Smart. Confident. Courageous. Unique. In one word, Badass. Such are the female characters of the books my daughter loves to read.
My daughter and I were going to the library since she was 3 years old (she is now 10). We go almost every week. We read a lot together. Heck, we wrote a book together. And throughout the years we created our own mini-library of the books we love.
A lot of my parent friends asked me to send them the list of our favorites. Several of them expressed concern that their little girls are “too much into princesses” and they wanted them to discover that there are other ways to be cool beyond “pink dresses and pretty castles.” And every time, I sent them the same book list, the list of our favorite children’s books with kick-ass female characters in the lead.
And now I am sharing it with all of you.
A QUICK NOTE. One thing I have noticed is this: some of the children’s books in the market may have a great message, but they are not written for kids. Their messages are hard to understand, they are convoluted. Adults may understand those messages, but kids remain perplexed by them. The list below is a highly curated list of books that really resonate with kids. Those are the ones they want to read over and over, even when they reach the “grown-up” age of 10. 🙂
These are the books I can guarantee your child will truly enjoy.
1/ Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell
Our all-time-favorite book about the importance of being yourself. Molly Lou Melon is super cute, very lovable, and crazy fearless.
2/ The Worst Princess by Anna Kemp
This one is hilarious! It’s one of our favorites! The book description on the back says it best: “the traditional princess fairy tale gets turned on its royal head, proving that the worst princesses can have the most fun!” And boy, does she ever!
3/ I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont
The little girl lists everything she loves about herself. It’s a great rhyme that is easy to read, combined with fun illustrations.
4/ You Think It’s Easy Being the Tooth Fairy? by Sherri Bell-Rehwoldt
Get ready for a spunky redhead who loves what she does and does it brilliantly. And has a ton of fun in the process. Nuff said!
5/ Not All Princesses Dress In Pink by Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple
A lovely book that shows that princesses come in all shapes and sizes.
6/ The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch
This princess doesn’t need a prince to save her. In fact, she will be the one doing the saving, thank you very much!
7/ Princess Smartypants and Princess Smartypants Breaks the Rules! by Babette Cole
Princess Smartypants is no one’s fool. She writes her own rules and has fun in the process. Princess Smartypants Breaks the Rules! is our favorite of the two books.
8/ Odd Velvet by Mary E. Whitcomb
This is the book for everyone who feels different. Being odd may not be such a bad thing after all…
9/ Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio
When Grace discovers there are no female presidents, she decides to change that. By the time she is done, no one will be laughing at her proclamation of wanting to be a president!
10/ Violet the Pilot by Steve Breen
We love Violet Van Winkle, a girl inventor with a flair for the air!
11/ Interstellar Cinderella by Deborah Underwood
A great modern twist on the Cinderella story. Except this Cinderella can fix any fancy rocket!
12/ The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes by Mark Pett and Gary Rubinstein
The book about the pressure of being perfect and fun of being perfectly imperfect.
13/ The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires
About being inventive, the power of perspective, and the importance of not giving up.
14/ Daisy-Head Mayzie by Dr. Seuss
This book is about Mayzie – the girl who sprouted a daisy, about love and acceptance.
15/ Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots? By Carmela LaVigna Coyle
There is a whole series of “Do Princesses…” books. This one is our favorite, but we do have others.
16/ Bullies Never Win by Margery Cuyler
One of our favorite books on how to handle bullies.
17/ The Dot by Peter Reynolds
This is the book about starting small to create something magnificent.
18/ Sam and the Seven-Pound Perch by Paul Hoffman
Ok, so this book’s main character is a boy. But my daughter doesn’t love it any less. A cute rhyme, this book teaches many lessons, perseverance and creativity among them.
19/ What Do You Do With An Idea? by Kobi Yamada
This book is for kids and adults alike. It makes you think, it makes you create, it makes you use your imagination in many ways!
20/ Amber and Sapphire: The Magic Spell by Ekaterina Walter and Taya Walter
And, of course, there is the book my daughter and I wrote together. This is a story of two very different twin sisters who went on a journey of discovering themselves and their sisterhood. Here’s our own journey of writing the book. We hope you enjoy it.
These NEXT 5 BOOKS are broken into a lot of stories. These are the ones my daughter and I read before bed. We choose a story or two of an infamous female in history, we read it, and then we discuss it.
21/ Girls Think of Everything by Catherin Thimmesh
Stories of Ingenious inventions by women.
22/ Bad Girls Throughout History by Ann Shen
100 Remarkable Women Who Changed the World.
23/ Rad Women Worldwide by Kate Schatz
Artists and athletes, pirates and punks, and other revolutionaries who shaped history.
24/ Rad American Women A-Z by Kate Schatz
Rebels, trailblazers and visionaries who shaped our history… and our future.
25/ Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls
The book is packed with 100 bedtime stories about the life of 100 extraordinary women from the past and the present, illustrated by 60 female artists from all over the world.
We hope you found our suggestions useful and would love to hear what amazing books we missed and should add to our list of “favorites.”
Ekaterina and Taya
cover image courtesy of Aaron Burden @aaronburden