Virtual Book Talk: Women's History Month

For my virtual program in March, I decided that I would do my first virtual book talk on Women's History Month. It was a challenge because it was my first program that wasn't in a storytime or craft format, but I so enjoyed doing this and to promote some of the incredible women who had made a difference.

I ended up using Google Slides and Screencast to make a video on some of the great female biographies for young readers that I came across. I wanted to make sure that I chose books that were diversified and had women from all walks of life. 

Originally, I came up with the idea to physically hold up the books as I was talking about them-which is the traditional way of doing these virtually it seems, but because I wasn't able to get a hold of any books I set aside in the library, I decided to take this as a challenge and see what e-books we offered on Hoopla and our other e-book sources. 

After seeing that a lot of e-books on my list were available on Hoopla, I decided to narrow down my list from those and thought this worked out perfect because everyone watching could check out these books either physically from the library or on Hoopla. I loved how we have these great books on women available both the physical copy and the e-book copy. 

Below is a list of the books I decided to narrow down to and present, but there are so many women biographies for kids that are so inspiring! These twelve book suggestions vary from picture books to chapter books. Happy Women's History Month!

25 Women Who Fought Back by Jill Sherman (chapter book)

111 Trees: How One Village Celebrates the Birth of Every Girl by Rina Singh, Marianne Ferrer (picture book)

A Woman in the House (and Senate): How Women Came to the United States Congress, Broke Down Barriers, and Changed the Country by Ilene Cooper (chapter book)

Dolores Huerta: Labor Activist by Kate Moening (easy reader/early reader)

Emmy Noether: The Most Important Mathematician You've Never Heard Of by Helaine Becker (picture book)

Mamie on the Mound: A Woman in Baseball's Negro Leagues by Leah Henderson (picture book)

On Wings of Words: The Extraordinary Life of Emily Dickinson by Jennifer Berne (picture book)

The Bug Girl: Maria Merian's Scientific Vision by Sarah Glenn Marsh (picture book)

The International Day of the Girl: Celebrating Girls Around the World by Jessica Dee Humphreys (chapter book)

The Radium Girls: The Scary But True Story of the Poison That Made People Glow in the Dark by Kate Moore (chapter book)

The Voice That Won the Vote: How One Woman's Words Made History by Elisa Boxer  (picture book)

Women Inventors Hidden in History by Petrice Custance (chapter book)

Book of the Month: The Radium Girls: The Scary But True Story of the Poison That Made People Glow in the Dark

 I was researching books for an upcoming Women's History Month program and I came across this gem from Kate Moore. The Radium Girls: The Scary But True Story of the Poison That Made People Glow in the Dark is both captivating and enraging being a true story about how young, female workers were getting poisoned by radium while working on making clock dials in the early twentieth century. These are one of those nonfiction stories that will keep kids reading and entertained.

Summary: The acclaimed national bestseller about America's glowing girls and their brave fight for justice, now adapted for young readers.

Ages: 8-12 years

"As Katherine walked into the studio on her first day, she saw the other dial-painters were already hard at work. Young girls sat in rows, painting dials at top speed. Yet it wasn't the dials that caught Katherine's eye. It was the material they were using to paint them. It was the radium."

This book would be a great book club pick or an excellent choice to read along with a parent since there is the adult version as well. There is also a movie available on Netflix that pairs well with this book. I enjoyed how this true story shows how young girls and women can make a difference when they see a terrible wrong. Inspiring and empowering!