Inspiring Books for Young Girls about Women in Science

In recent years, there’s been a big movement to move away from gender stereotypes when it comes to career choices. We’re seeing more more women in the fields of science and technology, areas traditionally dominated by men. Encouraging little girls to follow their interests, which often include science, will eventually help us break the career barriers in this field.

Let’s start by encouraging a love of all things science from a very early age.

A quick glance in any children’s book section will often reveal gender-specific books - books about trucks and robots for little boys, and books about ballerinas and dolls for little girls. Thankfully, there are some amazing new books coming out that celebrate women in science and encourage children to be curious thinkers, helping develop a love for the natural world and for science. Here are some of our top picks, which you can read with your little ones right from the earliest age!

This fun board book series for the little ones celebrates life stories of wonderful women of the world. This one is all about Marie Curie - the amazing female scientist and the first woman to win the Novel Prize.

Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist
Jess Keating/Marta Alvarez Migeuns

This great book for preschoolers and young kids is about Eugenie Clark and how she devoted her life to learning about sharks, proving that they weren’t as dangerous as people feared! Clark also helped build public support for protection of sharks and the ocean. This picture book celebrates nature as well as the woman who helped changed the way we view the ocean and sharks.

Rosie Revere’s Big Project Book for Bold Engineers
Andrea Beaty/David Roberts

This amazing activity project book lets kids try fun projects like building a cataplut, a solar oven, and designing a bicycle. Even young kids can learn (in simple terms) about the engineering design process.

Grace Hopper: Queen of Computer Code
Laurie Wallmark/Katy Wu

Grace Hopper was a software tester, mentor, inventor, naval leader, AND rule breaker and change maker. This picture book is all about the woman who taught computers to “speak English” and the incredible female role model for science.

I Wonder
Annaka Harris/John Rowe

Every scientific discovery begins with two words: “I wonder.” A little girl named Eva takes a walk with her mother and encounters a range of life’s mysteries: how gravity works, how things live and die, and even how big the universe is. This book is a great reminder to kids that there is never such thing as too many questions - wondering about how nature and science work lets curious minds discover new things!

Margaret and the Moon
Dean Robbins/Lucy Knisley

Margaret Hamilton loved numbers ever since she was a young girl, and used math to solve problems in the outside world. She helped NASA put a man on the moon and hand-wrote code to allow the spacecraft’s computer to solve any potential problems. Margaret was a pioneer in her field and an inspiration to girls.

The Doctor with an Eye for Eyes
Julia Finely Mosca/Daniel Rieley

Dr Bath is the scientist who never lost sight of her dreams, even among obstacles like racism, poverty and sexism. She helped created a game-changing treatment for blindness. This is just one book in a wonderful and educational series about amazing scientists.

This great new series is about magical animals, science, mystery and adventure. In the first book in the Zoey and Sassafras series, Zoey finds a glowing photo and learns an amazing secret, helping injured animals. Combining a few themes, this is a great series for young girls with illustrations on almost every page.

Interstellar Cinderella
Deborah Underwood/Meg Hunt

Time for a new Cinderella story! This is about a girl named Cinderella who always dreams of fixing fancy rockets. When the prince’s ship has mechanical trouble, Cinderella zooms to the rescue. This is a great new take on an old tale, featuring an independent science-loving heroine.

Me...Jane
Patrick McDonnell

This is the story of a young Jane Goodall and her special toy chimpanzee - Jubilee. Jane loves the natural world and dreams of a life helping all animals - one day, she realizes that her dream has come true. An inspiring story of a young girl who changed the world, and a reminder for young girls to always follow their dreams, even if they seem out of reach.

Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World
Laurie Lawlor/Laura Beingessner

A beautiful story about the pioneering environmentalist Rachel Carson, who discovered the wonder and beauty of earth and alerted the world to the harmful impact that humans and chemicals were having on our planet. An inspiring read for young girls.

Girls Who Code: Learn to Code and Change the World
Reshma Saujani

From the Girls Who Code organization, this book has great artwork and down-to-earth explanations of coding principles and real-life stories of girls and women working in science. It shows how fun science can be, and how coding can help in any interest - sports, art, baking, social justice.

Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World
Rachel Ignotofsky

A beautifully illustrated and educational book about the contributions of fifty notable women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). These women and their achievements paved the way for the next generation of women in science.