Bloomington Library: Diverse Reads for All Ages: 2026

Children

Stand Up!: 10 Mighty Women Who Made a Change
by Brittney Cooper

Biographical collection of ten female figures who changed the world by standing up for what's right and offering an inspirational call to action, reminding everyone that they can be forces for change when they stand up!

Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History
by Vashti Harrison

They're brave. They're bold. They changed the world. Featuring 40 trailblazing black women in history, this book educates and inspires as it relates true stories of women who broke boundaries and exceeded all expectations.

Finding Wonders: Three Girls Who Changed Science
by Jeannine Atkins

A biographical novel in verse of three different girls in three different time periods who grew up to become groundbreaking scientists.

She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World
by Chelsea Clinton

In this book, Chelsea Clinton celebrates thirteen American women who helped shape our country through their tenacity, sometimes through speaking out, sometimes by staying seated, sometimes by captivating an audience. They all certainly persisted.

Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World
by Susan Hood

Shaking Things Up introduces fourteen revolutionary young women--each paired with a noteworthy female artist--to the next generation of activists, trailblazers, and rabble-rousers.

Teens

Brazen : rebel ladies who rocked the world
by Pénélope Bagieu

A celebrated graphic novelist profiles the lives of formidable female role models, in an entertaining, comic-style biography that is sure to inspire the next generation of rebel ladies.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club
by Malinda Lo

America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father--despite his hard-won citizenship--Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.

Our Stories, Our Voices: 21 YA Authors Get Real about Injustice, Empowerment, and Growing Up Female in America
by Amy Reed

This collection of twenty-one essays from major YA authors touches on a powerful range of topics related to growing up female in today's America, and the intersection with race, religion, and ethnicity.

Black Girl You Are Atlas
by Renée Watson

Poet Renâee Watson looks back at her childhood and urges readers to look forward at their futures with love, understanding, and celebration in this fully illustrated poetry collection.

Because I Was a Girl: True Stories for Girls of All Ages
by Melissa de la Cruz

Because I Was a Girl is an inspiring collection of true stories by women and girls about the obstacles, challenges, and opportunities they've faced...because of their gender.

Adults

Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts
by Rebecca Hall

This graphic novel brings to light the existence of enslaved black women warriors, whose stories can be traced by carefully scrutinizing historical records; and where the historical record goes silent. Wake reconstructs the likely past of two female rebels, Adono and Alele, on the slave ship, The Unity.

Abortion Stories: American Literature Before Roe V. Wade by null

Abortion Stories: American Literature Before Roe V. Wade
by Book Author

This is the first volume of its kind to bring together a diverse collection of writings on abortion published before 1973, when Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in every American state.

The Movement: How Women's Liberation Transformed America 1963-1973
by Clara Bingham

The Movement tells the intimate inside story of what it felt like to be at the forefront of the modern feminist crusade, when women rejected thousands of years of custom and demanded the freedom to be who they wanted and needed to be.

Women & Power: A Manifesto
by Mary Beard

A modern feminist classic and a timely manifesto on women and power.

The Lion Women of Tehran
by Marjan Kamali

Together, two young women come of age and pursue their own goals for meaningful futures. But as the political turmoil in Iran builds to a breaking point, one earth-shattering betrayal will have enormous consequences.