Sexism in children's books.

My DSs like Swallows and Amazon. I haven't read them, but am told not only there are strong female characters, but siblings are actually nice to each other. Unlike things like Tom Gates where chanting about your sister being a freak is a favourite pasttime.

I disagree about the Narnia books. Girls are strong enough but should be in the caring role. And in the end the elder girl (Susan, was it?) didn't get into Narnia because she became interested in lipsticks and boys or some such. A bit judgemental?

I read the first "The dark is rising" book by Susan Cooper. Again there is a strong female character, but again she is derided for being a girl by her brother.

Maybe I'm quite bothered by casual sexism between siblings.

My favourite book as a kid (and maybe my all-time fave still) is The Swish of the Curtain, by Pamela Brown. It is a bit old fashioned....it's about three girls and three boys working together to set up their own theatre company. The girls are GREAT - feisty, productive, hard working yet no doormats. I loved it so much I even did a talk on it as a kid at school to my class haha.

I know it is not at the same level but was looking at a fireman Sam book where you have to match the top of the face to the bottom. The words say something along the lines that fireman Sam is proud of his helmet and the female firefighter likes her lipstick. I was horrified and thrilled this book did not belong to us. There is no excuse that this is from a different era either.

Ha, Frog. Vile aren't they? I must throw away the diet one too. Dint even want to give it away really. It's currently hidden. Even in the one where they get a bedtime story, Laura complains that it's a 'boys' story'. We always censor it but I'd prefer not to read it at all.

The Large Family - God, yes.

The one I detest the most is the one where Mrs Large is ill and Mr Large 'kindly' tells her to go to bed, where she is routinely interrupted by the children and Mr Large making a hilarious hash of looking after themselves. And the baby keeps coming in a crying and asking for a' big huggy'.

How very dare she be ill.

I threw away the one where Mrs Large makes them go on a diet.

The other thing I would say with modern books is that is is extremely common for the main character to be a boy - admittedly with strong girl sidekick/s (Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, Charlie Bone, Skullduggery Pleasant, Eragon just off the top of my head - only immediate counter example is Lyra from the Northern Lights).

Its not explicit sexism in the same way, but I find it more insidious, very much 'yes girls, we know you can be twice as clever and twice as brave as the boys, but you still come second'. And it is absolutely conscious I'm sure - publishers and authors thinking that boys won't read books where the lead is a girl.

All the 'Large Family' books with the elephants in. Dad 'helps' a not with the kids. I particularly hate the one where mum goes on about being fat.

DD loves them...

Famous Five - either you have to pretend to be a boy (George) or you have to make the tea and be wet (Anne)

It's not just the era, either - Swallows & Amazons is a great counter example (thinking particularly of the horrid Great aunt trying to push Nancy & Peggy into her ideal of femininity and being thoroughly resisted all round), and the Narnia books have equally strong male & female characters.

EVERYTHING by Jaqueline Wilson - girls cope with care homes, girls cope with divorce, girls cope with bereavement, girls cope with odd parents, girls cope cope cope cope......and where are all the coping boys?? Oh off starring in adventure stories.....Grrrrr. So relieved teen daughter FINALLY through the Jaqueline Wilson phase and out the other side!

Great minds Caroline

Oh, I didn't refresh the page from earlier so didn't see the 2nd post! Glad someone else thinks so too!

When I first read The Tiger Who Came to Tea, I was like, you what? Nothing for Daddy's tea? When was this written? Oh, the sixties. Many readings later, I have come to think that maybe the mum just made up the story of the tiger who came to tea as an amusement for her daughter and also because she couldn't be arsed to go food shopping and get daddy's tea again and just wanted to have a cafe dinner.
Judith Kerr also wrote the series about Mog the cat, which is so subtly brilliant, so I don't think she chooses her plots without careful thought and a layer of meaning for adults.

Depends how you read it though. I always read it in my mind that the 'tiger' is Mummy and daughter's explanation for why they have been arsing around all day and there is no tea for anyone and "oh but there is nothing in the cupboard" is why they can't make anything now. It is a fairly old book, so some of the gender roles are a bit more understandable.

I have just finished reading a book called Night Waking by Sarah Moss. The narrator mutters some fairly funny feminist deconstructions of the children's books she is forced to read ad infinitum.