Books with strong girl characters?

[Flojo99]

I'm trying to find inspiring books for my 2yo daughter. Very few seem to have strong female lead characters - it just seems to be princesses that don't really do anything practical. My son had Bob the Builder and Fireman Sam and loved them, and as well as them being brilliant stories I liked it that he was learning about things he could be when he grew up.

My daughter isn't that interested in princesses and shows a lot more interest in her brother's books. I'm happy to read them to her, but I don't want her to think it's only boys that have strong practical jobs - and I don't want her to think girls can't be at the centre of things.

Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations?

Olivia the pig is another great character.

Great thread OP.
willbe watching with interest.
A mighty girl is a great website, thanks for that...BUT...is there a UK equivilant?

Oh, just popped on to say the night pirates but beaten to it!

Harriet the Spy (when she's a bit older!)

Winnie the Witch books

You Choose (you make up your own story by choosing characters, props, locations, etc. Absolutely brilliant.)

Try Ella's Big Chance as a contrast to the usual Cinderella.

Bog baby is my 2.5 yr old favourite story. Two girls explore and find a bog baby in the woods. Their mum rocks too when it all goes a bit wrong.

Katy's Kit Car - brilliant book.

My mum used to change our stories so Stephen became Stephanie etc. depends on the pictures I suppose.

Pirate Girl
The Princess Knight

Judy Brown's PIRATE PRINCESS books. There are 4, Portia, Pancake, Pandora and Poppy (4 books).

I read them to my two DC (one boy one girl) and they loved them. So funny. And then when they were a bit older they read them to themselves (still do).

The Worst Princess is a brilliant picture book. My girls love Princess Sue.

Cinderella's Bum

She might like princesses better if she reads Princess Smartypants by Babette Cole. I used to love reading that book (still do actually
She's a princess who rides a motorbike, doesn't want to get married and turns a prince into a frog

Gruffalo's Child
Tiger Who Came to Tea
Tilly and Friends Series
Monkey and Me

...are all suitable right now. Also maybe:

Blue Kangaroo series (Emma Chichester Clark)

In a year or so try:

Katie Morag (whole series)

There's also A Squash and a Squeeze and Room on the Broom (but I do take exception to the fact that nearly all female characters in books are princesses, old ladies or witches. Or cats).

Still, we do enjoy these. Also Tony Ross's Little Princess series (in which the heroine is not at all princess-like).

Maisy (the little mouse) is decent too - gentle stories, nice bright illustrations. Not an absolute favourite, but useful in the mix.

Rosie's Walk (about a chicken) and Handa's Surprise are other classics.

This thread is a trip down memory lane... Harriet the spy, aurora, pippi, clever polly...all old faves.

Ones I have discovered with my dds:

Daisy books by kes gray are good.

The book that morethanpotatoprints mentions is called Flyaway Katie (by the same author as the Tilly and Friends series - we prefer Tilly and Friends though).

Hi all

Felt I needed to revisit this thread to report back on the Tara Binns book I mentioned earlier.

It arrived from Amazon - feels like it was written for me / my daughter! No princesses (what IS it with them and girls books? Even the good role models have to be bloody princesses? Why?). Anyway - not Tara - she's a kid who has a magic dress-up box that contains clothes that 'she wouldn't usually think of' - in the first book she becomes an airline pilot in charge of a jumbo jet (think Mr Ben - for those old enough to remember - but with a girl taking having all the adventures). The nicest thing is the book ends by telling all children that they can do 'amazing things' when they grow up. I love it and, more importantly, my DD does - it's all written in rhyme, really nice illustrations too. I think there are going to be more - there's one on Amazon where she tests crash test dummies (!?) - which I've pre-ordered.

Anyway - feeling pretty excited about finally finding a decent girls role model who isn't a princess, witch, mouse, cat, pig...etc! I'd definitely recommend.

Thanks for all the other suggestions - really great book suggestions but what this thread does also seem to prove it that there really aren't many books for little girls that really inspire them to achieve in a 'real world are there? Interesting...and a little saddening? Thoughts?

Amazing Grace.

That sounds a fab book, Flojo.

ooo there are lots of lovely ones you could delve into - they feature strong, lovely girls without resorting to stereotypes ...

This Book Just Ate My Dog

Florentine & Pig series

The Paper Dolls

and this GREAT anti-princess one Primrose

Have fun!

We like Emily brown too- this rabbit belongs to Emily brown is a favourite.
Dd is obsessed with Harry an the bucketful of dinosaurs series- is there a similar series with a girl character?

We also love Oliver Jeffers books but they all seem to have boy characters as the lead- are there any similar to his style?

Cressida Cowell's Emily Brown series is great for pre-schoolers (That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown, Emily Brown and the Thing, Emily Brown and the Elephant Emergency etc) - she's a brilliant little girl who plays with her toy rabbit and is always 'just exploring the Sahara Desert' or 'just scaling Mount Everest' when the doorbell rings. She's a real take-charge kid with a huge imagination, who has tons of adventures just playing in her home.

Charlie and Lola are reliably fab, and when she's a little older, the Clarice Bean books keep the same slightly off-kilter feel (my DD's getting into them now she's 4).

And I wouldn't totally discount princesses - despite our best hopes, a lot of our daughters will go through princess phases, so we'd better start teaching them now that they're not weak or passive. If we want them to know they can be anything they put their mind to, we need to let them work it out for themselves, even if we don't always agree...

@crikeyme - thanks for this, the Cressida Cowell books sound very interesting, will investigate.
Whilst I have no qualm with female characters in children's books being whimsical, imaginative, cute, pretty or whatever.... as many wonderful and strong girls are - my gripe is that these seem to be the only ways girls are represented in books. Lola is feisty and smart in 'Charlie & Lola' - but it always seems to be Charlie who's building a rocket, or playing football - Lola has a beautiful imagination, but again, is a 'whimsical' character.
Boys, or male characters, in books do things - they build, fight fires, do sport, are dads who go to work...('The Tiger Who Came to Tea' is a book from another time, and a classic, but I'd disagree that it represents girls/women as fit for anything more than making tea for a tiger - until dad gets back from work and saves the day by taking mum and daughter out for dinner!)
Where are the books that will inspire girls who want to build things, fly planes, achieve in traditionally 'male' skills?
I take your point about princesses - but my DD doesn't want to be one AT ALL (she says!) - which is just as well because she never will be because they are not real - I'm not sure yet what she wants to be but she's enjoying the new 'Tara Binns' book so maybe she'll be a pilot!
Sorry for the rant - I guess once you start to really think about something it suddenly seems to matter a great deal!