Two at Twenty Seven

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This One's For The Girl

It's possible that all labels are curses. Unless they are on cleaning products. Because in my opinion, it's not really a great idea to see people as one thing. Every person has lots of ingredients to make them into a one-of-a-kind creation. We are all imperfect genetic stews. —Holly Goldberg Sloan, Counting by 7s

We're huge fans of the #choosingtolovemyself 18 Day Challenge created by some pretty amazing women, including The Small Seed, Beauty Redefined, and Melanie Burk. The challenge, in a nutshell, is to break the habit of negative self-talk and instead learn to love ourselves exactly as we are, right now. What a novel idea! Why is it so hard to be our own biggest fan?

Now that we're all learning to see ourselves as the fabulously glorious humans that we are, let's throw some love and self-confidence our daughters' way so we aren't back here in a few years doing this same challenge with them. We've rounded up some books we love with strong female characters to help empower young girls. (For a more comprehensive list, we really love this site.) Next week we'll highlight great empowering reads for teens.

One thing Tracy and I know firsthand is that having a strong, supportive friend can make all the difference, so we've added a couple books that highlight positive friendships—helping young girls choose good friends and be one themselves.

OUR HANDS DOWN FAVORITE FOR ANY AGE

The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch

FOR AGES 4-6

Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

Olivia and the Fairy Princesses by Ian Falconer

Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell

FOR AGES 6-8

Matilda by Roald Dahl

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

The BFG by Roald Dahl

Flora & Ulysses by Kate Dicamillo

FOR AGES 9-12

Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan

I Am Malala: Young Readers Edition by Malala Yousafzai

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

 Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

BOOKS WITH POSITIVE FEMALE FRIENDSHIPS

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Counting by 7s by Hollie Goldberg Sloan

Posted by Rachel