Can you recommend books for 3 year old girl with female lead?

[Zippyette]

I want to buy some books for DD for Xmas where lead character is female and a good role model/adventurous/not a princess. Any suggestions?

Meg and Mog?
The gruffalos child? Zog?

I just bought this for a 4 yr old, slightly wordy for 3 but great fun and good message:

How the Library (Not the Prince) Saved Rapunzel

The Paper Bag Princess
Dangerously Ever After
The Most Marvellous Thing

I second The Night Pirates.

Once There Were Giants by Martin Waddell

vestand do you only read stories at bedtime then? We read books any time and it's important for girls at any age to project themselves into stories, no need for male main characters all the time. At three a child will have been hearing the books you list for a year! Why not broaden their horizons.

My 3 yo DD is loving having the famous five and secret seven books read to her, both books have girl characters who go on all the adventures. She's also enjoyed Matilda. I have Dick King-Smith 's Sheep Pig to give her for Christmas, so I'm off to look up Sophie's snail.

I'm always on the look out for these - non-princess-related female lead books! DD is almost 3 and likes:

Katie Morag
James Mayhew's Katie books
Helen Stephens, How to Hide a Lion and How to Hide a Lion from Grandma
Meg and Mog
Witchety Sticks
Tiger Who Came to Tea
Emily Gravett, Matilda's Cat and Monkey and Me (a bit young for 3 though)
Rebecca Cobb, Lunchtime
Shirley Hughes' series of rhyme books with a girl toddler and her brother
Catherine Rayner, Abigail
Mrs Pepperpot
Polly Dunbar, Tilly books
Millie's Marvellous Hat

Books from children's TV series with a female lead - Charlie and Lola, Sarah and Duck

When DD's a little bit older I'll start with Milly Molly Mandy, My Naughty Little Sister and Olga da Polga.

It's definitely the case that most children's picture books have male leads - I love the illustrations to eg. Oliver Jeffers books but there are almost no female characters! (heart & the bottle excepted but that's not exactly cheerful for a 3 yo). Most books for that age follow the "boy and his favourite animal/soft toy/adventure/problem" format. Nothing wrong with that if there were plenty of other options out there, but it not only gets a bit samey but teaches girls that the default narrative is the male adventure narrative. I don't particularly like even those books which have quirky princesses as that still tends to reinforce the sense that the princess narrative is the dominant one for girls.

Try finding books where non-white children are the main leads though - even worse! :/

Yes to Katie Morag big hit with DD
And also recommend Ladybug girl books

If I Had A Velociraptor by George O'Connor

It's funny and sweet, featuring a girl who loves dinos - especially her cat-like raptor.

Emily Brown and the thing
The bog baby
Aunt Amelia
The Night Pirates
Dogs don't do ballet.

All fantastic.

Emily Rodda - fairy Rhelm series is excellent and you could read to a 3 year old and she'd be mesmerized

Not quite what you're asking for, but you might also like Ella's Big Chance by Shirley Hughes.

It's a reworking of Cinderella, who ends up rejecting the prince and running off to start her own dress-making business with her best friend Buttons.

Amazing Grace.

Winnie the Witch is fab

Try the wonderful musical audiobook 'Adventures in Mu Mu Land'. (Mums Net Best Award) It has two female protagonists / heroines Honey and Pickle. They are positive, dynamic role-models who prove that girls can go on adventures too! There are 3 stories in this hour long audiobook and lots of great, catchy original songs that children love. In their adventures in a magical land, there’s always a problem to solve or someone for the girls to save in the nick of time. Perfect for 3 to 7 years.

Here's a link to the 'Mums Net Best Awards Chart' – No 1 - for more reviews of the Adventures in Mu Mu Land musical audiobook.

www.mumsnet.com/reviews/books/books-for-5-8-year-olds

Another vote for The Worst Princess, my boys loved it when we got it from the library & I'm planning to get it for my niece for Christmas.

I got the Adventures in MuMu land audio stories too- really worth a listen!

Also try and get a copy of Pearl Power. It's a bit 'on the nose' with the feminism but really excellent when we were trying to tell her pink isn't for girls and blue isn't for boys...

I found this list, and thought back to this thread.

www.mommytracked.com/bookshelf/amazon

HTH

You might like the Hatpeople's Captain Nell, hunting down Jolly Roger and his pirates in search of Treasure Island - we also have other suggestions on our blog, www.hatpeopleofhatland.com

Monkey and Me
The Night Pirates

I also came on to recommend A Mighty Girl. They have some excellent recommendations.

I love this thread, thank you. It drives me nuts how difficult it is to find a female lead or equal numbers of female characters. Particularly 'neutral' animal characters always seem to be male eg. In Dear Zoo. For things like that I always alternate the sexes, but once dd learns to read it will be less straightforward!

I met a woman the other day who had written a set of Mr Ben style books where a girl dresses in costumes and experiences different jobs: Tara Binns I think.