Rochester Public Library is celebrating Women's History Month this March by honoring the contributions of women throughout American history. Finding roots in Santa Rosa, California in the 1970s, March has been proclaimed as Women's History Month by each president since 1995.

Community members are invited to visit RPL throughout the month of March to select materials from the Women's History Month display and share with others the name of a woman who inspires them. Book recommendations from RPL staff are listed below, and don't forget to visit our OverDrive collection for additional picks.

Staff Picks

Adult Nonfiction

Carefree Black Girls: A Celebration of Black Women in Popular Culture by Zeba Blay

"An Empowering and Celebratory Portrait of Black Women--from Josephine Baker to Aunt Viv to Cardi B. In 2013, film and culture critic Zeba Blay was one of the first people to coin the viral term #carefreeblackgirls on Twitter. As she says, it was 'a way to carve out a space of celebration and freedom for Black women online.' In this collection of essays, Blay expands on this initial idea by delving into the work and lasting achievements of influential Black women in American culture."

Modern HERstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History by Blair Imani

"An illustrated and informative primer on the progressive social change movements of the last 60 years as told through the stories of 60 diverse female and non-binary leaders in those movements, from the Civil Rights Movement and Stonewall riots through today."

My Life, My Love, My Legacy by Coretta Scott King

"Coretta is a love story, a family saga and the memoir of an independent-minded black woman in twentieth-century America, a brave leader who stood committed, proud, forgiving, nonviolent and hopeful in the face of terrorism and violent hatred every single day of her life."

No Stopping Us Now: The Adventures of Older Women in American History by Gail Collins

"A lively, fascinating, eye-opening look at women and aging in America, by a New York Times columnist who illustrates the ways in which age is an arbitrary concept that has swung back and forth over the centuries."

Adult Fiction

We Are Not Like Them: A Novel by Christine Pride

"Told from alternating perspectives, an evocative and riveting novel about the lifelong bond between two women, one Black and one white, whose friendship is indelibly altered by a tragic event--a powerful and poignant exploration of race in America today and its devastating impact on ordinary lives."

Hamnet: A Novel of the Plague by Maggie O'Farrell

"A young Latin tutor-penniless, bullied by a violent father-falls in love with an extraordinary, eccentric young woman-a wild creature who walks her family's estate with a falcon on her shoulder and is known throughout the countryside for her unusual gifts as a healer. Agnes understands plants and potions better than she does people, but once she settles with her husband on Henley Street in Stratford she becomes a fiercely protective mother and a steadfast, centrifugal force in the life of her young husband, whose gifts as a writer are just beginning to awaken when his beloved young son succumbs to bubonic plague."

Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge

"Coming of age as a free-born Black girl in Reconstruction-era Brooklyn, Libertie Sampson is all too aware that her mother, a physician, has a vision for their future together: Libertie will go to medical school and practice alongside her. But Libertie feels stifled by her mother's choices and is constantly reminded that, unlike her mother, Libertie has skin that is too dark."

Board Books

A is for Awesome 25 Iconic Women Who Changed the World by Eva Chen

"Why stick with plain old A B C when you can have Amelia (Earhart), Beyonce, Nina (Simone), Ruth (Bader Ginsburg)--all the way to EXtraordinary YOU and the Zillions of adventures you will go on! Instagram superstar and author of Juno Valentine and the Magical Shoes Eva Chen shines a spotlight on 23 amazing women in this sassy and fun alphabet board book."

Dream Big, Little One by Vashti Harrison

"Featuring 18 trailblazing black women in American history, Dream Big, Little One is the board book adaptation of the author's Little leaders: Bold Women in Black history."

Rosa: My First Rosa Parks by Lisbeth Kaiser

"Profiles the African American woman who sparked a bus boycott when she was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white person."

Picture Books

Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed

"When young Mae Jemison is asked by her teacher what she wants to be when she grows up, African American Mae tells her mostly white classmates that she wants to be an astronaut, a dream that her parents wholeheartedly support."

Sofia Valdez, Future Prez by Andrea Beaty

"When her abuelo is injured at the local landfill, second-grader Sofia is determined to transform the dangerous Mount Trashmore into a park, taking on City Hall in the process."

Ambitious Girl by Meena Harris

"Anyone who's ever been underestimated or overshadowed will find inspiration in this empowering new picture book from Meena Harris, New York Times-bestselling author of Kamala and Maya's Big Idea, which is based on a true story about her aunt, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, and her mother, Maya Harris. When a young girl sees a strong woman on TV labeled as 'too assertive' and 'too ambitious,' it sends her on a journey of discovery through past, present, and future about the challenges faced by women and girls and the ways in which they can reframe, redefine, and reclaim words meant to knock them down."

Juvenile

Grasping Mysteries: Girls Who Loved Math by Jeannine Atkins

"A biographical novel in verse of seven girls from different time periods who used math to explore the mysteries of the universe and grew up to do innovate work that changed history."

Good Girls Don't Make History by Elizabeth Kiehner

"Reliving moments from the lives of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, Alice Paul, Ida B. Wells, and Susan B. Anthony, these inspiring stories are boldly told from one of the most formative eras in women's history--the fight for the vote in the United States."

Sharice's Big Voice: A Native Kid Becomes a Congresswoman by Sharice Davids

"This inspiring picture book autobiography tells the remarkable story of Sharice Davids, one of the first Native American women elected to Congress and the first LGBTQ congressperson to represent Kansas."

All the Way to the Top: How One Girl's Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything by Annette Bay Pimentel

"Diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth, Jennifer Keelan grew up battling-and overcoming-the limitations others set for her. From a lack of cutaway curbs and bus lifts to being denied enrollment at her neighborhood school, Jennifer was continually blocked from living the life she wanted. But after discovering the world of disability rights activism, she knew she had to use her voice to change things."

The Fearless Flights of Hazel Ying Lee by Julie Leung

"Even when other people scoffed at her dreams of becoming a pilot, Hazel Ying Lee wouldn't take no for an answer. She became the first Chinese American woman to fly for the US military, joining the Women's Airforce Service Pilots during World War II."

Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer by Traci Sorell

"Mary Golda Ross designed classified projects for Lockheed Air Corporation as the company's first female engineer. Find out how her passion for math and the Cherokee values she was raised with shaped her life and work."

Teen

Watch Us Rise by Renee Watson

"Jasmine and Chelsea are best friends on a mission-they're sick of the way women are treated even at their progressive NYC high school, so they decide to start a Women's Rights Club. They post their work online-poems, essays, videos of Chelsea performing her poetry, and Jasmine's response to the racial microaggressions she experiences-and soon they go viral. But with such positive support, the club is also targeted by trolls."

Dissenter on the Bench: Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Life & Work by Victoria Ortiz

"The life and career of the fiercely principled Supreme Court Justice, now a popular icon, with dramatic accounts of her landmark cases that moved the needle on legal protection of human rights."

Vote!: Women's Fight for Access to the Ballot Box by Coral Frazer

"In the battle for the right to vote, American women faced arrest, jail time, and ridicule. They organized marches, forged alliances with other social reform movements, and lobbied powerful politicians. They saw the right to vote as a guarantee of freedom and equality. Today, through voter purges, voter ID laws, and other tactics, many states make it hard for citizens-especially young people, poor people, and people of color-to register to vote and to cast ballots. What can we learn from history? And what can you do to protect your access to the ballot box?"

The Suffragist Playbook: Your Guide to Changing the World by Lucinda Robb

"The women's suffrage movement was decades in the making and came with many harsh setbacks. But it resulted in a permanent victory: women's right to vote. How did the suffragists do it? One hundred years later, an eye-opening look at their playbook shows that some of their strategies seem oddly familiar."