32 Pages of ‘Girl Power’

Disclaimer: I have checked out plenty of Disney princess books in my day.

As an educator and an educated father, I am not always excited to read those books with my daughters, but I am always excited to read with them. We recently moved our home library outside the girls’ room in the hallway, and the neatly organized shelves have made way for piles of books. In fact, on many nights, I feel like I am crossing rocks in a stream, or book mats, as they are strewn across the hallway floor like magic carpets.

“A study done by Richard Allington and Anne McGill-Franzen shows that students who don’t read over the summer lose two months of reading growth. This adds up and by middle school, a child who doesn’t read over the summer may be two years behind their classmates who do read during the summer.” While the love of reading, books and new worlds is extremely important, my 25 word PSA would tell anyone to remember to allow for time for free play, outdoor/nature exploration and general tomfoolery during the summer months.

That being said, I am adding to the list with a focus on “Girl Power” books (not a genre, yet) and A Mighty Girl website has a great list of “The Ultimate Guide to the Independent Princess“. Please take a moment and look over the following children’s books ripe with story lines of strong girls and women role models (I started with ten, but there are so many more).  If you have either a young daughter or a child interested in reading good books, I recommend any of these (I linked the books to Amazon so you can get a visual reference).

• The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch As the first book about ‘girl power’ I have ever read, and my first Robert Muncsh book, we have two copies at the house.  This is your basic princess has to save the world and the prince by defeating a dragon using her wit and wisdom while wearing a paper bag story….a Classic (a large relief of the front cover is on display outside our library).
• Clever Beatrice by Margaret Willey What happens when a very little girl makes a bet with a very LARGE giant? What does clever mean? What would you do to outsmart the giant? This book sparks a lot of questions, not only about bullies or being ‘small’, but many a youngster will end up asking about the giant as he loses all his worldly wealth. Clever Beatrice is one of many books that portray young girls that care for their parents and the world around them.
• Cinder Edna by Ellen Jackson I am not a fan of the poor rap that stepparents have in some of the traditional stories, though I do know almost all adults end up being the antagonists in children books. Cinderella and Cinder Edna, who live with cruel stepmothers and stepsisters, have different approaches to life; and, although each ends up with the prince of her dreams, one is a great deal happier than the other. The underlying message to readers, telling them that if you take the initiative to make better for yourself you will succeed, is indeed one you want your child to constantly hear. In the end, Cinder Edna, with the simple life, lives happily ever after.
• Running Shoes by Frederick Lipp At the end of reading this story, my girls always want to run up and down the hallway as fast as they can (so
  not to be read if you want a calm bedtime story). Running Shoes is one of those books that provokes so many questions during the read: Why does she have to run to school? Why are they counting the people in the village? What doesn’t she have a rollie backpack? While the answers might be explained differently in each family, the constant should be that you have the conversation.
• Sally Ann, Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett: A Tall Tale by Steven Kellogg The publisher writes, “On the day she is born this amazing baby proudly announces she can out-talk, out-grin, out-scream, out-swim, and out-run any baby in Kentucky. Within a few years Sally is off to the frontier, where she stuns a hungry grizzly bear, makes a lasso out of six rattlesnakes, and is more than a match for the mighty Mike Fink. And when Sally Ann rescues Davy Crockett from a pair of ferocious eagles, even her hornet’s-nest bonnet and skunk perfume don’t stop him from proposing marriage.” Kids love this tall tale, and it provides some food for thought for parents: how do you explain why Sally Ann has to marry Davy Crockett?
• Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell Grandma’s advice often reaches young girls quickly. Molly Lou Melon possesses huge insect-like eyes and other fun physical features; in fact, young readers may actually gasp when they get a good look at the fearless first-grader in the book’s double spread, extreme close-up portrait. But thanks to her grandmother, the protagonist possesses seemingly indomitable self-esteem but will it survive a move to a new school and a bully named Ronald Durkin? What keeps the storytelling fresh is Molly Lou Merlon’s full-speed-ahead determination.
• Wilma Unlimited by Kathleen Krull Before Wilma was five years old, polio had paralyzed her left leg. Everyone said she would never walk again. But Wilma refused to believe it. Not only would she walk again, she vowed, she’d run. And she did run–all the way to the Olympics, where she became the first American woman to earn three gold medals in a single olympiad. Nothing less than inspiring!
• Stephanie’s Ponytail by Robert Munsch “You don’t have a brain in your head” While her words are harsh, young Stephanie comes to the idea quickly that she is at a school of followers, and, with parents who model without a preachy word, Stephanie tries to teach her classmates a lesson. As simple read with predictable dialogue, any parent who has worked through a different hairstyle each morning will smile. The last illustration, without any words, is a classic.
• Odd Velvet by Mary Whitcomb This book reminds me of the Caldecott award winning book, Crow Boy, due to its message of different perspectives in a classroom and how those perspectives always make the student experience grander. Velvet never makes a statement about what you should do, but instead does it her way, and her friends slowly open up to different ideas.
• Ruby’s Wish by Shirin Yim Bridges Ruby is unlike most little girls in old China. Instead of aspiring to get married, Ruby is determined to attend university when she grows up, just like the boys in her family. At the end of the book, my girls love that the picture of the author’s grandmother is right there next to the illustrated version. I believe they are inspired and motivated as it is a true story (they will be able to choose to go to university, but they also know that they can choose any path they want).

Though I focused on stories with strong girl protagonists, there are so many books out there they are beautifully written and illustrated and tell an enjoyable and important message. Whether it is to read to your child, or to help them get to thousand or ten thousand pages or to check out the same book because “I don’t know why, but I like this one”, finding good books should always be on the top of the things to do list.

Just be careful not to step on the book mats!