Pierce County Library System: Featured Picture Books (website only): March 2026

I love salmon and lampreys : a native story of resilience
by Brook M. Thompson

An inspiring story about a river, a successful Native-led movement for environmental justice, and the making of a scientist.

The Girl Who Figured It Out: The Inspiring True Story of Wheelchair Athlete Minda Dentler Becoming an Ironman World Champion
by Minda Dentler

The uplifting true story of Minda Dentler, the first female wheelchair athlete to complete the Ironman World Championship triathlon.

Lion on the Inside: How One Girl Changed Basketball
by Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir

A Muslim American basketball star is forced to make a difficult choice in this true story about breaking barriers.

Swinging Into History: Toni Stone: Big-League Baseball's First Woman Player
by Karen L. Swanson

The story of how Toni Stone, a young Black girl in Depression-era America, grew up to become the first woman to play professional baseball.

The fearless flights of Hazel Ying Lee
by Leung, Julie

Presents the life and career of Hazel Ying Lee, the first Chinese American woman to fly for the U.S. military.

The Six Triple Eight: A True Story of the Black Woman Battalion of World War II
by Tonya Abari

In 1944, the United States was facing a unique wartime crisis: too much mail. Millions of letters and packages, stacked from floor to ceiling, sat unsent in cold, dark warehouses, with no one to sort through the backlog and no way to deliver mail to the troops. Enter the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. Formed of Black women who had advocated fiercely for their right to enlist in the U.S. military, the 'Six Triple Eight' battalion had one special task: sort and send the mail.

Up Periscope!: How Engineer Raye Montague Revolutionized Shipbuilding
by Jennifer Swanson

A picture book biography of engineer Raye Montague, who revolutionized the way the navy designed ships by developing her own comprehensive computer program.

Up, Up, Ever Up! Junko Tabei: A Life in the Mountains
by Anita Yasuda

Junko Tabei dreamed of a life climbing mountains. But men refused to climb with her. Sponsors told her to stay home. And gloves were not made to fit her hands. Junko, eager and unstoppable, wouldn't let these obstacles get in her way. Instead, she planned an expedition to summit Mount Everest with an all-women team.

The Girl Who Thought in Pictures: The Story of Dr. Temple Grandin
by Julia Finley Mosca

Meet Dr. Temple Grandin-one of the world's quirkiest science heroes! When young Temple was diagnosed with autism, no one expected her to talk, let alone become one of the most powerful voices in modern science. Yet, the determined visual thinker did just that.

Fierce Aunties!
by Laurel Goodluck

Celebrates aunts, related by birth or not, who surround children with unyielding love and support.

Love Is Loud: How Diane Nash Led the Civil Rights Movement
by Sandra Neil Wallace

A picture book biography of Diane Nash, a Civil Rights Movement leader at the side of Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis. Born in 1938 in Chicago, Diane went on to take command of the Nashville Movement, leading lunch counter sit-ins and peaceful marches. Diane decides to fight not with anger or violence, but with love. With her strong words of truth and actions, she works to stop segregation.

Fearless Heart: An Illustrated Biography of Surya Bonaly
by Frank Murphy

A picture-book biography of the '90s French figure skater whose athleticism caught some people and industry insiders off-guard, but whose fearless heart propelled her to always stay true to herself while pursuing her boldest dreams.

Daughter of the Light-Footed People: The Story of Indigenous Marathon Champion Lorena Ramírez
by Belen Medina

Experience a 60-mile run with indigenous athlete Lorena Ramirez, who captured the world's attention when she won an ultramarathon in Mexico wearing a skirt and rubber sandals-the traditional clothes of the Rarâamuri, the light-footed people.

Milloo's mind
by Faruqi, Reem

This powerful picture book biography traces the life of Maryam Faruqi, the founder of the Happy Home Schools, which provided education to thousands of girls across India and Pakistan at a time when girls weren't encouraged to go to school.

Mary's Idea
by Chris Raschka

A picture book biography of Mary Lou Williams, an American jazz pianist and composer who wrote hundreds of compositions, recorded hundreds of songs, and wrote arrangements for Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman, and is an artist often overlooked in the canon of American music because of her gender and skin color.

Ellen Takes Flight: The Life of Astronaut Ellen Ochoa
by Doreen Rappaport

A biography of astronaut and former director of the Johnson Space Center Ellen Ochoa.

Chef Edna: Queen of Southern Cooking, Edna Lewis
by Melvina Noel

Edna loved to cook. Growing up on a farm in Freetown, Virginia, she learned the value of fresh, local, seasonal food from her Mama Daisy, as well as how to measure ingredients for biscuits using coins and to listen closely to her cakes to know when they were done. Edna carried these traditions with her all the way to Manhattan, where she became a celebrated chef, cooking traditional French food in her signature Southern style and introducing the world to the flavors of her home.

Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior
by Carole Lindstrom

Indigenous women have always worked tirelessly to protect our water -- keeping it pure and clean for the generations to come. Yet there was a time when their voices and teachings were nearly drowned out, leaving entire communities and environments in danger and without clean water. But then came Grandma Josephine and her great-niece, Autumn. Speak for the water. Sing for the water. Dance for the water.

For additional reading ideas, talk with your library staff