March is Women’s History Month (and March 8 is International Women’s Day), but don’t let the calendar stop you from enjoying these awesome books all year. Honestly, we’re just using it as an excuse to round up some seriously awesome and empowering books.

If you’re in the market for a good gift, give that questionable “Strong is the New Pretty” poster a pass, and check out any of the following titles for the young girls and women in your life. Actually, you know what? Scratch that. These books are just as important for the young boys and men in your life.

The stories they tell are universal stories. Stories hat have all too often, sadly, been scrubbed from history. Stories that make you pump your fist, get excited, and want to let loose a primal scream.

Not all female characters are damsels in distress. They’re not all princesses in need of saving. They don’t only factor into a story as half of a romance. And they’re not simply famous for being some dude’s wife.

Recently, there’s been a spate of stellar books from numerous publishers that turn the spotlight onto the many badass women throughout history. And we couldn’t be happier to see this trend… for both our daughters and our sons.

We’ve gathered up a bunch of the best. Books are listed below in order of age appropriateness, roughly speaking. But you can’t go wrong with any of these. Enjoy!

Instructions Not Included: How a Team of Women Coded the Future

• written by Tami Lewis Brown & Debbie Loren Dunn
• illustrated by Chelsea Beck
• published by Disney Hyperion

This picture book tells the story of Betty Snyder, Jean Jennings, and Kay McNulty – three computer pioneers who helped develop ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Intergrator and Computer) in the 1940s… and paved the way for women “computers” like Katherine Johnson. The story shows the value of perseverance (and math) despite their relatively thankless positions. (After working tirelessly to overcome countless obstacles, the women coders are left behind while all the men go out to celebrate.) Perfect for kids who might not see the value in all that math homework or who need an appreciation for all the work that went into making today’s computers possible.

Pencils, Pens, & Brushes: A Great Girls’ Guide to Disney Animation

• written by Mindy Johnson
• illustrated by Lorelay Bové
• published by Disney Press

I have to hand it to Disney. After decades of conveniently ignoring the invaluable contributions women made to its company and the wider animation industry, they’re finally making strides to correct this oversight. Ink & Paint is an absolutely wonderful book (and soon-to-be documentary on Disney+) that shines a light on the women artists who worked in Disney’s Ink & Paint depeartment. Pencils, Pens, & Brushes is a spinoff title, of sorts, that targets a younger demographic. This picture book presents the stories of several women who were part of Walt Disney Studios from the 1920s through the 1950s – from writers to artists to animators and more. Yes, Mary Blair is in here, but most of the women highlighted in these pages are unfamiliar names who nevertheless made critical contributions to the studio and its classic films. And the illustrations are flat-out gorgeous.

Hooray for Women!

• written and illustrated by Marcia Williams
• published by Candlewick Press

Take a picture book and a graphic novel, smoosh them together, use that format to tell the stories of 70+ famous women throughout history, and you’ve got Hooray for Women! From Cleopatra VII to Malala Yousafzai, the book is organized chronologically and many figures get a full spread (2 pages). Most of the women highlighted here are familiar – Marie Curie, Frida Kahlo, Anne Frank – but several less-well-known names (e.g., Boudicca, warrior queen of the Iceni) also make an appearance. Don’t expect any of these bios to get too terribly in depth, but this is a great book for young readers to dip their toes in and explore some amazing people and stories.

Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women

• written by Catherine Thimmesh
• illustrated by Melissa Sweet
• published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

This book, perfect for elementary and middle grade kids, includes short bios of a ton of women who don’t typically see the spotlight: inventors. Indeed, most kids probably won’t be familiar with any of these names. But that’s what makes the book so important. From Ruth Wakefield (inventor of the chocolate chip cookie!) to Mary Anderson (windshield wipers) to Kiara Nirghin (a solution to drought using orange peels), these are the stories of women who sought solutions to pressing problems and were often refused recognition of their achievements. Let’s change that.

Not One Damsel in Distress: Heroic Girls from World Folklore

• written by Jane Yolen
• illustrated by Susan Guevara
• published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Yolen opens this book with “an open letter to my daughter and granddaughters” and says, “This book is for you because for the longest time I didn’t know that girls could be heroes too. Not heroines. Not sheroes (a word Maya Angelou made up)… [because] heroines and sheroes sound like lesser or minor heroes… as if they aren’t as good as their male counterparts.” And you don’t need to be related to Jane Yolen to benefit from this amazing book. In it, she tells the tales of badass heroes (who happen to be women) from around the world: Greece, Niger, Argentina, China, Poland, Indonesia, Azerbaijan, and more! It’s glorious.

Bad Princess: True Tales from Behind the Tiara

• written by Kris Waldherr
• published by Scholastic

This one is similar to a book we reviewed a few years ago but targets a younger audience. Bad Princess is a compilation of brief vignettes about the lives of various princesses who didn’t conform to the traditional notion of what a princess should be. It dispenses with the time-worn notions of perfect princesses and happily ever after and takes a look at real princesses – from medieval times to now. And it attempts to answer the questions “Is there a way for a modern girl to reclaim this uber-feminine role model as an empowering one? Or should we just cut our losses and move on from princesses altogether?”

Noise Makers: 25 Women Who Raised Their Voices & Changed the World

• written and illustrated by a variety of people
• collected by Kazoo magazine
• published by Random House Graphic / Alfred A. Knopf

Another graphic collection of amazing women – because you can never have too many, really. This one, from Kazoo magazine, presents 25 remarkable women, written and drawn by 25 amazing women and non-binary cartoonists. The subjects are scientists, artists, activists, engineers, explorers… and noisemakers. They’re women who weren’t afraid to live their lives out loud and break the conventions of the world around them and the time in which they lived. You’ll find plenty of familiar names (Julia Child, Rosa Parks, Mary Shelley) along with exciting new stories to read (Eugenie Clark, Raye Montague, Maria Tallchief).

It’s Your Universe: You Have the Power to Make it Happen

• written by Ashley Eckstein with Stacy Kravetz
• published by Disney Editions

I’ve had the privilege of talking to Ashley Eckstein not once but twice for my podcast, and she’s just an absolute joy. Behind the microphone, she imbues Star Wars’ Ahsoka Tano with an energy and a vitality only she can bring. And as an entrepreneur (she’s the founder of Her Universe), she continues to amaze at every step. It’s Your Universe is part memoir, part inspirational/self-help book. Eckstein writes about her journey from childhood, to becoming the voice of Ahsoka, to becoming a successful businessperson and entrepreneur. Along the way, she discusses the lessons she’s learned and imparts plenty of wisdom and advice for young readers desperate to follow in her footsteps… or chart their own path.

Dare to Be You: Inspirational Advice for Girls

• collected by Marianne Schnall
• published by Tiller Press

I have a soft spot for books of quotations, but Dare to be You isn’t a dry, dusty tome of ancient quotes or cheesy motivational phrases. Journalist Marianne Schnall has pulled from her 30-year career and hundreds of interviews to present clear and compelling evidence that (as current events have shown us yet again) the world needs more women leaders. The quotes included here – from dozens of women across all industries – are intended to help young girls develop the confidence to see themselves as leaders in the first place. The book is divided into chapters that are also convenient reminders: Resist Negative Messages in the Media, It’s Not Your Job to Please Everyone, Take Care of the Earth, Be Civically Engaged… and Be Ready to Vote.

Brazen: Rebel Ladies who Rocked the World

• written and illustrated by Pénélope Bagieu
• published by First Second Books

One more graphic novel for good measure – and also because First Second Books can do no wrong. Brazen tells the true stories of daring women throughout history – actors, warriors, doctors, social workers, lighthouse keepers, musicians, and royalty. Over the course of a few pages and panels each, French artist and graphic novelist Bagieu (Exquisite Corpse) tells the story of 29 awesome women: their lives, their achievements, and the guts it took to make a mark on history.

The Radical Element / A Tyranny of Petticoats

• edited by Jessica Spotswood
• published by Candlewick Press

Both of these anthologies collect stories of some of the most bad-ass women imaginable… by some of the best women writing YA today. A Tyranny of Petticoats collects 15 stories of “belles, bank robbers, and other badass girls” from 18th century British North America to 1960s Chicago. And The Radical Element tells 12 stories of “daredevils, debutantes, and other dauntless girls” from Savannah in the 1830s through Boston in the 1980s. Each relates a true story of an often-anachronistic woman who was charting her own course, writing her own story, and kicking ass in a time and place that was unprepared for it. These are both phenomenal books.