The Girl Scouts have been empowering girls since 1912 when Juliette Gordon Low first founded the organization. From wilderness skills learned at their camping facilities to profitable business skills from selling cookies, the program not only encourages scouts to learn independent and collaborative life skills that will be useful to them as they grow but also helps girls build lifelong connections with the friends they meet and work with. To continue inspiring our girls to be their shining, authentic selves, let’s take a look at five books that teach the valuable lessons that the Girl Scouts strive to share.
Here Come the Girl Scouts!: The Amazing All-True Story of Juliette ‘Daisy’ Gordon Low and Her Great Adventure by Shana Corey, Illustrated by Hadley Hooper
Here Come the Girl Scouts!: The Amazing All-True Story of Juliette ‘Daisy’ Gordon Low and Her Great Adventure by Shana Corey tells the riveting story of the Girl Scout’s founder, Juliette Gordon Low.
Also known as “Daisy,” Gordon Low defied Victorian-era expectations as she strayed away from a prim-and-proper lifestyle and worked with her love for the wilderness and adventure. This book explores how her childhood and beliefs in women helped her create the Girl Scouts to show that girls can do anything Alongside illustrations by Hadley Cooper, Corey’s prose beautifully highlights the impact Low’s dreams and determination have had on girls throughout history.
Girl Scouts: Maven Takes the Lead by Yamile Saied Méndez
Girl Scouts: Maven Takes the Lead by Yamile Saied Méndez is a chapter book for middle school readers that shows where you can go with some dedication and authenticity.
Maven finds her passion at the start of fifth grade when her school announces a district-wide robotics competition and she becomes her class’s leader. Even with the doubts from people around her, Maven finds her support through her friends and troop, but when things get tough and she lets the pressure get to her, will she realize that being true to herself will create the strongest outcome for her and the people depending on her? Saied Méndez does a wonderful job executing a narrative on the struggles of being a middle school girl and establishes the importance of having support from the people around you.
Path to the Stars: My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist by Sylvia Acevedo
Path to the Stars: My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist by Sylvia Acevedo is a motivating memoir that tells the story of Acevedo’s journey from Girl Scout to rocket scientist and award-winning entrepreneur, and who is the current CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA.
Starting her journey as a Brownie after a devastating meningitis outbreak in her neighborhood, Acevedo learned how to take control of her world and found inspiration in pursuing her love for math and science. Making her own path despite cultural expectations, Acevedo tells her story of becoming the first Latina to graduate from Stanford University with a Master’s in engineering and continuing to become a rocket scientist for NASA. With her book being simultaneously available in Spanish, Acevedo’s work to share her story has become a moving tale to remind girls they can be whoever they want, even if the world tries to stop them.
Mouse Scouts by Sarah Dillard
Mouse Scouts by Sarah Dillard, a former Brownie and Junior Girl Scout, is a chapter book series that shows the value of friendship and hard work.
Following six Mouse Scouts trying to earn their merit badges, the youngsters learn that merit badges will be harder to acquire than they’d thought. With a strict troop leader and a pest-infested garden to tame, will the scouts earn their merit badge and find a way to make Miss Poppy smile? With black-and-white illustrations, Dillard creates an immersive experience with an official Scout Mouse handbook, diagrams, and activities to show girls the value of troop camaraderie.
Girl Scouts: The Ultimate Friendship Journal by Girl Scouts
Girl Scouts: The Ultimate Friendship Journal by Girl Scouts is an interactive journal with various activities to help navigate and document the friendships of the Girl Scout it belongs to.
This journal is filled with how-to guides, writing prompts, quizzes and more to help girls navigate the best and worst parts of friendships as they grow and find new challenges in their lives. There are opportunities for learning such as designing friendship bracelets and setting goals to go along with the writing prompts that let Girl Scouts document their lives to look back on and learn from in the future.
The Girl Scouts will continue to strive to teach girls the importance of hard work and connections. Books such as these recommendations along with the hard work the Girl Scouts dedicate themselves to will always be a driving inspiration for them and those that see their work. Hopefully, these book picks will help you expand your Girl Scout universe and inspire you to be your strongest, authentic self.
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For more children’s book recommendations check out our Young Reader’s and Children’s Holiday Recs
bookshelf on bookshop.com.
