This is a list of books which have good role models and messages for girls. They’re in alphabetical order, and the ones marked with a * are available for loan (and we would love donations of the others!) in the Glasgow Women’s Library. The age ratings are really just a guide to show whether the books are for younger or older children and I’ve included a short summary of each. Happy reading!
1. Daughters of Time, Mary Hoffman*
Templar publishing, 2014. ISBN: 978-1848771697. (Age 8+)
An antidote to male-dominated history books, this is a compilation of short stories by different authors, about famous women throughout history.
2. Howl’s Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones*
Harper Collins Children’s books, 2009 ISBN: 978-0007299263. (Age 8+)
A gripping fantasy novel about Sophie, a young girl who is given the appearance of an elderly woman, and seeks out the help of the eccentric wizard Howl.
3. Inkheart, Cornelia Funke.*
Chicken House, 2011. ISBN: 978-1908435118 (Age 9+)
A story that celebrates reading and the value of books. Mo has the ability to read people and things out of books and into reality, which affects his daughter Meggie when he reads the villains out of a rare book called “Inkheart”.
4. The Librarian of Basra, Janette Winter
Harcourt Children’s Books, 2005. ISBN: 978-0152054458 (Age 5+)
A retelling of a true story. Alia Muhammad Baker is a librarian in Basra, Iraq. This tells of her struggle to save the priceless collection of books in her community during the war.
5. Mockingbird, Kathryn Erskine
Usborne Publishing, 2012. ISBN: 978-1409538585 (Age 9+)
This is a book about Caitlin, who has Asperger’s. Before Devon, her older brother was killed, she went to him for help when she struggled. When her father grieves too much to help her, she finds the word “Closure” and realises it is what she needs to change her black and white view of the world.
6. Olivia and the Fairy Princesses, Ian Falconer
Simon and Schuster Children’s books, 2013. ISBN: 978-1471117756 (age 3+)
Olivia is a pig who wants to be individual. She refuses to wear pink, like her friends, and says she’s having an “identity crisis”. This is a funny view on the way people want to be individual and special, but also contains good messages of being yourself, rather than following everyone else.
7. The Paper Bag Princess, Robert Munsch
Annick press, 1992. ISBN:978-0920236161. (Age 3+)
A twist on the “damsel in distress” fairy tale. Princess Elizabeth ends up rescuing the prince who she’s supposed to marry, and outsmarts the dragon who took him, who is displeased by her “un-princess-like” appearance.
8. Stargirl, Jerry Spinelli
Orchard Books, 2007. ISBN:978-1846165993 (Age 10+)
This is a book about being yourself, but it’s written from a more radical perspective than some others. Stargirl turns up at an ordinary American school, wearing bizarre clothes and carrying a ukulele with a pet rat on her shoulder. Her classmates cannot categorise her, but there is a particularly harsh scene where Stargirl is verbally attacked by her friends.
9. Utterly Me, Clarice Bean, Lauren Child*
Candlewick, 2005. ISBN: 978-0763627881 (Age 7+)
A humorous story about Clarice Bean, a girl who wants to be like Ruby Redfort, the heroine of her favourite novels. Clarice is a funny and chaotic but loveable character, and the series is great for inspiring children of this age group to read.
10. You forgot your skirt, Amelia Bloomer! Shana Corey and Chesley McLaren
Scholastic Press, 2000. ISBN: 978-0439078191. (Age 4+)
This is a book about Amelia Bloomer, an early women’s rights activist, who wore bloomers (baggy trousers with a short skirt over the top) as a stand against the oppressive clothes worn by women in the 19th century. It has beautiful illustrations and a message that girls should be themselves rather than be restricted by society.
