Suggestions for toddler/preschool books without the usual mum/dad stereotypes

[lackingideas]

Can anyone recommend any good books that actually show dad doing some housework or childcare? I still can't believe how unbalanced all kids books are. I would expect lots of gender stereotyping from classic children's books but surely there should be more recent books to balance it out! For example about stay out home dads...

No books springing to mind yet, but Daddy Pig on the Peppa TV series often does housework, while Mummy Pig has important work to do on the computer.

Bob Graham's picture books tend to feature families like this.

Completely incidental to the plot, so it's not a big thing that dad's changing the baby's nappy or hoovering, just what normal families do.

There's a nice picture book called 'shopping with dad' by Matt Harvey which, as the title would suggest!, is about a hands on dad

And we've got another one called 'my Mum goes to work' but I can't remember who that's by

Have you looked on the website A Mighty Girl . Com - great site with lots of reading lists for strong female ees & more real families? It's an American site but you can find ideas & order.

Thanks for all the ideas! I'll have a look at those, should be useful for Christmas. The website looks like a worthwhile resource too, can see myself coming back to it quite a bit over the years.

DS is a big fan of peppa pig already, and I know a lot of people don't like it but it has always seemed less offensive to me than most kids TV programs. Maybe that's why!

Just booking my place on this. I have friends who are having a baby in November, and want lots gender neutral feminist books.

I'm struggling to think of any pre-school books I've read that have mum doing housework in them either. Is housework really that big a feature of children's books?

Slightly off topic, but the Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs books are good for non-nuclear families: Harry and Sam live with their mum and nan, no mention of dad (though there are a range of father figures throughout HHS stories!)

In one of the Little Bear books the two bears (dad and child) tidy their cave together then go out and play. I think looking at Amazon it is You and Me, Little Bear.

In fact, in all of the books the big bear is doing the childcare, he appears to be a single father - Can't you Sleep, Little Bear is also rather sweet :)

This website is from the States but has loads of good suggestions for inclusive books, munkeysea - not just feminist but friendly to different kinds of families

The parents are completely absent in the Charlie and Lola books. And there's a lot of ordinary life from a child's pov in them.

This doesn't fit what OP is asking for, but for those of you asking for stereotype busting books in general for pre-schoolers; try Ella's Big Chance. It's a picture book reworking of Cinderella. Which ends with Ella jilting the Prince in favour of running away on a bicycle with her best friend Buttons to set up a tailoring business together.

I have 2 preschool boys and would like them to be reading stories with strong exciting female characters and ones that show Dads in an active role!

Peck, peck, peck by Lucy Cousins has the Dad teaching the son, Maisy mouse is a good female lead and in Maisy Tidies Up her male friend Charlie the Crocodile helps!

Spot Loves his Dad is about Dad looking after spot, but it's not framed that that is the norm 'Spot is happy, he and Dad are spending the whole day together'..

I Love that Maisy mouse happens to be a girl mouse but wears neutral clothes and does non gender specific things like driving a train, making a cake, playing with a stick, dressing up. I love that she doesn't have long eyelashes or a bow in her hair to explain that she's a girl. Was watching it with MIL and she said 'oh, she's not a very feminine mouse is she?'. Nearly bit my tongue right off.

Pingu is good in some ways, though I never quite worked out which of them (or both) work. If you look at the pictures though it has dad doing the knitting, mum reading the paper, I think mum even smokes a pipe at one point?

Julia Donaldson's Gruffalos Child, Tiddlers and Tabby McTat all have non nuclear family setups. Zoe has a feminist princess

For tv we all love Sarah and Duck, which is very gender neutral.

Zog, not Zoe!

www.letterboxlibrary.com, "celebrating diversity and equality"; long established children's booksellers. Can't beat Pingu; bought my son, 21, and stepson, 23, DVD's at Xmas; both had fond memories of it and appreciated parents attempting to subvert stereotypes. i had a large collection when working as an early years teacher, and also adapted traditional stories that during storytelling sessions (rather than reading from a book). My 3 pigs were all female, as were 3 nanny goats gruff, etc. Having access to a good "alternative" bookshop in Manchester in the 80's/90's made it a lot easier. Keep up the good work, and lets eliminate the pink princess obsession!

Traction Man Meets Turbo Dog by Mini Grey - Dad is cleaning the house and throws out Traction Man's faithful sidekick Scrubbing Brush because he's so unhygienic while Mum uses power tools and has a Keep Out sign on her shed. Excellent role reversal, though it's in the background of a fun story.

"And Tango Makes Three" is a really sweet book based on a real life story about two gay penguins, Roy and Silo, and their attempts to hatch a chick.

I would definitely recommend "Birds" by Alfred Hitchcock and "James and the giant peach." Both justify the feminist movement in a way that enchants the reader. OOOOOOH I just read "The Art of War" which is fascinating.

Rhinos Don't Eat Pancakes has dad doing laundry and mum on her laptop.

The Baby's Catalogue is pretty even handed with the chores, I think.

noble I think these things must be full of mums doing chores. Why else would dd "do the dusting" when she's playing at being a mummy? It's certainly not because she's ever seen me dust anything. .