Thursday, 31 January 2013
"There are no strong female leads in children's books" apparently (except a couple of billion...)
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| Elastogirl (sigh) how I love thee! |
Twitter was abuzz (well, a few of us were rolling our eyes at least) at a Jezebel article, bemoaning, amongst other things, the lack of strong female leads and role models in children's books. Here's the article in question and probably one of the first things you'll notice about it is the book (series) they're picking on.
"OH NO!" says Steven Vallas PhD, citing a paper by sociologist John Levi Martin"A book that is 45 years old (I know this, because it was published the year I was born!) doesn't have any female characters in strong job positions, all the women are home makers, all the best jobs are taken up by males!"
I've got some rather bad news for Steven Vallas and John Levi Martin. It's far worse than they think. For instance, let's take a look at Enid Blyton's "Noddy" series. Yes, it's an old book but where are the strong female leads - in fact why on earth isn't Noddy himself female? Would it not have had more of a positive impact if Big Ears was a kindly old spinster instead of a bearded gnome? Look at Rupert the Bear, boldly embarking on adventure after adventure asserting his maleness willy-nilly and offering no positive role model to all those little girls who still love him despite his extra bear-shaped Y-chromosome.
Excuse my sarcasm and eye-rolling of course those of us (you) who love children's books know what a lot of rot the article is speaking. Picking over the most-loved and most popular children's titles pre-dating and published in the period from when those lovely Scarry books first appeared, you can't move for strong female leads, positive role models and smart female characters. You know, the ones Mr Vallas and Mr Levi Martin are trying to convince you don't exist in children's books.
So let's pick a few out shall we, just for a giggle? Bring on the girls...
Rosie's Magic Horse by Quentin Blake
Hilda and the Midnight Giant by Luke Pearson
Twelve Minutes to Midnight by Christopher Edge
The Borrowers (suggested by Maxine Howells)
His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman
The Worst Princess by Anna Kemp and Sarah Ogilvie
Princess Smartypants by Babette Cole
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
Harry Potter by J.K Rowling (a metric ton of strong female characters, not least of all Hermione!)
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lundgren
Matilda by Roald Dahl
The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl
The Giant under the Snow by John Gordon
The Rescue Princess Series by Paula Harrison (suggested by Catherine Friess)
The Emily Brown Series by Cressida Cowell and Neal Layton (also suggested by Catherine Friess)
The Little Princess Series by Tony Ross
Winnie the Witch Series by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul
Meg and Mog Series by Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski
Whizz Pop Granny Stop and Hubble Bubble Granny Trouble by Tracey Corderoy and Joe Berger
Hello Hello by Matthew Cordell
Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen
Chloe by Peter McCarty
Red Knit Cap Girl by Naoko Stoop
Just Because and Sometimes by Rebecca Elliott
Kahu the Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera (suggested by KM Lockwood)
Millie the Detective and the Diamond Ring by Jacqueline Pye
Witch Child by Celia Rees (suggested by Sally Poyton)
Some cracking suggestions over at The Nerdy Book Club Blog
Any more for any more? Drop a comment below, thanks!
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