As we mark the 75th anniversary of...

As we mark the 75th anniversary of the 19th Amendment this month, a growing number of children’s books are addressing the comparatively newly enfranchised gender.

From Cleopatra to Joan of Arc and Billie Jean King to Wilma Mankiller, and 116 women in between, take a celebratory leap into HER STORY: WOMEN WHO CHANGED THE WORLD, edited by Ruth Ashby and Deborah Gore Ohrn (Viking: $19.95; ages 10 and older) . This handsome collection of short, punchy biographies introduces notables from all walks of life and all parts of the world. Accompanied by essays establishing historical context, the women take their bows chronologically according to three eras--prehistory to 1750, 1750 to 1850, and 1850 to the present. It’s the other half of history, as well as of the arts, science, sports, industry and religion. Reading about these 120 powerhouses is good medicine for combatting the reported loss of intellectual self-esteem that girls experience sometime after sixth grade. But this isn’t just a book for girls. As Gloria Steinem points out in her introduction, “Looking at the world as if women mattered provides a long overdue understanding of how and why events take place.” Who wouldn’t want to read about ambitious queens and empresses, artists and scholars whose works have been burned and banned, and assorted adventurers who struggled against incredible odds to accomplish amazing things?

On the other hand, THE INFORMATION PLEASE GIRLS’ ALMANAC is really and truly a book for girls. This cool compendium by Margo McLoone and Alice Siegal (Houghton Mifflin: $8.95 paperback; ages 8 and older) has something to pique any girl’s interest. From great sisters in history and unbelievable facts about underwear, to sports triumphs, organizations just for girls, goddesses of all types, songs that include girls’ names, the history of body-piercing, coming-of-age ceremonies around the world, career advice and inspiration. . . . Is all this empowering? Is it pure fun? Girls will be too busy browsing to wonder.

Many girls, especially those heading into those troubled waters after sixth grade, find their voices by keeping diaries. KEEPING SECRETS: The Girlhood Diaries of Seven Women Writers by Mary E. Lyons (Holt: $15.95; ages 11 and older) is a thoughtful analysis of the secrets of Louisa May Alcott, Kate Chopin, Ida B. Wells, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and three others. Nothing reveals the nitty-Hgritty like private diaries. Alcott’s diaries answer questions such as why Laurie had to marry Amy instead of Jo, why the writer turned her “dear” father into a ghostly presence in her fiction and how chronic physical pain influenced her choices. Girls who are into journals will enjoy this one, as will anyone who likes to snoop.

A new edition of PETROSINELLA: A Neapolitan Rapunzel (Dial: $14.99; ages 4 to 8) displays the same sinuous watercolors by Diane Stanley that appeared in her 1981 book. But the revised text beefs up the role that the girl with the great hair takes in her own fate. Even in folk tales for children, the balance occasionally tips toward the sex that comprises 51% of the population--and buys most of the books.