Remember when books for girls featured princesses tucked away in castles waiting to be rescued by a handsome prince?
While we still love a good princess, these days there are princesses who can stand up for themselves, become scientists, start their own business, or pretty much do whatever they want. And the pink dress and tiara are totally optional.
We think that’s a great thing! We want to show our kids, both girls AND boys, that they have so many amazing options.
These feminist books for kids with strong female characters illustrate how if you dream big and work hard…the sky’s the limit!
Each of these stories offers kids powerful female role models they can look up to.
We hope that whether you label yourself a “feminist” or not, you’ll read through this list to find important books about women and girls to read to your sons and daughters.
Here’s our list of brilliant feminist books for kids!
14 Great Feminist Books For Kids
1. This Little Explorer
Author: Joan Holub
Age: 3-5 Years Old
In This Little Explorer, your kids will learn all about the most influential explorers who searched the world far and wide. It’s an engaging and colorful board book perfect for pioneers-in-training!
We think it’s awesome to hear of the extraordinary feats of pretty normal people, astronauts, pioneers, archeologists, etc.. The message of this story is definitely “dream big”.
2. Katy and the Big Snow
Author: Virginia Lee Burton
Age: 4-7 Years Old
Why do cars and trucks in stories always have to be male?
In Katy And The Big Snow, Katy is a brave and untiring tractor, who pushes a bulldozer in the summer and a snowplow in the winter, making it possible for the townspeople to do their jobs. In other words, Katy is a female tractor that gets the job done!
And she does it without complaining or needing to be saved by a male character. A fun story for kids.
3. Amazing Babes
Author: Eliza Sarlos
Age: All Ages
Amazing Babes is definitely a splurge, it’s more of a coffee table piece than a standard children’s book, but it is truly unique and inspiring!
The book celebrates inspirational women from around the world and across generations. There are some great female role models in here.
What we loved is that it introduced us to some pretty cool women we’d never heard of.
You can read the main section of the book pretty quickly, if you’ve got a younger child. And then there are more detailed biographies of each character in the back for older kids. A truly inspirational book.
4. Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls 2
Author: Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo
Age: 5-10 Years Old
Good Night Stories For Rebel Girls 2 features 100 more bedtime stories inspired by the lives and adventures of extraordinary women, from Nefertiti to Beyonce.
The book transforms each biography into a fairy tale, filling listeners with wonder and with a curiosity to know more about each hero.
This book inspires young girls (and their mothers, aunts, etc.) to be confident, to dream big, to cultivate their strength.
Also In Beenke: Amazing Books That Teach Kindness To Children
5. Dear Girl
Author: Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Age: 4-8 Years Old
Dear Girl offers wisdom for daughters about coloring outside the lines, keeping your hand raised and asking questions. This book is a remarkable love letter for the special girl in your life.
Dear Girl encourages girls to always be themselves and to love who they are, inside and out.
Related: Best Children’s Books About Special Needs
6. I Dissent
Author: Debbie Levy and Elizabeth Baddeley
Age: 4-8 Years Old
I Dissent is the illustrated story of Ruth Bader Ginsburg that takes readers from her childhood to the Supreme Court, emphasizing all the ways she stood up for herself and others along the way.
A powerful role model, and one of our favorite feminist books for kids.
7. Malala’s Magic Pencil
Author: Malala Yousafzai
Age: 5-8 Years Old
Malala’s Magic Pencil is Nobel-Prize winner Malala’s first picture book and it will inspire young readers to find the magic all around them.
As a child, Malala made a wish for a magic pencil. She would use it to draw new make everyone happy, erase things she didn’t like, to sleep an extra hour in the morning.
But as she grew older, Malala saw that there were more important things to wish for. And even if she never found a magic pencil, Malala realized that she could still work hard every day to make her wishes come true.
8. A Picture Book Of Amelia Earheart
Author: David A. Adler
Age: 6-9 Years Old
A Picture Book Of Amelia Earheart does a great job of painting the picture how women were treated in the early 20th century.
Amelia’s whole life is covered, and the book even touches on the conspiracy theories about her death.
We love how much of Amelia’s independent spirit comes through in the quotes the author shares.
9. Madeline
Author: Ludwig Bemelmans
Age: 3-7 Years Old
Madeline is a classic and I’ll admit, it was one of my childhood favorites. I literally read this book hundreds of times.
I wanted to be just like the main character Madeline, because she wasn’t afraid of anything.
She’s actually proud of her scars, and shows them off! One of the great classic feminist books for kids that gets passed down from generation to generation.
10. The Story Of Ruby Bridges
Author: Robert Coles
Age: 4-8 Years Old
Ruby Bridges is both the story of a strong girl and the civil rights movement. Kids can relate to our heroine who showed incredible bravery at the age of six.
This book does a wonderful job at telling the true story of how Ruby was the first African-American child to enroll in a previously all-white elementary school. This is a great book to help introduce children to a difficult part of American history.
11. Grace For President
Author: Kelly DiPuchhio
Age: 5-9 Years Old
When it comes to feminist books for kids, Grace For President is a winner. Right on the first page our heroine Grace exclaims “Where are the girls?” when her teacher hangs a poster of all the presidents.
Grace decides to run for president in the mock election at her grade at school to show that a female president can happen!
This book does a good job of explaining the sometimes confusing American election system and Electoral College for kids. It’s both a feminist book and political lesson wrapped into one.
12. Ada Twist, Scientist
Author: Andrea Beaty
Age: 5-7 Years Old
Ada Twist has a big imagination and has always been hopelessly curious.
Why are there pointy things stuck to a rose? Why are there hairs growing inside your nose? Not afraid of failure, Ada embarks on a fact-finding mission and conducts scientific experiments to discover the answers.
Ada Twist, Scientist champions girl power and women scientists, and brings welcome diversity to picture books about girls in science. This book touches on themes of never giving up and problem solving.
13. She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World
Author: Chelsea Clinton
Age: 4-8 Years Old
In She Persisted, a brief but elegant introduction to 13 women who “persisted”, such as Harriet Tubman, Nellie Bly, and Sonia Sotomayor, young readers are shown the many ways that women have refused to take no for an answer.
Instead, they rigorously pursued lofty and inspiring goals for the betterment of themselves and others. A great read for girls and boys to teach them the impact women have had on history.
14. Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist
Author: Jess Keating
Age: 4-8 Years Old
Eugenie Clark, the Shark Lady, fell in love with sharks from the first moment she saw them at the aquarium. But Eugenie quickly discovered that many people believed sharks to be scary, and they didn’t think women should be scientists.
This true story shows kids how believing in yourself and having perseverance can pay off.
Through her accomplishments, Eugenie taught the world that sharks should be admired, not feared, and that women can do anything they set their minds to.
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