Elena Favilli

The latest installment in the New York Times bestselling Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls series, featuring 100 immigrant women who have shaped, and will continue to shape, our world. Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Immigrant Women Who Changed the World is the third book in the New York Times bestselling series for children. Packed with 100 all-new bedtime stories about the lives of incredible female figures from the past and the present, this volume recognizes women who left their birth countries for a multitude of reasons: some for new opportunities, some out of necessity. Readers will whip up a plate with Asma Khan, strategize global affairs alongside Madeleine Albright, venture into business with Rihanna, and many more. All of these unique, yet relatable stories are accompanied by gorgeous, full-page, full-color portraits, illustrated by female artists from all over the globe.

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Immigrant Women Who Changed the World

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AUSTRALIAN BOOK INDUSTRY AWARD FOR INTERNATIONAL BOOK OF THE YEAR The New York Times bestselling Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls is a children's book packed with 100 bedtime stories about the life of 100 extraordinary women from the past and the present, illustrated by 60 female artists from all over the world. The New York Times bestselling Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls is a children's book packed with 100 bedtime stories about the life of 100 extraordinary women from the past and the present, illustrated by 60 female artists from all over the world. Each woman's story is written in the style of a fairy tale. Each story has a full-page, full-color portrait that captures the spirit of the portrayed hero. Hardcover, with an extra smooth matte scuff-free lamination, 100lbs beautiful paper, a double satin bookmark and extraordinary print quality, Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls is a beautiful object to read and read again.

100 Tales of Extraordinary Women

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls

Wenny

Francesca Cavallo

"Good Night Stories For Rebel Girls 2" is the sequel to the sensational New York Times bestseller, Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. The authors, Francesca Cavallo and Elena Favilli, will take you and your kids on an empowering journey through 100 new bedtime stories, featuring the adventures of extraordinary women from Nefertiti to Beyoncé. The unique narrative style of "Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls" transforms each biography into a fairy-tale, filling the readers with wonder and with a burning curiosity to know more about each hero. Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls 2 boasts a brand new graphic design, a glossary and 100 incredible new portraits created by the best female artists of our time. "This amazing book shows girls they can be anything they want." - Melinda Gates "Essential reading for girls and indeed boys; children who read this at bedtime are guaranteed some big and inspirational dreams." - Fiona Noble, The Guardian "The anti-princess book teaching girls to rebel." - Georgina Rannard, BBC News

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls 2

Emelie

I truly and wholeheartedly LOVED this book!!

jo solimo

Hermoso libro y me encantó conocer la historia de cada una de esas mujeres.

Maggie Gordon

I bought into the hype and got myself a copy of a book that STALKS ME ALL OVER THE INTERNET. Seriously, Favilli, tone down the online ads...

Rebel Girls is famous for starting as an extremely successful Kickstarter. It is a collection of short descriptions of famous women from all around the world. For all of the hype, this is certainly not the first book of its type. However, the art is absolutely gorgeous, and I did appreciate the incredibly wide array of women that were featured, many of which I had never heard of. 

One thing that should be noted is that the book is for young kids so the stories about these women are incredibly simplistic. They are good starting points for more research, but they also hide a lot of the history of these women, particularly their often violent deaths. 

The book also features several women that I know will cause a stir in progressive communities, and struggles with how to talk about them. In the entry on Margaret Thatcher, it contrasts how much people hated her for taking away free milk from kids, but loved her military exploits. I think this is definitely a book best shared between parents and kids so parents can fill in the blanks that they think their kids needs.

Kaya

Helena C. C.

I was super excited about this book: the idea was great and the portraits were just beautiful and unique. 
Unfortunately, I felt the stories were quite deceiving: story development is poor and incomplete, many sentences lack context and thus many reactions of the women seem to be quite impetuous (when it's not the case).

Flavia Louise

Nadine 

Following in the tradition of the other "Good Night Stories" this focuses on the contributions that Immigrant Women have made to their adoptive countries. 
As always the tales are accompanied by the most spectacular of illustrations to be seen in children's mixed biography books.
Of particular note is the combination of lesser known and more widely known women, and the wide range of contributions these women made.

I found the text explaining where the women were from and where they migrated to, to be a little small and understated compared to the other text (i.e. it's the same size as the page number just underneath it) and while it had a glossary of terms and list of illustrators, the inclusion of a world map perhaps even with lines of the migrations would have been a useful addition (i.e. where did most women go to? It seems USA is very high on the list) and could provoke some interesting class / home discussion on the current mood around immigration in the traditional "magnet" countries.
Preview based on an ARC provided by NetGalley

Lucía RG

It made me so sad to think of how many women who did great things died unnoticed because of the mere fact that they weren't men. And it also infuriates me the fact that society constantly tells women they are not good enough and that they should not pursue their dreams. you go girls!!!!!

THE SENSATIONAL NO.1 BESTSELLER 'The real-life children's fairy tale book so inspiring adults are reading it' I newspaper 'Absolutely beautiful - get one for yourself and one to inspire a woman in your life' Stylist 'In an ideal world, not only would mothers read this aloud to their daughters, but teachers would read it to schoolboys' Sunday Times What if the princess didn't marry Prince Charming but instead went on to be an astronaut? What if the jealous step sisters were supportive and kind? And what if the queen was the one really in charge of the kingdom? Illustrated by sixty female artists from every corner of the globe, Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls introduces us to one hundred remarkable women and their extraordinary lives, from Ada Lovelace to Malala, Amelia Earhart to Michelle Obama. Empowering, moving and inspirational, these are true fairy tales for heroines who definitely don't need rescuing.

Ren Christina

An uplifting read. 100 women, 100 stories, 100 gorgeous illustrations. Can’t wait to pick up the second volume.

Mayra Melo

Had to take down a star cause I simply don’t understand what Aung San Suu Kyi was doing among all those other awesome women.

Cindy Nataly

Me encantó conocer sobre mujeres que han aportado tanto a la historia

Jelke Lenaerts

I received a galley of this book through Netgalley in exchange of an honest review. 
 

I just really love these books and this one was absolutely no exception. I think it's a great read and also accecible for children to be read out loud. The art is absolutely amazing. I love the fact that there are so many different artists in this book, it truly represent the diversity of the women talked about in the book as well. These are just so inspirational and fun to read. Highly recommend!

This series, is in my opinion the best in what it's supposed to do. It gives a short story about a diverse collection of women who did/are still doing absolutely amazing things, with absolutely gorgeous illustrations. The stories don't include too many details but it peakes your interest perfectly to find out more about these women. The stories are also very inspiring and motivating. I've read quiet a lot of books that have a similair set up but none have left me more empowered and interested than this book and its predececor. Highly recommend, especially to read with your kids.

One of the most interesting books I've ever read. Truly a read for all ages!

Анастасия Розова

I recommend it to everyone. Young and old. Yes, the writing is simplistic, cause it's meant for children, but it has motivated me to learn more about the women I'd read about. And I didn't know anything about half of the women from this book, maybe more!

Please, remember, that representation matters. If girls (and boys) see other girls doing things they love, they will not be afraid to do the same.

If you have a child, buy this book and read it together. If you don't, buy it anyway. I assure you, yiu will learn a lot.

Paulina 

I just madly fall in love with this book. I'm slightly older than the girls for whom this book happend, but I love it. I devour it. Read all the stories and want to know more about those women. It inspired me to learn more and more.

Cecília Amaral

Um livro maravilhoso sobre mulheres incríveis que mudaram o mundo.

This is a gorgeous collection for young readers, highlighting some of the amazing immigrant women that have made the world as we know it. The book features women and girls from all over the world, immigrating for many different reasons. 

I am not sure how well this book translates to audio book, however. Because of the very short articles introducing each immigrant, the audio feels a little jolt-y and incomplete. Rather the best way to experience it would be alongside the physical book. 


  Note: Review copy received via NetGalley. This does not impact opinions within this review.


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Happy reading! ❤

b.andherbooks

So absolutely wonderful! Biographies of 100 women, some you know and some you definitely will want to know, written as bedtime stories complete with absolutely stunning illustrations created by over 60 artists. As a parent, it is nice to be able to read a couple short (one page per person) stories for bedtime and it is not easy to find non-fiction that translates well to this medium. 

I am definitely going to be purchasing this book. For the content and for the absolutely stunning package. The end papers are beautiful constellations and the last few pages have a great index AND a spot for your kiddo to write their own story and draw their self-portrait.

Highly recommend.

Carolina Lopes

The illustrations were wonderful and the stories were mostly inspiring, yet some of the women included in this book are certainly not good role models... still an enjoyable read and a beautiful book.

Debbie

100 tales written in such a good, creative way with amazing illustrations, a perfect way to tell the reader, whether it be children or adults about 100 amazing women all over the globe. This book is lit. So inspiring.

Lorien O'Brien

My main issue with this book is it included Coco Chanel, who is despised in Europe because she was a Nazi, for real. She kept her shop open through WWII by having Nazi patrons. She moved to the US where that tidbit wasn't well known. Only real issue with this book.

Sandy

Needless to say, this book is absolutely special. One hundred female personalities, from the past and present, who deserve to be heard and read about, presented in a fairytale-ish style with illustrations from female artists. This idea alone deserves to be celebrated.

The foreword made me emotional already. You can tell how much passion and enthusiasm is behind this book, and I am so glad it exists! I was not aware of its history as a kickstarter project, but that speaks even more of the genuine interest of everyone involved and other than a few typos, there are no 'physical' flaws that would hint at this rather unusual background.

On the contrary. The book itself feels absolutely amazing, it' is quite heavy like one of the old adventure-stories volumes you had as a child. I also love the cover, precisely because it is not pink and glittery but dark blue with bold lettering. Around it are names of famous women in a paler blue, like stars in a dark night sky. The cover challenges gender norms (pink books for girls, blue ones for boys) but is at the same time wonderfully neutral, so that every child could get excited about it and adults can gift it to boys and girls alike without 'worries'.

Inside, every woman (or girl) is presented on a double page. On the left you have her name, birth dates and country enclosing the actual story. These texts are neither merely biographical nor anecdotal, but vary in those degrees depending on the respective personality. The right page are portraits of them, each created by a different female artist.

Having read this as an adult, coming straight from university where we analysed some of these women closely, I had a few issues with some representations and on what aspect the texts focused (for example presenting Elisabeth I as a kind and well-beloved queen or Jane Austen as the stay-at-home-writer who did not care about the outside world). Arguably, there are some women I would not have included, and others I would have wished to see instead, but that is of course a subjective issue that could be argued about forever. And anyway, I genuinely enjoyed reading these stories and loved learning about so many exceptional women that I sadly have not heard about before.

As someone who is lost with most art, it means a lot that even I could appreciate the illustrations. Literally every single portrait is different, and while some of the styles were not for me, it was incredibly interesting to see how each artist perceived and presented these different women. The diversity among them was wonderfully balanced, there were so many countries and ethnicities represented, and their accomplishments were in every area you can think of, from science to music to literature and everything in between.

I could not evaluate first-hand how a child would react to the stories, the style and the illustrations, but would judge it as appropriate and understandable if the reader is willing to explain some concepts that might be unknown to children. As an adult, I felt inspired and empowered by reading about women who persisted and fought for their accomplishments, even though their societies were throwing stones and boulders in their way. It is definitely an important collection and I hope it not only redirects the public focus and memory, but also inspires more works of this kind. Now, I will take up the idea of Books and Peonies and read one story every morning, which will be a fantastic and motivating start to each day!

 The concept of Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls is amazing and unique, the illustrations are beautiful, the chosen representations diverse and the stories are well-written and, most of the time, accurate. I can wholeheartedly recommend this to readers of every age-group and gender.

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Immigrant Women Who Changed the World

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