Like so many girls and women, I have been the victim of sexual harassment and abuse. I want my son to grow up not just being respectful of women, but truly seeing us as equal in intellect, ability, personhood. One of the ways I have worked to ensure this is to read him books where girls are the protagonists, the subjects acting upon objects, not the objects being acted upon. He wasn’t always sure he’d like these stories, but I made him at least give them a try. And you know what? He loved them. And I know they’ve been part of forming him into a better man.
What I have always loved about Anne Shirley is that she shows that femininity does not necessarily equal meekness, that a girl can love pretty things and pretty occasions and even wish she were prettier herself, and yet have spunk, grit, and ambition. I’ve connected with Anne on a personal level in the way she didn’t just want to do well in school, she wanted to be the best—and to show that she was just as smart (and smarter) than the boys in her class. The way she matures through the series is marvelous, but for the boy in your life looking for a funny protagonist who gets into trouble but has a good heart, it’s hard to beat Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables.
Anne of Green Gables is the classic children's book by L M Montgomery, the inspiration for the Netflix Original series Anne with an E. Watch it now!
Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert are in for a big surprise. They are waiting for an orphan boy to help with the work at Green Gables - but a skinny, red-haired girl turns up instead. Feisty and full of spirit, Anne Shirley charms her way into the Cuthberts' affection with her vivid imagination and constant chatter. It's not long before Anne finds herself in trouble, but soon it becomes impossible for the Cuthberts to…
This is the classic adventure/survival story—like Robinson Crusoe or The Swiss Family Robinson—but with a girl doing the adventuring. Karana, a native girl left behind when her tribe leaves their island, must take on traditionally male roles and skills in order to survive, showing that many of “gender specific” activities are merely cultural constructs and that girls are just as smart and resourceful and capable as men. The tendency of male ambition to lead to greed, subjugation, and destruction is unflinchingly shown, serving as a warning to young readers to keep such inclinations in check. It is also a powerful statement on conserving natural resources and using them in a humane and sustainable manner.
Twelve-year-old Karana escapes death at the hands of treacherous hunters, only to find herself totally alone on a harsh desolate island. How she survives in the face of all sorts of dangers makes gripping and inspiring reading.
A magisterial history of Indigenous North America that places the power of Native nations at its center, telling their story from the rise of ancient cities more than a thousand years ago to fights for sovereignty that continue today
Why do we love awkward, brainy, nonconformist characters so much today? Because people like Madeline L’Engle blazed the trail by creating protagonists like Meg Murry. Smart, empathetic, and just a bit more daring than she believes herself to be, Meg is the daughter of a brilliant scientist father and a brilliant scientist mother. In L’Engle’s world, the gender of the characters doesn’t seem to matter much. All of them must face their fears, resist the pull to conform, and work together to save the universe. But it is Meg who asks the right questions and ultimately comes to the right conclusions.
Puffin Classics: the definitive collection of timeless stories, for every child.
We can't take any credit for our talents. It's how we use them that counts.
When Charles and Meg Murry go searching through a 'wrinkle in time' for their lost father, they find themselves on an evil planet where all life is enslaved by a huge pulsating brain known as 'It'.
Meg, Charles and their friend Calvin embark on a cosmic journey helped by the funny and mysterious trio of guardian angels, Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who and Mrs Which. Together they must find the weapon that will defeat It.…
It may seem a strange lesson to want to teach, but I think it’s important for boys (and men) to know that girls (and women) are not somehow inherently more moral than they are. Girls can be just as “bad” as boys. Harriet is self-centered. She is mean and vengeful toward her friends. She lies, swears, and talks back to her parents, which earned the book the rather marvelous status of having been banned from some school libraries. Books like this help dismantle the old double standard for behavior, where girls are expected to be model citizens while “boys will be boys.” Nonsense. We all err, we all sin, we all fall short—and we can all be forgiven and strive to live decently toward one another.
First published in 1974, a title in which Harriet M. Welsch, aspiring author, keeps a secret journal in which she records her thoughts about strangers and friends alike, but when her friends find the notebook with all its revelations, Harriet becomes the victim of a hate campaign.
Coyote weather is the feral, hungry season, drought-stricken, and ready to catch fire. It’s 1967, and the American culture is violently remaking itself while the country is forcibly sending its young men to fight in a deeply unpopular war.
Jerry has stubbornly made no plans for the future because he…
Yes, C. S. Lewis’s tale about a magical world accessed by a wardrobe follows an ensemble cast, but little Lucy Pevensie is the main protagonist. She is the one who finds Narnia and brings her siblings along into it. She follows Aslan when he sacrifices himself to save her wayward brother. She is there mourning for Aslan in death, and she is there rejoicing when he returns to life. It’s this little girl who invites us to come on an incredible adventure, to not abandon our loved ones to destruction, to trust that there is good in the world, and to work with the forces of light to overcome to forces of darkness. When faced with danger and opportunity, let us say along with Lucy, “I think I can be brave enough.”
Lucy steps into the Professor's wardrobe - but steps out again into a snowy forest. She's stumbled upon the magical world of Narnia, land of unicorns, centaurs, fauns... and the wicked White Witch, who terrorises all. Lucy soon realises that Narnia, and in particular Aslan, the great Lion, needs her help if the country's creatures are ever going to be free again...
When novelist Kendra Brennan moves into the old family cabin on Hidden Lake, she has a problem and a plan. The problem? An inflammatory letter from A Very Disappointed Reader. The plan? To confront Tyler, her childhood best friend’s brother—the man who inspired the antagonist in her first book. If she can prove she told the truth about what happened during those long-ago summers, perhaps she can put the letter’s claims to rest and meet the swiftly approaching deadline for her next book.
But what she discovers as she delves into the past is not what she expected. While facing Tyler isn’t easy, facing the consequences of her failed friendship with his sister, Cami, may be the hardest thing she’s ever had to do.
Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.
