NEW YORK, NY.- Wonder Girls: Changing Our World (powerHouse Books) is noted author and photojournalist Paola Gianturco's sixth book for women interested in issues that affect women and girls globally. She says, "Those of us who care about the well-being of young girls have reason to worry. Around the world, girls are trafficked, married off too young, denied education and equality -- and that's just the beginning. But there is inspiring news: girls are banding together, finding strength in numbers, and fighting against those threats."

Over three years, Gianturco and her newly 13-year-old granddaughter, up-and-coming author and photographer Alex Sangster, interviewed and photographed fifteen groups of girls, all age 10 to 18, who are tackling challenges in their communities in thirteen countries in the Middle East, Asia, North and Latin America, Africa, and Oceania. These resolute youngsters and teenagers are leveraging their energy and intelligence, creativity and confidence, determination and dreams to improve healthcare, education, gender equality, and the environment; and end child marriage, domestic violence, and child trafficking.

Wonder Girls, which has been touring the U.S. since last October, will have its New York City launch event at Google (111 Eighth Avenue, between 15th and 16th Streets) on Wednesday, February 7 from 6:00 -- 8:00PM. Gianturco will talk about the work and show slides followed by a Q&A. In celebration of girl activists everywhere, the event is free and open to the general public. Please RSVP to attend the event here.

In Wonder Girls, you will watch girls lobbying U.S. senators; see girls in Mexico inventing mobile phone apps to solve social problems; and witness Malawian girls convincing Parliament to outlaw child marriage. You will also observe Ugandan girls advocating for girls' rights at a UN meeting. And you will meet other girls as they write blogs, petitions and poetry, produce radio shows and videos, and invent dances, songs, and works of art to promote their causes.

One hundred percent of the authors' royalties from Wonder Girls will go to The Global Fund for Women to benefit grassroots groups of girls around the world.

Wonder Girls is a call to action to help these amazing and fearless girls accomplish their important work. At the end of each chapter, Alex Sangster tells you how to get involved. It is a great book for mothers (and fathers) to share with their middle school daughters and educators to share with their students, to inspire them to get active in their own communities.

Paola Gianturco, author-photographer, has documented women's issues in 62 countries. Her six books on these topics have all been published by powerHouse Books. Paola's images have been exhibited at the United Nations, UNESCO, The Field Museum/Chicago, and more. She lectures internationally, presented a TED talk in Dubai, and has been a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, NPR, and Voice of America programs, among others. Paola serves on the advisory boards of three nonprofits: Rise Up/Let Girls Lead, Pencils for Africa, and Global Grandmothers. In 2014, Women's e-News named her one of "21 Leaders for the 21st Century."

Alex Sangster, author-photographer, is Paola's granddaughter. Alex is something of a "wonder girl" herself. She and her sister launched a children's program at a global poverty conference in Mexico. After conducting FaceTime and Skype interviews with activist girls in 13 countries, Alex wrote the sections titled "How You Can Change Our World," in each chapter of this book. Alex captured almost all of the images in the chapters about activist girls in Los Angeles and Mexico.

Dr. Musimbi Kanyoro is the President and CEO of Global Fund for Women. In 1998, Musimbi was general secretary (CEO) of the World YWCA and transformed it into a young-women-led organization. She was subsequently Director for Population and Reproductive Health at David and Lucile Packard Foundation. In 2015, Forbes Magazine named her one of 10 women "power brands" working for gender equality. Musimbi has PhDs in both Linguistics and Feminist Theology.