If Your Kids Love Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, They’ll Love These Books for Little Activists

We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices, edited by Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson
The founders of Just Us Books have put together an anthology of thirty illustrated essays, poems, stories, and letters from authors and illustrators of different backgrounds who offer advice and hope. For example, Jason Reynolds writes “A Talkin’-To,” about “everything bad and frightening and loud.” Jacqueline Woodson pens a letter to her children about being kind. Tony Medina describes a girl’s father being taken away by immigration officials. Heavy stuff, but tackled by strong voices that will stick with your kids.

Girls Resist!: A Guide to Activism, Leadership, and Starting a Revolution, by KaeLyn Rich
In this activism handbook, KaeLyn Rich—a feminist organizer and advocacy director for the New York Civil Liberties Union—encourages teen girls to stand up for change, social justice, and equality. This guide is full of quotes and tips from teen activists who have stood up for change in their communities. Girls Resist! was named one of the Wall Street Journal’s picks for teen activism.

You Are Mighty: A Guide to Changing the World, by Caroline Paul and Lauren Tamaki (Illustrator)
Another teen’s guide to activism, this one was written by Caroline Paul, author of The Gutsy Girl, and also includes topics such as how to make protest signs, write letters, and raise money for causes you believe in. Every chapter ends with a series of questions to encourage readers to act by verbalizing their cause. Tamaki’s black-and-white illustrations are engaging and diverse; at least one teen is wearing a hijab.

Rad Girls Can: Stories of Bold, Brave, and Brilliant Young Women, by Kate Schatz and Miriam Klein Stahl (illustrator)
The author/illustrator team who wrote Rad Women Worldwide and Rad American Women have a new message: get inspired by these forty amazing girls have already blazed their own trails in history. These stories focus on girls and young women who change the world before the age of twenty, such as Malala Yousafzai, Anne Frank, Joan of Arc… and activists you might not have heard about, like teenage transgender leader Jazz Jennings and Barbara Rose Johns, whose high school protest helped spark the civil rights movement.

Start Now! You Can Make a Difference, by Chelsea Clinton
In this handbook for elementary school kids, Chelsea Clinton offers projects and ideas to address local and worldwide problems to make the world a better place to live. This guide teaches readers about everything from climate change to world hunger and endangered animals. There are also basics such as how to be a good friend, stand up to bullies, and treat others with respect. Every chapter ends with a section called “Start now!” to show kids how to get more involved in changing their communities.