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Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: what to read next

  • Non-fiction

Finished Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls and ready for your next bedtime read? Look no further – here’s our pick of the top children’s books to follow the inspiring classic.

Fearless women in history

For other collections of present day and historical Great Women, Rachel Ignotofsky’s Women in Sport: 50 Fearless Athletes Who Played to Win and Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World celebrate women who have traditionally been under-recognised in the male-dominated areas of sport and science. In HERSTORY: 50 Women and Girls who Shook the World, Katherine Halligan and Sarah Walsh present a brilliant selection of international great women, and in Stories for South Asian Super Girls: A Treasure Trove of 50 Illustrated Biographies of Amazing South Asian Women Raj Kaur Khaira profiles the lives of South Asian women including Jameela Jamil, Jayaben Desai and Aanchal Malhotra.

  • Women in Sport: 50 Fearless Athletes who Played to Win

    by Rachel Ignotofsky 

    2018 5 to 14 years 

    • Around the world
    • Historical
    • Non-fiction

    So many women’s achievements in sport have been overlooked in favour of men’s over the years, so it’s a great pleasure to see these 50 women celebrated. The text is engaging and factual, represented clearly and with a focus on inspiring and empowering readers.

  • Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World

    by Rachel Ignotofsky 

    2017 5 to 14 years 

    • Around the world
    • Non-fiction

    The 50 women profiled in this book are leaders in their fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Thoroughly inspiring and informative, in a fun and stylish illustrated format: a must for every child.

  • HERSTORY: 50 Women and Girls Who Shook the World

    by Katherine Halligan, illustrated by Sarah Walsh 

    2018 5 to 14 years 

    • Historical
    • Non-fiction

    Celebrated in this lavish hardback, the stories of 50 great women redefine their ​“herstory”, from disability activist Helen Keller to Indian poet, singer and saint Mira Bai and Aboriginal Australian Olympic athlete Cathy Freeman.

  • Stories for South Asian Super Girls

    by Raj Kaur Khaira, illustrated by Anu Chouhan, Deepikah R Bhardwaj, Kokila Bhattacharya, Meenal Patel, Nazrina Rodjan, Poonam Saini, Raj Kaur, Sandeep Johal, Suman Kaur and Vinny Soor 

    2019 5 to 14 years 

    • Historical
    • Non-fiction

    This beautifully illustrated collection of 50 biographies showcases a huge range of historical and modern-day South Asian women’s stories and achievements. 

Inspiring leaders and pioneers

Illustration: Rachel Ignotofsky 

For in depth stories of individual women’s lives, the Work It, Girl series features contemporary women making a difference in the world such as Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey. Laurie Wallmark and Katy Wu’s story of Grace Hopper, an early coder, is told in a picture book ideal for upper primary school readers Grace Hopper: Queen of Computer Code while the story of how Mary Shelley wrote her groundbreaking novel Frankenstein is explored by Julia Sarda and Linda Bailey in Mary and Frankenstein. Other inspiring stories include Anthea Simmons’ Lightning Mary about Victorian Palaentologist Mary Anning; Sufiya Ahmed’s My Story: Noor-un-Nissa Inayat Khan profiles the amazing story of Noor Inayat Khan, a spy in World War 2.

  • Work It, Girl: Become a Leader Like Michelle Obama

    by Caroline Moss, illustrated by Sinem Erkas 

    2020 5 to 14 years 

    • Non-fiction

    This beautifully illustrated introduction to Michelle Obama’s inspiring life is a must for anyone with a dream, and a reminder that with hard work and focus, everything is possible.

  • Grace Hopper: Queen of Computer Code

    by Laurie Wallmark, illustrated by Katy Wu 

    2017 5 to 14 years 

    • Non-fiction
    • Picture books

    The inspiring story of Grace Hopper: someone who revolutionised computer science and used her sparky sense of humour to make up the term ​“computer bug”. A great read for children in need of inspiration when it comes to science and maths.

  • Mary and Frankenstein

    by Linda Bailey and Julia Sarda 

    2018 5 to 14 years 

    • Historical
    • Love and romance
    • Non-fiction
    • Picture books

    Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is credited with having invented the science fiction genre. But many adults and very few children will know the fascinating story of her life. A great introduction to Mary, a teen girl writing in a man’s world.

  • Lightning Mary

    by Anthea Simmons 

    2019 9 to 14 years 

    • Historical

    Lightning Mary tells the true story of Mary Anning, a Victorian fossil expert, whose discoveries of the ichthyosaur contributed to changes in scientific thinking about the history of the earth. A brilliant read.

Discover more incredible heroes

Illustration: Andrea Pippins 

Of course, there are also some brilliant collections out there about the many inspiring men in our worldwide cultures today and including some greats from history, including the inspirational people in Jamia Wilson and Andrea Pippins’ Young, Gifted and Black: Meet 52 Black Heroes from Past and Present, and in Arabelle Sicardi and Sarah Tanat-Jones’ Queer Heroes which includes trans and nonbinary heroes. In Just Like Me Louise Gooding profiles 40 neurologically and physically diverse people who have smashed stereotypes, overcome misconceptions and shown the world just what they are capable of.

  • Young, Gifted and Black: Meet 52 Black Heroes from Past and Present

    by Jamia Wilson, illustrated by Andrea Pippins 

    2018 5 to 14 years 

    • Around the world
    • Historical
    • Non-fiction

    This beautiful and eye-catching hardback celebrates a selection of black icons from history and the present day to inspire all children to discover what they can achieve. 

The next generation of rebels

Last, lets not forget that there are millions of children around the world who are an example for us all, from the young people in Loll Kirby and Yas Imamura’s Do Something for Someone Else: Meet 12 real-life children spreading kindness with simple acts of everyday activism to those in Lula Bridgeport’s Young Heroes: Inspirational Children from Around the World, all of whom give us hope for the future.

  • Do Something for Someone Else

    by Loll Kirby, illustrated by Yas Imamura 

    2021 5 to 9 years 

    • Around the world
    • Non-fiction
    • Picture books

    Emphasising that every small act of kindness can make a genuine difference, this thought-provoking picture book is sure to motivate young people to take action and make the world a fairer place.

  • Young Heroes

    by Lula Bridgeport, illustrated by Federica Frenna, Isabel Munoz and Julianna Swaney 

    2018 5 to 14 years 

    • Non-fiction

    This collection of remarkable young people’s achievements is truly inspirational. With a gentle guide to being a hero yourself at the back of the book, and a look back at great children of the past, these amazing young people give us all hope for the future.

Join in!

Those are some of our ideas – but what about you? What magical stories do you love reading?

Let us know by messaging us on social media @BookTrust using the hashtag #WhatToReadAfter

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