I LOVE this series of books and the chapter book collection is no exception. The stories are so interesting and engaging to read. I love the illustrations, too! The books are educational while still interesting and engaging to read. I have daughters, so I find these collections to be of importance in sharing stories of strong women, but I think they are great for everyone! I will be buying a set for our bookshelf.

Thank you to NetGalley + Rebel Girls for allowing me access to a digital copy to read and provide my review.

Great idea for a book and really well executed. A thoroughly good read. Highly recommended. .

I was given access to Good Night Stories For Rebel Girls - The Chapter Book Collection by the Rebel Girls Group through NetGalley in return for an unbiased review. This collection aimed at 8-12 year olds contains five chapter books that each follow a woman through their formative years up to the amazing achievements that they managed in their lives. Each book comes in at 128 pages, with the collection totalling 640 pages, and at the end of each book there are some activity pages to be filled in to get the reader to actively think about the struggles that each of these women had to face and how they would have responded to the same situations.
I really like how the women chosen for this collection come from so many different parts of the world: the US, the UK, Japan, Cuba, and Kenya. They also come from various social classes, and look at very different "achievements" from science, to mountain climbing, to ballet, which should all combine together to show the young people reading these books that you can be a success in whatever you do. So often these sorts of motivational books for kids focus on a more science and maths based result, and I love that this collection branches out from that and looks at a wider variety of careers and paths by which someone can be successful.
Each book in this collection is a biography of the woman's life, going through the facts of their struggles and successes. The books are, however, written in a very "storytelling" manner which keeps the reader engaged and interested in the arc of the story and this combination, as I know well from my childhood, can work wonders at getting somebody interested in non-fiction works!
Ada Lovelace Cracks the Code by Corinne Purtill follows Lord Byron's daughter from a young age as her mother encourages her to focus on maths in order to not be like her poet father. This develops into love for Ada who is able to imagine possibilities that nearly 200 years later inspire the digital age we're so familiar with today. This biography summarises Ada's long life into just enough to give the reader a taste for it and to make them want to go and research more!
Madam C.J. Walker Builds a Business by Denene Millner follows America's first female self made millionaire. A Black woman who was the first in her family in the US to not be born enslaved, she is always working, and when she works she has her hair wrapped up. One day she notices that her hair is starting to fall out, she finds the right products for her, and then she invents something better. Marketing this product to Black women all over the US she goes on to build a booming business. I adore how this shows the hard work and dedication put in by Sarah Breedlove (Madam Walker) as well as how it focuses on haircare, a stereotypically "silly" thing to focus on. But in reality? Look what can happen if you do!
Junko Tabei Masters the Mountains by Nancy Ohlin celebrates the life of the first female climber to summit Mount Everest. With a supportive husband who was happy to be the stay at home parent, as well as trials along the way, not just in the shape of a big mountain! Tabei's story is one of perseverance in the face of blatant sexism and testing the limits of human endurance. Junko's lack of natural athletic ability shows what you can achieve even if you're not naturally gifted at something the first time you try it, something I could do to learn!
Dr. Wangari Ma'athai Plants a Forest by Corinne Purtill follows Wangari growing up in rural Kenya, living as one with nature, to the negative influence from the corrupt government which results in the degradation of the land and the suffering of those who live off of it. She faces active resistance from the leaders of the Kenyan government, as well as sexism and racism on an international scale. Dr Ma'athai's story, however, shows that a simple seed of an idea can replenish the soil of an entire country.
Alicia Alonso Takes the Stage by Nancy Ohlin tells us about a young Cuban girl who struggled against her parents to follow her dreams and become a renowned ballerina on the New York stage. This all appears to fall apart though when Alicia starts to lose her eyesight and over time becomes completely blind. Despite this massive, seemingly limiting turn of events, Alicia doesn't give up on her passion and still pursues her dancing goals. Within this book Ohlin describes some of the different ways in which Alicia navigated the stage and her classroom in order to perform and to teach her students.
Overall I gave each of these books 3 stars, with my favourites being Madame C.J. Walker, Dr Wangari Ma'athai and Alicia Alonso. This definitely isn't a low rating for me, for a book to get 3 stars I have to have enjoyed the reading process and find the book worthwhile. The reason these books didn't rate higher is because I personally would've wanted either more story or more facts. We get the basics but they got me interested in these women and now I need to know more! But I do believe that the intended audience would really love these books and treasure them. I know they would be so nostalgic for me if I'd read them as a child.
If you're looking to buy a book (or a collection of books!) for a kid between 8-12 (middle grade for US readers) or anyone who is able and willing to read from that age bracket, then these are a great pick. Interesting, unique, and focusing on amazing women from so many different cultures, these books are a great addition to any library.

These books are stunningly beautiful and were just the kind of thing I was looking for to share with my children. We always have several stories before bed, and the 'Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls' book is just perfect to share with my 6 year old. She loves learning about famous people and I am keen for her to read about strong, independent women who can become great role models.

I have read some other books in this collection previously and always recommend these to friends.

I love the Rebel Girls series! I think the books are incredibly inspirational and interesting! I love all of them!

My daughter and I read these together. Like the other books in the series, she and I both love the empowering messages for girls woven into every story. They were fun, witty, and well written. Lovely collection.

While listed as one book, this is actually five chapter books for young readers. They are:

Ada Lovelace Cracks the Code
Madam C. J. Walker Builds a Business
Dr. Wangari Maathai Plants a Forest
Junko Tabei Masters the Mountains
Alicia Alonso Takes the Stage

These are narrative history, so there is dialogue that brings the stories to life. The stories are interesting. As an older reader, I sometimes wanted more, but young readers will be satisfied with the level of detail. The artwork is beautiful throughout.

Wonderful chapter books!

It is very important to showcase books with diverse characters and encouraging stories to young kids.

This book does a great job to keep the interest of the reader alive.

Highly recommend!

Read these with my daughters. We enjoyed the beautiful illustrations. Along with longer stories. With longer story’s makes it for mature readers. I like the fact it labeled them rebels, as almost all the time it’s addressed as “perfect princess”. My girls felt that this book was fun and adventurous. And cannot wait to read more about rebel girls.


***I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.***.

Another wonderful contribution from the Rebel Girl series, 5 chapter stories about different women, aimed at a younger reader, they could be read to a more advanced child too they are that good, great illustrations and very appealing, great for teaching girls that nothing is out of reach


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Another great collection by Rebel Girls. This collection contains 5 chapter books each one about a different woman. The women included in this collection are: Ada Lovelace, Madam CJ Walker, Dr Wangari Maathai, Junko Tabei and Alicia Alonso.

My 9 year old and I both liked that these stories give more details about these strong women and chronicles their lives. These are a great format for children to read and learn and be inspired by these figures. While they are targeted to younger readers, my advanced reader quite enjoyed sitting and reading them as well.

Lovely artwork as always. It would be great if they created more of these small chapter books on some of the other women they have written about in their other books. There were some fun activities at the end of each book as well which were enjoyed in our home.

This is a great collection of stories for a slightly older child. I was initially picturing these as bedtime stories for my toddler but I think she's just a bit young. The bright colored books and diverse stories would be a nice collection to a child's library.

I downloaded these mainly to read with my daughter as we were already fans of the Rebel Girl's series. They were fantastic. I loved that they were a longer than the normal books as my daughter is getting older and needs a bit more of a challenge and also enjoys learning a bit more than the skimmed overview.

Thanks again!

RebelGirls have done it again by bringing together several of the chapter books about influential women throughout history in the form of 𝐺𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑁𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑅𝑒𝑏𝑒𝑙 𝐺𝑖𝑟𝑙𝑠 - 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝐵𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝐵𝑜𝑥 𝑆𝑒𝑡.

These stories are insightful and educational and whilst yes, they are designed to encourage girls to know that anything they strive for is possible? They are perfect for anyone of any gender to read and to learn something about not only the women featured but themselves.

The artwork is bright and eye-catching and done by female digital artists from around the world- as are the authors of each book. The artwork done to highlight the beginning of each chapter features objects and details associated with whomever is featured.

These belong in every school, and if my children were younger I would have happily had them on their bookshelves. They are fantastic and the mission Rebel Girls is on is one to be admired.

I wonder if some point there might be similar books done about those of other genders to provide insight and hope in our future generations? I hope so because books such as these are an incredible idea in how they are written, illustrated and published.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher (RebelGirls through Hachette books) for my advanced copy of this boxset.

I had never read books from the Rebel Girls series, but I had read Culottées which is also stories of kick ass women in History.

The collection contains the following:
Ada Lovelace Cracks the Code
Madam C. J. Walker Builds a Business
Dr. Wangari Maathai Plants a Forest
Junko Tabei Masters the Mountains
Alicia Alonso Takes the Stage

The illustrations were beautiful. The stories in themselves were well written and a pretty enjoyable read. I liked that the women picked for the collection were not only from the western world and that some of them were unknown to most (or at least to myself).

Those are definitely the types of stories I would want my children to read: inspirational stories not just about the usual names in History, stories to encourage young children to believe in their dreams as anyone can aspire to greatness.

I would give it a 4.5 just because I wished some elements were expanded, like Alicia Alonso’s later life.

For information, I received an advance review copy of the book from NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really liked how it has pictures that shows what the women looked like and how it relayed to their stories. i also really enjoyed that there was activities at the end of each book.

I absolutely loved the picture book edition of Goodnight Stories and it's spin offs, and this was no different. I loved the in-depth dive into the lives of these women in a way that is accessible and cool for older children. I was slightly disappointed with the illustrations, they weren't as in-depth as I expected from the standard of previous Rebel Girls books and the effort put into book production felt lacking with simple design.

I love the Rebel Girls series; what a great way to showcase awesome women in an easy-to-read and familiar format! This shares the stories of five women in hardback, chapter book formatting. Each book has full-color illustrations from a female artist. In addition, there are bonus activities for kids to complete, which will help them explore each woman's field of work.

This boxed set includes - "Ada Lovelace Cracks the Code," "Madam C.J. Walker Builds a Business," "Dr. Wangari Maathai Plants a Forest," "Junko Tabei Masters the Mountains," and "Alicia Alonso Takes the Stage."

Of course, it doesn't give the full-story on each woman, but it definitely gives more details then the other Rebel Girl books. Definitely needed for any child's bookshelf!

I will be purchasing for my children's department!


Thanks, Net Galley, for the opportunity to review!

I love to read these books to my 8 year old daughter. Such a great message and advice. She takes what she learns and tells her friends about them all.

Thanks to NetGalley and Rebel Girls for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've been loving the titles in the Rebel Girls series. These books are a wonderful resource for kids to be reminded that they can do achieve anything and to feel empowered.
This collection is a set of the following short stories: Ada Lovelace Cracks the Code; Madam C. J. Walker Builds a Business; Dr. Wangari Maathai Plants a Forest; Junko Tabei Masters the Mountains; Alicia Alonso Takes the Stag.
I've been loving the illustrations that accompany these amazing stories, but wat I loved the most about this collection was that many of the stories I had no knowledge of, so it was nice to read about new inspiring women.