Further resources:  
http://www.familyweb.com/faqs/mkfaq_books_female_chars.html

Berkeley Public Library has a list called "Brave, Active & Resourceful 
Females in Picture Stories"...pick it up at any branch.  Includes many of 
the books previously mentioned, as well as:

Best Friends for Frances, by Russell Hoban
Banned from an all-boy baseball game, Frances organizes a "No Boys" 
outing with interesting results.

Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney
Alice Rumphius has a career, travels to exotic places, retires by the 
sea, and becomes an interesting old woman.

From: Robin

Re: books

I have two sons - 3 1/2 years and 6 months - who love it when we read
stories.  The problem is that all of Pooh's friends are boys (except for
Kanga who is often wearing an apron) and so are the trains on the Island of
Sodor (except for Daisy who doesn't like smelly tunnels).  You get the idea.
I'd really like to have books with a wider variety of boy and girl
characters.  Any suggestions?

Robin 

----------------------------------------------

Date: Thu, 27 Mar 97 15:47:02 EST
From: Beth

I love "The Paper Bag Princess".  Summary: A princess rescues her
prince, who has been carried off by a dragon, then realizes what
a jerk he is and decides not to marry him after all.  Some parents
may be distressed by the lack of a good male role model (the prince
is quite a jerk), but I think it's a nice contrast to stories like
Thomas the Tank Engine.

I also love the Frances books (Bedtime for Frances, A Bargain for
Frances, A Baby Sister for Frances).  These are old books -- I read
them when I was a child -- but I like them even more as an adult
because the parents seem so sensible and wise.

Sorry I don't know the authors, but I think any children's librarian
or good children's bookstore could help you find them.



----------------

From: Martha
Subject: Books with Girl Characters         

I've noticed the very same thing about Pooh and Thomas, as dear as
they are.  Richard Scary Busytown books also tend to assume
traditional gender roles.  When I read it to my nearly three year old
son I sometimes change the "he's" to "she's". "Go Dog Go" doesn't
assume any gender in the text. But there seems to be some code in the
pictures that I or my son respond to. I've tried talk about the action
and say "See what she is doing?" Sometimes he goes with it, but
sometimes my son will say emphatically "That's a daddy, not a mommy".

I recently found a book called "Allie's Basketball Dream" by Barbara
Barber (?) which is really well written and beautifully illustrated
(illustrator is someone else.) The main character is a girl who is
given a basketball by her father.  When she practices shooting
baskets, at first she misses; nearby boys laugh, other kids ask what
she is doing, even offering to trade a volleyball for her basketball
since the volleyball would be "easier" for a girl to
handle. Ultimately, she keeps trying and makes some baskets. The other
kids want to play with her and even the older boys cheer her. I like
it and my son loves it. It has actually helped him to not get
frustrated when he misses a shot. He often says "I'm Michael Jordon"
when playing b-ball. But just the other day while playing, he said
"I'm Allie".

The Max board book series by Rosemary Wells is about a "boy" rabbit,
but his sister Ruby is always present. My son likes those too. In the
Carl the dog series, it is a little girl that Carl goes on adventures
with. There is the Madeline series, but that may be for slightly older
kids. I have a train book that has both male and female characters
doing all the different jobs associated with trains. I can look up the
name.

----------------

From: carrie 
Subject: books with girls
Date: Thu, 27 Mar 1997 21:30:37 -0800 (PST)

for my daughter's first birthday i got a great book as a gift. the
book is by Kathleen Odean & is called 'Great Books for Girls'.  it
describes more than '600 books to inspire today's girls and
tomorrow's women'. it lists pictory-story books, books for
beginning readers, middle readers to older readers.  it also
contains resources for parents (locating books, tips on
empowering your daughter).
i thought it would make a great book resource for *boys*, since
they need to see girls/women as 'strong, free, bold and kind' too.

--
carrie


-------------

Date: Fri, 28 Mar 1997 09:20:05 -0800 (PST)

books with girls.
Owl Babaies, Martin Waddell,
sarah, (big sister) and her two little brother owls
are scared waiting for their mom to come back.

Madeline books, (which are for older kids)

In doctor suess books I often just write an "s"  
in front of "he" since the chracters are all weird
creatures, this is especially easy in "one fish, two fish".

You're right though there aren't very many books for the under
two set with any girls.
liz

-------------------

Date: Sat, 29 Mar 1997 09:56:36 -0800
From: John

On books with female protagonists for young children, I don't think anyone
has mentioned Russell Hoban's "Francis" books (Best Friends for Francis, A
Birthday for Francis, Bread and Jam for Francis . . .).  They're charming.
Francis handles all sorts of common childhood challenges in believable but
amusing ways, often breaking into little extemporaneous songs, like this one
on poached eggs:

        I do not like the way you slide.
        I do not like your soft inside.
        I do not like you lots of ways
        And I could live for many days
        Without eggs.

I personally enjoy the contrast these books provide to Hoban's books for
grownups (e.g. "Riddley Walker" and "Pilgermann"), which are as dark and
strange as the Francis books are sweet and light.




----------------

Date: Mon, 31 Mar 1997 08:51:17 -0800


We really enjoy the work of Kevin Henkes--he has a number of books with
"strong leading women."  My 3 yr old son's favorite is "Sheila Rae the
Brave," and there's another one I'm fond of about a mouse named Lily (I'm
blanking on the title).  Sheila Rae is about a mouse (as many of Henkes'
books are) and her  little sister who teach each other about fear and    
independence.   It's a real charmer!  [We actually got the book with the
CD-Rom interactive version that includes some really delightful songs.]

Natasha


Date: Tue, 1 Apr 1997 12:47:19 -0800
From: Gregory
Subject: Books with girl characters

I also highly recommend Kevin Henkes' books. My own favorite is the book I
believe Natasha was referring to:  "Julius, the baby of the world"--
it's hilarious. My 4-year-old daughter likes the "Angelina Ballerina" books by
Katharine Holabird. She also loves Mark Tolon Brown's "Arthur" books; even
though the title character is male, there are several prominent female
characters as well.

Greg
San Francisco Public Library


-------------

Date: Tue, 1 Apr 1997 16:34:17 -0800
Subject: female characters in children's books

Tomie de Paola (sp?) has two books which I like very much with strong women
characters:  Helga's Dowry, and Fin McCoul.  Both are about creative,
courageous women who overcome dire odds with miraculous plans and actions
entirely of their own doing.  The books are very short with great pictures.
I think they would appeal to a wide age range.  They're funny and definitely
cast women in a positive light.

Linnea







Home   |   
Reviews   |   
Advice   |  
Members   |   
Post a Message




Join BPN   |  
Help   |   
What's New   |  
Search   |  
Contact Us



Last updated: Apr  1, 2004




Copyright © 1996-2008 Berkeley Parents Network





The opinions and statements expressed on this website 
are those of parents who subscribe to the
Berkeley Parents Network. Please see
Disclaimer & Usage for
information about using content on this website.