Editor’s Note: Wow, what a gorgeous weekend. If you are wondering what to do with such a beautiful Saturday, come join the Our Big Earth crew out at the Filberg Lodge and Park in Comox today for Kids Day at the Park.

We’ll be there from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. helping kiddos make instruments out of recyclables, and then we’re jamming out with Bobs and Lolo at 1 p.m. (and all of the cool, new instruments). Tickets for the concert at $15 and include all events, a hot dog and drink.

Come on out and rock the park!

Our kiddo is tactile.

Her learning doesn’t start in her head, it starts with her hands. When you give her a forest to check out, a fossil to dig up or a beach to explore she’s like a sponge, soaking in all of the information and learning through fingertips.

She’s also a great adventurer, always willing to check out new places and see what’s out there.

So, it was no surprise to us that – when we proposed a 4-year-old centered vacation weekend as the alternative to a big birthday party this year, she chose the trip.

Victoria and its amazing spots like the Bug Zoo, Royal BC Museum and the Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre in Sidney were the perfect venues for a preschooler currently obsessed with dinosaurs, fossils and sea creatures.

But, a couple of her friends have been giving her a bit of heck about loving all kinds of typically “boy” things. So, we’ve been working hard at making sure she knows that the Laura Thatcher Ulrich saying “Well-behaved Women Rarely Make History” also applies in terms of being willing to take the chance on yourself and not feel like you have to follow the crowd.

So, when I came across The Fossil Girl: Mary Anning’s Dinosaur Discovery by Catherine Brighton, I suspected she’d find a bit of a cool roll model within its pages.

It didn’t go so well at first. In fact, after Ken read it to her for the first time she said she never wanted to read that book again. I learned later that it was because the girl in the book got to go and hunt for fossils and our daughter didn’t. She was mad that some girl in England had the chance to get her hands on a dinosaur fossil and she was stuck in the hotel room.

We read it again and the results were completely different. She pulled out her dinosaurs, a dino ID book and the plaster “fossils” we recently made and we spent the afternoon talking about how long it would be before she would find a dinosaur, like Mary did, and then find another and another and another.

The book is definitely meant for second- to fourth graders who are easing their way into history projects and into comics (it’s a loose comic book format). But, the message is clear – girls who follow their smarts get to do some seriously cool things (and possibly change the world).

Which leads me to a sweet, smart book - Grinelda The Mad Hatter, by Mary Jo Reinhart and illustrated by Paula Nathan.

Published by Vancouver-based socially conscious publisher Gumboot Books, this close-to-the-heart tale about a girl whose talent is made fun of, and eventually seen as a great example for being yourself and following your heart, makes my heart sing.

The illustrations are fun, and the story told well. But, really, you know the mark of a good kids book when your tiny person has just about every emotion in the course of reading it, and comes out the other side smiling and feeling empowered to go play dress-up.

Grinelda is all about her own sense of style. She loooooves hats and the “cool kids” make fun of her unwillingness to be just like them.

But, when she becomes the costume designer for the class play, the cool kids realize Grinelda and her incredible hats are truly amazing, and that they are OK being themselves, instead of just like each other.

All I can say is awesome.

We had a bit of a hat fest following that one.

While I got both of these books out of town, you can order them through your local book seller or encourage your favourite kids store to carry these and other books that give kids some fantastic examples of strength, individuality and healthy self-esteem.

What are some of your favourite books that give kids that boost of self-esteem and encourage them to follow their dreams?

I have a copy of Grinelda The Mad Hatter for one random commenter.

This giveaway is closed. Pollly won. Yay!

Books covers courtesty of Gumboot Books and Frances Lincoln Children’s Books.