I love books almost as much as I love to travel

As much as I love to travel and dream of wandering the world with no possessions that will never happen as I LOVE books far too much. Whilst I might be able to travel with one small rucksack, I actually have a HUGE collection of boxes and crates of books gathering dust in various attics.

Setting up the World For a Girl website was a fantastic excuse for me to buy some of the awesome new feminist books for children that are taking over the publishing world at the moment.

I totally adore each of these books that I’ve reviewed. At this very moment, my whole library is packed up and being shipped to the other side of the world and reminiscing about my favourite feminist books for children has really made me smile!

Feminist books for children

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The publishing world is currently producing so many gorgeous, engaging and educational feminist books for children about amazing women and their impact on the world. Whilst this latest publishing craze is excellent for feminists who love reading (like me) I hope that, in the long-term, these feminist books will be a means to an end. Like most mums, I dream that very soon books featuring solely the successes of one gender won’t be needed as gender inequality will be confined to history books. Until that day, I hope that young children will learn from and be inspired by these types of feminist books and they will play a small part in rebalancing gender roles and assumptions.

All of the fantastic feminist books for children reviewed below feature incredible women from all around the world. They are the perfect resource to check when you’ve booked a holiday.

TOP TIP: Use these books to help your children discover an amazing woman who hails from your next travel destination.

Here are my top recommendations for feminist books for children that will inspire girls and boys of all ages.

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli

This publishing sensation is a truly inspirational book. Not only are the illustrations (by 60 different female artists) captivating, but having a full-page image of each lady really engages even the youngest readers or listeners. The book is a gorgeous hardback and I love displaying it on my daughter Zizi’s bookshelf. It’s too gorgeous to hide away (and the shelf is high so it protects it from her grubby little hands!).

This feminist book for children is perfectly designed to contain 100 short and concise biographies of women who have made a social impact round the world. I truly believe that travel helps raise young feminists and this book includes stories of intrepid explorers and brave adventurers. The text is clear and easy to read, although perhaps lacks some more descriptive language (or maybe that’s just the school teacher in me).

Like many readers, I have always had a gripe that the title is ‘Good Night Stories for Rebel GIRLS’ as it seems to apply that this feminist book for children is only for girls, when boys too will learn from and be inspired by the stories of the fabulous women. These heroic tales of strong women are a fantastic antidote to outdated fairy tales.

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls 2 has recently been released. I am very excited.  It’s on my wishlist already and as soon as I have a fixed postal address I will purchase a copy for us.

Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World by Kate Pankhurst

As a primary school teacher, it’s a great Key Stage 1 appropriate book and covers Mary Seacole – a primary school favourite. All the women get a colourful and fact-filled double-page spread to celebrate their awesome achievements. Unlike most of the new feminist books for children being published, it is available in paperwork making it more affordable (and a more tempting) book for young children.

There is also an accompanying activity book launched by the author, Kate Pankhurst (who is distantly related to Emmeline Pankhurst, the suffragette). My children are a little young for the activity book (please comment below if you’ve tried it).

Fantastically Great Women Who Made History by Kate Pankhurst

I currently have a copy of Fantastically Great Women Who Made History, the latest in this series of feminist books for children, being shipped to our new apartment in Malaysia. I will feedback to you in a few months (yes, shipping takes that long!) and let you know if the kids enjoy it as much as the first.

100 Women Who Made History: Remarkable women who shaped our world by DK

100 Women Who Made History by Dorling Kindersley (DK) book is a little bit old school in that it features photographs and fact-boxes. It reminds me of all those DK reference books in my school library but, you know what, if it’s not broke don’t fix it.

As nearly all the other feminist books for children I’ve reviewed contain illustrations (artistic or more realistic) it’s really refreshing to buy a book that uses photographs where it can. For me, photographs really bring the women featured to life. They become more than just pictures, they become real people.

Again, this is a gorgeous hardback book; it is neatly divided up into sections so that children can read about what they are interested in by category, rather than by person. My favourite section is “Amazing Achievers” which features female explorers, including a double-page spread on Japanese mountaineer Junko Tabei and great female aviators.

What this feminist book for children lacks in ‘hipster’ presentation, it really makes up for in strong facts, interesting details and the number of women (and men) referenced. I really like the way that some men are featured in context to the women’s achievements. Not only does it set a more inclusive tone but also it shows how women and men’s accomplishments complement and inspire each other.

Feminism is about working together for equality, not one gender being portrayed as better than the other. My 4-year-old son is really drawn to this book. I think it might be his favourite in our whole little ‘feminist library’ and that is probably down to the great use of photography alongside the illustrations.

Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World by Rachel Ignotofsky

Another fantastic, attractive hardback feminist book for children that has spawned a series. Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World is a great book for inspiring girls into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) professions. The illustrations in this book are a little more quirky than in some of the previously mentioned books and the subject matter (covering scientific discoveries and inventions) is a little more complex. This is definitely more of a Key Stage 2 book (7-11 years-old). That said, I have seen it used in a Year 2 (6 years-olds) classroom in a very effective way.

It is a very educational book even for adults like myself who don’t know (or can’t remember!) too much about science. Although we own a copy, the children haven’t really shown any interest in it yet (my eldest is only 4) but older children really will really enjoy this book.

Another feminist book for children in the series by Rachel Ignotofsky is Women in Sport: Fifty Fearless Athletes Who Played to Win. My children aren’t yet ready for this particular title but, if you’ve read it, let us know if you enjoyed it by dropping a note in the comments below.

Rad Women Worldwide by Kate Schatz

I bought this fantastic New York Times bestseller book last summer and sadly it seems to have got completely outshone by Goodnight Stories by Rebel Girls (in the UK at least). That is a huge shame. Whilst I really like the Goodnight Stories books, in my opinion, Rad Women Worldwide does it even better.

It’s a beautiful hardback book (aren’t they all?!) with the enticing tagline ‘Artists and Athletes, Pirates and Punks, and other Revolutionaries who shaped history’ – that alone got me hooked. The book is simply illustrated using a series of black stencil-type images that I find really appealing. Using language such as ‘rad/revolutionary’ and the striking images, the book is obviously aimed at older children/teenagers and some of the amazing women featured do overlap with the Goodnight Stories series but in my opinion, have a slightly more mature edge overall.

The feminist book for children also includes a few more edgy and controversial contemporary figures such as Poly Styrene (a punk singer) and The Guerilla Girls who are feminist activist artists. As my children are young, the style of the book doesn’t yet appeal to them and I’d probably recommend it for 11 years and older. It doesn’t actually contain anything x-rated, it’s just more the language and style will appeal to older children.

I especially like the chapter at the end of the book to ‘The Stateless’ – it highlights the huge number of displaced women around the world. This is a really powerful observation and definitely one to talk to young adults about. So many amazing women (and men) miss the opportunity to excel because they are refugees, asylum seekers or stateless citizens. A brilliant, thought-provoking feminist book for children!

Little People, Big Dreams books

Of course, I couldn’t really write a post about feminist books for children in 2018 and not feature the publishing phenomenon that is the Little People, Big Dreams series which are written by a group of authors. These charming, hardback books are aimed at young readers – both H and Zizi adore these books. The appealing illustrations are simple, colourful and fresh and the books are beautifully presented (strange as they are aimed at pre-schoolers with messy hands!).

Each gorgeous book in the ever-expanding series is dedicated to one inspirational woman from very different backgrounds. The text is simple, good for beginner readers and the chronological life stories are easy to follow. The simplicity means that these are the perfect books to encourage small children to dream BIG. Use the book as a great starting point to talk to children about their dreams and aspirations.

My 2-year-old daughter Zizi loves these books but my 4-year-old son H finds the simple cartoon-like images a bit dull. We own Maya Angelou and Amelie Earhart which is probably enough as we also own all the other feminist books for children about amazing women reviewed above.

Expanding my library of feminist books for children

As you can tell I’m always adding to my children’s feminist library and I can’t wait to publish some more reviews of my next purchases of feminist books for children. I’m quite tempted by the Little People, Big Dreams books on Jane Goodall and Simone Beauvoir books… Someone might be getting them in their stocking this Christmas! But right now, we’re just waiting for our shipping to arrive!

All the opinions in this post are entirely my own based on my personal review of feminist books for children that I own and have read. Cover photo provided by Annie Spratt via Unsplash.

Comments welcome! Which are your favourite feminist books for children?

Welcome to the World For A Girl community. Have you read many of these feminist books for children? Which are your favourites? Which outstanding feminist books for children have I missed? Feel free to comment below as I’d like to learn even more about feminist books for children to add to my own library.