Non-sexist children's books

It can be difficult to find non-sexist books for young children. Picture books primarily have male characters. Books for older children often show girls as having stereotypical and negative qualities; for example, there might be a group of boys and girls as protagonists, but the female characters make mistakes, scream or cry in fright, require a lot of rescuing. This list is an attempt to set out some books that avoid common problems of sexist narrative.

We assume here that we would like to counteract sexist assumptions and training in boys as well as girls. For example, if boys only read books with male protagonists, while girls read books with male or female protagonists, this can be problematic.

Here are some suggested ways to categorize the books.

• "Strong female protagonist" means the book's major character is female and is active and effective, while the book doesn't have a lot of sexist stereotypes. Femminess should not indicate lack of being a strong character though it can delve into the stereotypical.

• "Mixed gender" means there are male and female characters, and there is at least one strong female character. Please make a note if there are also stereotypical and annoying female characters.

• "Male only" means a book with male only characters that is not overtly sexist. Now, especially in picture books, there are many, many books with only male characters. Let's try to list only the best, the most notable. Because, for boys or girls, a steady diet of books where the protagonist is male, teaches that in stories, only boys are important, and that the "default" character or hero is male. However, we would not want to miss out on, for example, Good Dog Carl just because the baby's gender is indeterminate and Carl is male.

Picture books

Strong female protagonists

• Stellaluna
• Olivia series
• The Handy Girls Can Fix It by Mary Shwartz
• Megan's Dollhouse

Mixed gender, strong female character

• Father Gander's Nursery Rhymes

Male only or primarily, or neutral gender, but not overtly sexist

• Harold and the Purple Crayon
• Good Dog Carl
• A Color of His Own, Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse by Leo Lionni (Often, good picture books with all male cast.)
• Polkabats and Octopus Slacks
• Pickles the Fire Cat Pickles is male. Mrs. Goodkind is a strong character.
• The Horse in Harry's Room and other Syd Hoff books.
• Rabbit and Hare Divide an Apple

Recommended but uncategorized

• Kay E. Vandergrift's list, "Picture books with female voices", [1]
• Princess Smartypants by Babette Cole
• Spacegirl Pukes by Katy Watson
• Don't Bet On The Prince by Jack Zipes
• The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch
• The Princess Knight
• Angela's Airplane by Robert Munsch
• Eloise books? unsure

Early chapter books

Strong female protagonists

• Franny K. Stein
• Magic Schoolbus
• Magic Treehouse

Mixed gender, strong female character

• Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin

Children's comic books

Strong female protagonists

• Sardine
• Akiko
• Babymouse
• Polly and the Pirates

Mixed gender, strong female character

• Bone
• PS 238

Chapter books

Strong female protagonists

• Secret of the Three Treasures, Janni Lee Simner (& others)

Mixed gender, strong female character

• Magic Schoolbus (Cast of children, main point of view switches)
• Magic Treehouse (Annie and Jack)

Novels

Strong female protagonists

• Zahrah the Windseeker and The Shadow Speaker
• Stormwitch by Susan Vaught
• Tamora Pierce's Tortall books. (List them later)
• Lots of Andre Norton books (the Magic series, and the SF/F)
• Harriet the Spy & The Long Secret by Louise Fitzhugh.
• Patricia Wrede's Enchanted Forest series. (This may need to go in the "problematic" section)
• The Girl With the Silver Eyes
• Many Antonia Forest books. Autumn Term, etc.
• House of Thirty Cats
• Valiant, Holly Black

Mixed gender, strong female character

• Tamora Pierce's Circle of Magic series has two books with male protagonists. Maybe a good introduction for upper elementary/middle school boys to her writing.
• some of the Antonia Forest books
• The Katy John books

Magazines

• Babybug (board books)
• Ladybug (preschool)
• Spider (early elementary)
• Cricket (older kids)
• New Moon
• Muse
• Ask

Books requiring explanation

A category for problematic books that we might love and want to read to our children but which have sexist elements that should be explained. This category might be split off into a new page.

Younger readers

• Pippi Longstocking. Obviously, strong female character. But, consider Annika.

Novels

• Most of the works of E. Nesbit. While they have wonderful groups of boys and girls working together, male (and female) characters frequently comment that "girls are like that" or "girls can't do that". Events often disprove their statements but the characters' sexism remains unexamined. Same for Edward Eager, Enid Blyton.

• Ditto for Beverly Cleary. While Ramona and Beezus are strong characters, they routinely encounter sexist attitudes from Henry Huggins, that are not contradicted.

• Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Male protagonist, wonderful book, many gender divisions, Almanzo often pointing out that his sister Alice can't do X, Y, or Z because she is a girl; however, she often contradicts him or shows her own strengths in areas he knows nothing about.

• All the Little House books.
• Little Women
• Anne of Green Gables

• Cornelia Funke's pirate books (get titles) Strong female protagonist, dead mother raised by father/brothers. (this is a pervasive pattern, dead/sacrificing mother)

Comic books

This article is a SEED, meaning it is tiny and needs lots of work. Help it grow.

Reference

• Non-sexist children's books, Feminist Wiki.