Books for pre-schoolers

[ISNT]

nspired by the fairytales thread!

Most of the books I come across for the DDs (1 and 3) have a male lead, or a non-gendered lead which by default of the English language is male IYSWIM.

Any recommendations of books/anthologies of stories with female leads who aren't pretty pretty fairies etc?

rofl Notanumber.

I have a few other books by the author of The Paper Bag Princess (can't remember name) which are also good.

I love your little plot summaries - think I will go through this thread with dd and see what she fancies

I'd recommend You Choose. It has almost no words, just lots of teeny tiny illustrations based around various themes e.g. where would you choose to live? what would you choose to wear? what job would you choose? which bed would you sleep in?

It's wonderful book for poring over with children, for starting conversations and taking it in turns to choose items, make up narratives etc.

I am watching this thread with great interest. DS is not even sitting up yet, but I'm determined he will have lots of books with great heroines, as well as all the classics that are boy-heavy and boy-focussed.

Ooh and put Pippi Longstocking on your shopping list for when they are a bit older.

Wow notanumber that's fantastic! Will be back later with my wallet...

Thanks you so much for all these recommendations

Players in Pigtails is a fab addressing of the stupid idea of "girls" sports and "boys" sports.

It tells the story of Katy Casey, one of the first recruits for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

It's American - so about baseball - but the message is obviously easily transferable to whatever sport your child is into.

Keep Climbing, Girls is, strictly speaking, poetry but has lots of lovely illustrations which make it great to read with littlies.

A Black American girl climbs a tall tree, while on the ground, a worried Miss Nettie worries and shouts and orders her to come back down. But as the poem has it, "The only way to make a bid / for a girl's equality / is to climb right up to the toppermost bough / of the very tallest tree."

I have a soft spot for the Olivia books and Olivia Saves the Circus is particularly ace.

Olivia is full of self confidence and belief in her own ability and this book shows her telling her class about a summer holiday visit to the circus and all the performers were sick, which meant that Olivia stepped in to do evrything, including taming the lions, stilt walking, juggling and clowning.

First Painter is rather lovely. It's all about a prehistoric girl who creates cave paintings to save her clan from starvation and drought by catching a spirit. The illustrations are fab.

Dd loves Katie Morag books. I find them a bit dull (and not a fan of the illustration) but nothing wrong with them really (and Grannie Island drives a big tractor).

Professor Puffendorf too.

I love Milly Molly Mandy for being girly AND being clever and having lots of adventures (ie the two aren't mutually exclusive). from what I can remember, it's pretty positive even given it's age.

I got Ella's Big Chance from Amazon and shed a tear at the ending as it is so lovely.

That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown is brilliant and so is Pirate Girl, my girls love them all.

And You Choose has just about fallen to bits...

Hahaha you have all been busy! I just put "pirate girl" into amazon and it suggested I buy it with the next two that notanumber recommended on this tread, in order!

My wish list is groaningly full...

Not a little girl, but Mrs Armitage is a great heroine (Mrs Armitage on Wheels, Mrs Armitage & the Big Wave, possibly others).

A little older (Milly Molly Mandy age) and I would add the Anna Hibiscus books by Atinuke, and also Arabel's Raven.

Princess Knight by Cornelia Funke is wonderful. Violetta would rather be a knight but her father holds a contest for her hand in marriage. She enters anonymously to win herself, then rides off into the sunset.

Alphie and Annie Rose is not bad.

In the first story entitled "Breakfast" , it's their dad whose downstairs when they wake up and he does their breakfast. There's no message or moral to this, which I thought was cool. He wipes up the milk they spill. We don't end up learning where mum is.
Also very P.C, featuring ethnic minorities. Very cute book.

RIght, I've just ordered:
Elena's Serenade
Rosie's Hat
That Rabbit belongs to Emily Brown

I've already got Meggie Moon, which DD loves. I change the words for her when the boys say they don't want her to play. I just pretend they say "yes, sure" because I don'T want to plant the idea in her head that it crosses boys' minds that girls might be inferior.... [Always gotta be one step ahead in this game ]

Am about to order Emily Brown for dd's nursery for when she leaves this term. Dd loves it, i love reading it. Great book.

Have been on a spending spree! Thanks everyone, you are fab

The illustrations are very 1970s but I like Helpers by Shirley Hughes because it features a male teenage babysitter doing housework AND childcare.

I love all the Dick King-Smith books list here and there are a whole series of books about Sophie who wants to be a farmer. I have read more of his animal books (and there are loads and he is an excellent writer), but these look great. Sophie is 4 in the first book I think, so the right kind of age for teeny ones to look up to I should think.