Encouraging everyone to imagine a gender equal world, the theme for International Women’s Day 2022 is #BreakTheBias. This theme inspires everyone to imagine a world free of bias, with more inclusivity and diversity, where difference is celebrated and valued. To help children understand more about the importance of celebrating difference and identity, and feel empowered, use our stories as springboards for discussion and themes.

Love Your Body

Freedom is loving your body with all its "imperfections" and being the perfectly imperfect you!

Love Your Body encourages young girls to admire and celebrate their bodies for all the amazing things they can do, and help girls see that they are so much more than their bodies. 

Written by Jessica Sanders, illustrated by Carol Rossetti and read by Kemi Nekvapil. 

So She Did: The Story of May Wirth

At a time when girls weren’t encouraged to be bold and daring, Australian circus rider May Wirth lived by her own rules. Instead of just looking pretty on a fancy circus pony, she longed to do thrilling stunts that would amaze crowds with her courage and skill . . . So she did.

Here is the story of a girl from humble beginnings who defied expectations and became the world’s bareback riding queen.

Sweet Penny and the Lion

Sweet Penny is so good, she would never do anything to disappoint her parents or disrupt class or upset her friends. Told in verse, Richard Fairgray and Alex Burke's wickedly funny story is a celebration of strong girls and a call to, "Be bold, be loud, shout out, and speak up," because "sometimes it's hard to be brave."

This Small Blue Dot

With a strong message of interconnectedness, hope and empowerment, This Small Blue Dot follows a little girl exploring the big and small things in life. From contemplating our place on this ‘blue dot’ to the best Italian, Chinese and Indian desserts, the story provides a broader, more inclusive view of who we are, where we come from and where our dreams may take us.

I'm a Hero Too

Inspired by her own child’s experience, Jamila wrote I'm a Hero Too to help children make sense of the changes to their world and to help them feel empowered and reassured about how they can be a hero at their house too! A story for our time right now, but also for all times, as children will always need reassurance about change.

Queen Celine

Celine Beaufort is queen of what she is quite certain is the most beautiful rock pool in the world. It's perfect. And to make sure nothing ever changes, she decides to build a wall around it. Unfortunately, that turns out to be a royal mistake. 

Explore a world of diverse stories here on Story Box Library.