Florence Nightingale

Reach for this book when your child is grappling with the pressure to fit in or feels a budding desire to advocate for others against the status quo. It is a sophisticated look at Florence Nightingale that moves beyond the simple 'Lady with the Lamp' myth to show a woman of immense intellectual grit and administrative genius. While it highlights the birth of modern nursing, it primarily focuses on Florence's resilience in the face of Victorian gender constraints and her empathy for the suffering poor and soldiers. Appropriate for middle schoolers, Catherine Reef's biography provides a realistic look at historical hardships while celebrating the power of one person to reform an entire system. Parents will appreciate how it frames Nightingale not just as a caregiver, but as a data-driven scientist and social reformer who used her voice and privilege to demand justice for the vulnerable.