March is… National Women’s History Month! Celebrate fabulous females in your classroom with our staff’s recommendations of books—new and old—that feature female protagonists, explore women’s issues, or document the women’s rights movement. Then further below view our list of free online resources including lesson plans, photo and bio sources, and printable activities. 
The Vintage Book of American Women Writers, Elaine Showalter
This anthology of 350 years of poetry and fiction features the work of writers ranging from Puritan poet Anne Bradstreet to contemporary stars like Annie Proulx and Jhumpa Lahiri. Sure to fuel classroom discussion, the volume offers an epic overview in one entertaining and provocative volume. Grades 9 and up. ISBN 9781400034451
List price: $18.95 | Adam’s Price: $12.32 for 10+ copies
We Are The Stories We Tell: The Best Short Stories by North American Women Since 1945, Wendy Martin
A collection of 26 contemporary stories by the finest women writers to come out of the U.S. and Canada, including Ann Tyler, Tama Janowitz and Alice Walker. Grades 8 and up. ISBN 9780679728818
List price: $16.00 | Adam’s Price: $10.40 for 10+ copies
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things, Carolyn Mackler
With irreverent humor and surprising gravity, Carolyn Mackler creates an endearingly blunt heroine who speaks to every teen who struggles with family expectations, and proves the value of being true to oneself. With a teaching guide. Grades 7-10. ISBN 9780140291834
List price: $8.99 | Adam’s Price: $5.84 for 10+ copies
The Plain Janes, Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg
This graphic novel provides a thoughtful look at the pressures to conform and the importance of self-expression. When Jane’s family flees the city after a terrorist act, she sparks a youth movement in her new community. Grades 7-10. ISBN 9781401211158
List price: $10.00 | Adam’s Price: $6.50 for 10+ copies
A Border Passage, Leila Ahmed
In her memoir, the author tells a moving tale of her Egyptian childhood growing up part of a rich tradition of Islamic women and describes how she eventually came to terms with her identity as a feminist living in America. With a reading guide. Grades 9 and up. ISBN 9780140291834
List price: $15.00 | Adam’s Price: $8.75 for 10+ copies
Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson
This highly acclaimed novel is about a teen who chooses not to speak rather than to give voice to what happened to her. Bonus material in this edition includes a new introduction, resources, and discussion guide. With a teaching guide. Grades 7 and up. ISBN 9780142407325
List price: $10.00 | Adam’s Price: $6.50 for 10+ copies
The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood
In the world of the near future, who will control women’s bodies? Funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing, The Handmaid’s Tale is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and tour de force. With a reading guide. Grades 9 and up. ISBN 9780385490818
List price: $16.00 | Adam’s Price: $10.40 for 10+ copies
The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts, Maxine Hong Kingston
A beautifully written memoir about growing up confronted with negotiating two sets of rigid, but very different rules: one set those of her “solid America,” and the other set of rules those of her Chinese heritage. Grades 9 and up. ISBN 9780679721888
List price: $14.99 | Adam’s Price: $9.74 for 10+ copies
Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston
Told in the captivating voice of a woman who refuses to live in sorrow, bitterness, fear, or foolish romantic dreams, it is the story of fiercely independent Janie Crawford, and her evolving selfhood. With a reading guide. Grades 9 and up. ISBN 9780060838676
List price: $14.99 | Adam’s Price: $9.74 for 10+ copies
A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf
In this classic essay, Virginia Woolf takes on the establishment, using her gift of language to dissect the world around her and give voice to those who are without. Her message is a simple one: women must have a fixed income and a room of their own in order to have the freedom to create. Grades 9 and up. ISBN 9780156787338
List price: $14.99 | Adam’s Price: $9.74 for 10+ copies
The Awakening, with a selection of short stories (Bantam Classics), Kate Chopin
First published in 1899, this novel so disturbed critics and the public that it was banished for decades afterward. Now widely admired, The Awakening has been hailed as an early vision of woman’s emancipation. Grades 10 and up. ISBN 9780553213300
List price: $16.00 | Adam’s Price: $10.40 for 10+ copies
Jane Eyre (Bantam Classics), Charlotte Brontë
Published in 1847, the book heralded a new kind of heroine—one whose virtuous integrity, keen intellect, and tireless perseverance broke through class barriers to win equal stature with the man she loved. Grades 9 and up. ISBN 9780553211405
List price: $4.95 | Adam’s Price: $3.22 for 10+ copies
For more recommendations, check out our Women’s History Month Pinterest board.
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