The International Day of the Girl celebrates girls and their their potential to change the world in a positive way. This book does a great job explaining social injustices and inequalities around the world. The information is presented through nine brief stories which makes learning about these global issues accessible to young children. Lovely illustrations with positive and empowering messages.

Since 2012, October 11 has been the International Day of the Girl.

Humphreys and Ambrose take us around the world to meet 9 fictionalized girls who are empowering themselves and making strides for themselves and their communities. We meet Flora in Brazil, Abuya in Kenya, and Zarah who is from Syria but now lives in a refugee camp.

Each of these girls comes up with a solution to a problem faced by many girls worldwide, from lack of accessible areas for disabled people like Lilliya in Russia, or Sokanon whose community in northern Canada has been denied the basic right to clean water.

All of these girls are inspirational for their work in their communities, but it is us the reader who needs to take action and ensure that governments and other organizations lift the barriers that girls face all over the world.

The illustrations are amazing and add so much context to the stories. Simone Shin is really great at portraying diverse characters and adding much to the backgrounds in a really nice way.

There is a story about a garden at the beginning and end of the book that is supposed to be a metaphor but my Grade 5 daughter didn't really get it- she wanted to know why if it was a metaphor that we weren't talking about the systems that denied water and care to half of the garden. I'll take that as a win for my daughter in understanding, but the book would be better just talking about the girls themselves.

We are looking forward to celebrating the International Day of the Girl this October, and I hope we can make a mark in our communities the way these girls did.

The blurb caught my attention but after that I lost my interest and didn't read this book. Maybe next time.

The International Year of the Girl consists of nine stories celebrating the International Day of the Girls. Each story highlights a girl who demonstrates strength, determination, intelligence, and love for self, family and others. We learn about gender equality, female rights (especially education) and supporting other females. Fiona from Brazil, Hana from Afghanistan, Abuya from Kenya, Liliya from Russia, Sokanon from Canada, Malika from Indai, Keeya from Nigeria, Zarah from Syria and Aster from the US all stand up for females. Starting from denying to be born to being treated as housemaids to flesh trade to denying basic human rights, or forces marriages, girls everywhere are facing discrimination and harsh treatment. Being Canadian, I was particularly interested in Sokanon from Attawapiscat First Nation community in Canada who bravely exposed the educational issues in her community. Along with the story about what each of these girls has done, we learn about their communities and the situations they are hoping to change. The illustrations also help to draw attention to the problems and the young person themselves.

This is a book that should be in every public and school library. It helps to empower young people to take that step to help themselves and others. There is far too much repression and exploitation of girls in this, the 21st century, and if the adults aren't going to do anything, then it is time for those caught in these situations to stand up and fight for themselves. This book shows our young people that it can be done. This is a book that is geared to older children (ten and up) but can be read and educate people of all ages.

Such an insightful and important book for my kids to read. We read this and had many a wide ranging subject chat together.

**Thank you to NetGalley, authors Jessica Dee Humphreys and Rona Ambrose, and Kids Can Press for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.**

This is a beautiful book full of the stories of strong, powerful, brave, and inspirational young girls who are out to make a change in the world. I love that this book takes the stories of real girls around the world and shares their brilliant efforts at making a change in the community for which they live.

I absolutely love that this story begins and ends with the metaphor of growing a garden and becoming the gardener for the garden that is our world.

The only hesitation I have about this book is in the beginning there is a constant reference to half the world being girls. It just feels like this is an undersupported thought that could have been better executed, though I understand what they were trying to accomplish.

Thank you, Flora, Hana, Abuya, Liliya, Sokanon, Mallika, Keeya, Zarah, Aster, and all the amazing, brave young children out in the world pushing for change.

As many have said before me, this is a great book for ALL children and families. I definitely see myself sharing and recommending this story in the future.

Loved this one!
So impressed with all the books coming-out lately about girl empowerment available at all ages and this is one was definitely one of them.
Would love to purchase it for my daughter too! Such stunning illustrations too that fit the prose extremely well!

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this one.

I love everything about this book. Seeing girls from all over the world and learning a bit of history and geography along the way really grabbed my attention. This is the type of book that girls need to read and the type of book that boys need to read.

This book is for children, but can also be used in the 6th grade social studies classroom for inquiry research studies while teaching world civilizations. Through the stories of children around the world, as well as information blocks about each issue in these vignettes, children are able to get a little information on some of the issues facing girls around the world like illiteracy, nutrition, gender-based violence, access to education, disability, child marriage and gender representation. This is a good source for middle level students to choose a topic to further explore.

Granted, these are scary topics for young children, but the author shows these girls triumphing for advocacy despite being in these scary situations. There are also more resources for parents or teachers who want further information. Like the other says, "The statistics behind the stories in this book are difficult to read, but they are important to know if we are to work together to change them."

Finally, this is a book to own in your classroom as the sale of this book is tied to Plan International Canada.

From the Publisher
This introduction to the International Day of the Girl and its worldwide significance encourages children to recognize their own potential to make change, providing both a perfect lesson in social justice and a celebration of girl power. The United Nations designated October 11th as the International Day of the Girl, a day to increase awareness of problems that affect girls --- and only girls --- around the world and to encourage progress toward gender equality. Nine stories inspired by the real-life experiences of girls from all over the globe bring to light the importance of this day. Each story is set in a different country and sensitively describes an inequity faced by a character and how she addressed it. The challenges include gender-based violence, illiteracy, lack of access to technology, sanitation, nutritional disparity and child marriage. Each story features a positive description of the main character --- strong, smart, creative, inventive, brave, talented, caring, funny, ambitious --- and each concludes with a realistic yet hopeful outcome, presenting the girls as more than victims of their circumstances. Their powerful, and empowering, experiences will stir the activist in every child. Jessica Dee Humphreys's well-researched and illuminating stories are both readable and age appropriate. Award-winning Simone Shin's simple, warm illustrations bring the characters and their circumstances to life. Sidebars expand on the issues covered in each story. This book is a perfect choice for social justice discussions, as well as for social studies lessons on global communities, and for character education conversations on citizenship. It includes a foreword by the Honorable Rona Ambrose, who led Canada's call for the day to be formally adopted by the United Nations. Also included are an annotated time line of the day's creation and additional statistical information. A portion of the proceeds will go to Plan International Canada.

Excellent View on International Day of the Girl and why it started and the wonderful things we should be remembering and celebrating on that day

This book is superb.

The International Day of the Girl is about 9 girls living and dreaming in different parts of the world. Each one is impacted by gender inequality in a different way with the book touching on topics ranging from girls in STEM to refugee camps, and even child marriage. It's important, it's timely, and most of all, it's well done.

While the book discusses heavy topics, the truth is: it is filled with joy and hope. Each of these wonderful girls is a hero in her own way. They inspire change in their communities, and refuse to be held down by the cultural and societal traditions telling them they are less-than or unworthy. Each girl's page begins with her name and a powerful word about her--creative, ambitious, and inventive, to name a few. Words that we want our daughters and students to see themselves as--that they deserve to see themselves as.

The artwork is gorgeous, and there's lots of it! I also want to specifically note that I appreciate that the book brings up Indigenous communities in Canada being ignored and lied to. It's a longer book that Kids Can Press has recommended for ages 7-10, but older kids will also appreciate it, for sure. If you need more kidlit to introduce global issues in your classroom, definitely look into this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for having a digital copy available for me to read. I loved it.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley!

Every child should have a copy of this book. Especially every girl. They should see themselves represented in a book in a positive light.
My 11 year old and I read this together and absolutely LOVED it.

I'd definitely purchase a copy and check out other books by the author.

Another must-read for all ages; this beautifully illustrated eye-opener of a book tells the story behind celebrating the International Day of the Girl. It also brings to light the issues faced by the girl child in different parts of the world today, including malnutrition, child-marriage, and more; and it does so in an age-appropriate way.

Disclaimer: Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the eARC

I love this book so much. I made my teenager look at it as well. Women and girls are such bad asses and this was just one of many books that showcases that.

At first I wasn't too sure about a picture book based on girl power. Would my boys enjoy reading it? How could I use this in a library lesson? Well, after reading it I have no doubt I will be using this book in my elementary library as a part of a lesson. I really like the way the authors introduced each girl by telling a short story about each of them and how one small act of kindness, courage, or determination can change the way a whole community thinks and believes. Each story also includes a side box that gives facts and statistics. The illustrations are simple but beautiful. At the end are additional facts and statistics and different timelines that track how customs and beliefs have improved for women and girls around the world.

This is a great starter book to give generalizations about issues that girls around the world face. The girls highlighted are stories that are inspired by real issues, but told in a way that makes sense to the upper elementary aged child. Full of wonderful illustrations, this is a great way for kids to see that the world is a whole lot bigger than their little corner.

I thought that this book was great.

It was well written, well laid out and really showed how much can affect young girls all over the world. My daughter is three and I am fully aware of how fortunate she is to have been born here in the UK

The book shows how inspirational some of these girls have been in changing the future for others too – it is 5 stars from me for this book, a great reminder that all genders should be treated equally and given the same starts in life too too

'The International Day of the Girl' is a beautifully illustrated picture book that celebrates young women and the contributions they have made to their communities. The stories show some of the challenges faced in countries all over the world. It contains text that discusses complex issues at times so it would most likely be most appropriate for grades 3 and up.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book for review.
I make it a point to read to my sons books that empower and raise up women/girls. I want them to grow up with a positive and respectful attitude towards females, and view them very much as their equals and friends. Books like this really help me to do this, they open up the world for children to see what another child’s experience might be elsewhere and the difficulties they may encounter. The art work here is not complex but is still engaging and vibrant. I particularly liked the further reading section at the end so you can use this book very much as a starting point to then go and explore the issues in greater depth.

A Little General and Pat, But Addresses Real Gender Equality Issues

While this book is ostensibly about celebrating the International Day of the Girl, what it contains is a set of aggregate fictionalized stories about girls in different countries and the gender inequalities typically faced there by girls and young women. I think this book is meant for tweens and young teenagers, as there is a fair amount of text even though there are illustrations. Each two-page spread of a girl’s story has a full-page illustration, her “story,” and a sidebar comment about the particular issue that this girl has faced or is facing. I wish the author used a real girl facing the particular issue. In the back, the author states that the stories come from research and interviews. So, it appears as though these are fictionalized accounts pulling from the stories of multiple girls, funneled into a single story of a made-up, representative girl from a particular country. I felt an emotional distance from these stories because they didn't seem to be about a particular, real girl; everything seemed too general and pat. The book features girls from all around the world, including some cultures that most kids won't be familiar with as well as our own. In the back of the book, the author provides a timeline for how International Day of the Girl came to be as well as a bullet-point list about issues faced by girls around the world, like illiteracy, child marriage, nutrition and access to education. I do have some reservations about this book, but it could be a good way to introduce your daughter—or even son—to the gender inequalities faced by girls around the world.