Strong female lead books

[Crispsnatcher]

Hi all,

I have 2 boys. I'd like to introduce them to books with strong female characters as opposed to male characters/superheroes etc. They are 7 and 4 years old.

Can anyone recommend any?

my son has enjoyed Journey to the River Sea and The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson.

Thank you, I will google these :)

The Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf books are great - I read them as a child, and my DD enjoyed them too. Other classics like Pippi Longstocking are also worth a look. Slightly more recently, DIck King-Smith's Sophie books are good if your boys like animals at all.

The Molly Moon series is worth checking out, and I would second Eva Ibbotson, though your DSs are more of an age for her younger books like Monster Mission or the Secret of Platform 13. And Sally Gardner's Magical Children series has lead characters of both sexes.

Thank you so much. I've been googling the suggestions. They all look great, I was intrigued by the dragonfly pool. I'll definitely be getting some new books soon. My children love watching the film Matilda, so I will buy the book too, I enjoyed it so much as a child. Thank you for your recommendations.

Joan Aiken's Black Hearts in Battersea series with the fabulous Dido Twite,
Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie series,
Beverly Cleary's Ramona series,
Dorothy Edwards' My Naughty Little Sister series
Barbara Sleigh's Carbonel, The Kingdom of Carbonel, Carbonel and Calidor,
Rosemary Manning's Green Smoke, Dragon in Danger,
Judith Kerr's When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit.
And yes to Sophie, Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf, and Pippi Longstocking.

Pippa Longstocking
Alice Miranda series
Tilly and the Time Machine
Sophie series by Dick King Smith
Evie and the Animals
Mrs Pepperpot stories
Magnificent Mabel
The Girl with the Lost Smile
Worst Witch
Clarice Bean
Charlotte’s Web
The White Giraffe series

Sophie and the Shadow Woods

For that age I recommend the Daisy series by Kes Grey and Ramona series by Beverly Cleary.
However I don't think you should dismiss books just because the 'main' character is male.
My daughter loved the My Brothers Bottom series by Jeremy Strong at that age - the narrator is a boy but so what? They're funny stories.
Read books because they are a good book.
(When I helped out at school I actually found that the boys were the ones struggling to find decent stories they could relate to - until they were old enough for Wimpy Kid/Tom Gates/Alex Rider)

All the above and the Tiffany Aching series by Terry Pratchett (followed by the witches series when he’s older), and Tamora Peirce, esp “The Song of the Lioness” and “Wild Magic” series.