The fifth volume of the best-selling Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls series, 100 Inspiring Young Changemakers, shines a spotlight on extraordinary young women who are making their mark on the world today.
Readers will celebrate well-known women, like Greta Thunberg, Bethany Hamilton, Bindi Irwin, Zendaya, and the Linda Lindas, and meet up-and-coming powerhouses like inventor Vinisha Umashankar, fashion designer Marine Serre, stuntwoman Sadiqua Bynum, filmmaker Taegen Yardley, poet Alexandra Huynh, and environmental activist Helena Gualinga.
The girls and women in the book come from different countries and backgrounds and have a wide array of interests and accomplishments. Barrier-breaking performer Keke Palmer became the youngest talk show host in US history. Entrepreneur Mikaila Ulmer founded a lemonade company to help save honeybees. Brazilian skateboarder Rayssa Leal turned a hobby into an Olympic dream. And British body positivity advocate Megan Jayne Crabbe and Indigenous artist Te Manaia Jennings inspire kids to keep their minds healthy.
Each story is told in the whimsical fairy tale style that has made the series a success and is paired with a bold, full-page portrait. With a foreword by conservationist and TV personality Bindi Irwin, the book features the work of authors, artists, and editors aged 30 and under. In addition to showcasing the stories of incredible young people, more than 60 young female or nonbinary artists from all over the world contributed original artwork to the book.
JESS HARRITON (editor and author) is an editor at Rebel Girls, working on stories to delight and inspire girls 7 to 12. Previously, she was an editor at Penguin Random House, where she worked with best-selling and award-winning authors. Her writing has appeared in Concrete Literary Magazine and HelloGiggles.com. Jess graduated from Emerson College in 2013. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, in an apartment filled with books.
MAITHY VU (editor and author) is a Vietnamese American writer who loves surrealism and most things odd. While earning her BA in theater arts at the University of California, Santa Cruz, she spent time writing poetry, plays, and slightly bizarre sketches for an all-women comedy team. Maithy published her novella, Wounded Wisteria, in 2015, combining fiction in verse with her own watercolor illustrations. She earned her MLA in creative writing and literature at Harvard Extension School, where she completed her first novel, Squid Season. In early 2019, Maithy joined the editorial team at Rebel Girls. Since then, her colleagues have been given compulsory lectures about Taylor Swift on a weekly basis.
BINDI IRWIN (foreword) is a passionate wildlife conservationist, who has inherited her parents’ love for wildlife and wild places. Born to Wildlife Warriors Steve and Terri Irwin, Bindi is a determined soul, destined to make a positive difference on the planet. Australia Zoo has always been her home. Every animal is part of her family. As Bindi has grown, so has her passion for conservation. She has traveled the world, visiting wild places, to learn more about the planet she wants to protect into the future. Through Wildlife Warriors, Bindi continues to work with her family to share the message of conservation.
