her straight-haired friends. When I received When God Made You by Matthew Paul Turner from Blogging for Books to review, I received a gift. This beautifully written and illustrated story is everything I want to say to my children when they feel bad about their differences. The words flow in a beautiful rhyme and don’t just affirm children as they are, but as we hope them to be:

’Cause when God made you, and the world oohed and aahed,

in heaven they called you an image of God.

You, you, when God dreams about you, God dreams about all that in you will be true.

That you—God’s YOU—would be hopeful and kind,

a giver who lives with all heart, soul and mind.

The book goes on to talk about being a creator, a peacemaker, “a mover, a shaker, a lover of nature.” This book makes a great gift for any young child. I’m so thankful to have it within reach, along another book by Jane G. Meyer with the same title, a similar them, and some gorgeous illustrations. I have one giveaway copy of When God Made You by Matthew Paul Turner for one of my readers.

 

Queen Abigail the Wise and Vanessa the Wonderworker (young adult and all adults, really)

I initially bought Queen Abigail the Wise by Grace Brooks when one of my favorite authors, Frederica Mathews-Green, recommended it. After some requests by readers to review more young adult books, I started reading it and then couldn’t put it down. When I was done I immediately bought the next book in the Every Tuesday Girls’ Club series, Vanessa the Wonderworker, which I also could not put down. There is so much to love about these books: the endearing and very real characters facing challenges many young people face every day, at home, at school, at church.

The story begins when Abigail, needing a place to channel all her ideas, started the Every Tuesday Girls’ Club with a few other girls at her church who were always at church on Tuesdays, waiting for their parents’ meetings and choir practice. The purpose of the club is to help others, and so before the girls search for problems to solve, they each decide to share their own problems and work on them first. All the main characters are Orthodox Christian, and while an Orthodox Christian reader will greatly appreciate that context, Brooks writes it in such a way that even a non-Christian reader would understand what is going on.

While I was certainly drawn to these novels because of the Orthodox Christian main characters, I was astounded at Brooks’ storytelling abilities. Her characters are full, not one-dimensional, and the stories never really preach anything so much as they show people trying to live their faith while going through everyday challenges. In Queen Abigail the Wise, the girls wrote their problems on a piece of paper and put them in a bag. Every time a problem was solved (often in unexpected ways), I could not wait to find out how the girls try to solve the next one. In Vanessa the Wonderworker, the Every Tuesday Girls’ Club helps her solve a problem that requires no less than a miracle. In the process of working together, the girls grow in love and understanding of one another and of others. I don’t want to ruin the ending of either book; suffice it to say that the endings were surprising and at one point, I was literally walking around the house with the book to find out what happens next.

Grace Brooks has kindly provided my readers with TWO giveaway copies of this book! That means two readers will EACH receive Queen Abigail the Wise AND Vanessa the Wonderworker. Whether you are 12 or 82, you will enjoy these books!

To enter the giveaway, subscribe to my email newsletter, then comment below telling which book you want to be entered for, and sharing the title of one book (or movie) that you have found inspiring and empowering. ALL newsletter subscribers receive a free copy of my guide to helping children love reading. The giveaway closes on Tuesday, October 10th at 11:59 pm EST. US and Canada addresses only please.

 

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