Hi all,

I'm looking for recommendations/reviews/websites of Australian feminist children's books. By which I don't mean books that overtly discuss feminism, but books with positive roll models for both girls and boys...

I found this great site that has a list of recommendations and a definition:


(http://www.siue.edu/~lmarkow/social%20justice/popchildren.html)

So that's wonderful, but she's American, and while she doesn't indicate where the books on her lists are from, I'm guessing there wouldn't be that many Australian ones.

So, do you have some favourites? Or a favourite blog or other website that reviews/discusses Australian's children's books, preferably with a feminist bent?

Thanks!

Okay, well that didn't get any results!

What about just good Australian children's books - picture books or for primary aged kids?

Sorry OP, I wish I could answer your original question. My DD is badly in need of something similar to counteract a Disney Princess infestation that has somehow made it into our home (it started with one innocent play date...). We do love the Katie books by James Mayhew (Katie meets the Impressionists, Katie and the Spanish Princess, etc). They're not Australian, but the protagonist is a spunky little girl who is a better role model than some. She does get on the ballet stage with the Blue Dancers, but for the most part she is ducking in out of paintings having adventures in her jeans.

Great question. I will watch this thread with interest.

Thanks noname2, I'll look out for them.
I guess I should expand it that way too - not Australian but good role models.

Dulcie Dando Football Player
by Sue Stops

Dulcie loves football (soccer) but the boys don't want her in their team. But she shows them a thing or two and saves the day. Her mum repairs motorbikes on the kitchen table (while her dad makes the dinner) and she comes from a long line of capable women.

I picked up this book secondhand recently.

Not sure what age group you are looking at but this would suit maybe 3-7 yrs?

There's a couple more I've picked up from a writer's blog that I'll be looking out for:

The Tough Princess
by Martin Waddell

A king and queen who "kept losing wars and kingdoms, and ended up living in a caravan," hope that their forthcoming baby (they're sure it'll be a boy) will grow up to restore their fortunes. The baby turns out to be a girl, the king devises a new scheme, which involves a Bad Fairy, to make them rich, and the Princess grows up with a mind of her own. Bopping the Bad Fairy before she can cast a spell, the Princess sets off on her bicycle and rescues several rich princes, "but she didn't like them, and so she threw them back."

Tarzanna
by Babette Cole

Tarzanna meets a boy in the jungle, who invites her to live in his world for a while, but Tarzanna hates it in the concrete jungle and, after freeing the animals in the zoo, persuades the president to send her home on Jungle Airways.

I don't think any of these are Australian by the way.

As for Australian:

These are recent releases which I and the kids enjoyed. I find some of the cutesy Australian animal stories (Mem Fox in particular) annoying so these ones are Australian without being overtly so.

Not a Nibble
by Elizabeth Honey

A girl on holiday tries to catch a fish but ends up catching (and learning) something bigger. Winner: 1997 Children's Book Council Awards for Best Picture Book.

On Our Way to the Beach
Sofie Laguna

Road trip journey to the beach with a camping family

A Year on Our Farm
by Penny Matthews

follows the seasons on an Australian Farm

This site covers Australian books:

australian book reviews

Aussie super-chick books I've come across:
Younger readers:
"The Terrible Underpants" Kaz Cooke
"Josophine can Dance" Jackie French

Older readers:
"The Rose Fanciers" Olga Masters
"Playing Beatie Bow" Ruth Park
Check out anything by Jackie French, Robin Klein, Jeannie Baker
"My Brilliant Career" Miles Franklin

HTH

I quite like the Billie B Brown books.

http://www.billiebbrown.com/index_main.html

Well I'm not sure that it's exactly what you want but I LOVE The Waterdragon and the Magpie Goose by Garry Fleming. It's a story about a Waterdragon lizard who wants to fly so a sneaky Magpie Goose offers him a ride and scares the hell out of him and in the end the waterdragon essentially realises that he is special in his own way and he doesn't really need to have wings after all, so it's about being happy in your own skin which I think is a pretty important thing for kids to learn.

The Paper Bag Princess. This shows that sometimes it's the prince that needs rescuing and that princes are not necessarily all they are cracked up to be. It's priceless.

==

Hee hee. That book was written for this thread, I'm sure.

I love the perfect last line "Ronald your clothes and pretty and your hair is really nice. You look like a prince...but you are a toad" ...and she didn't marry him after all.

--

http://www.veganfamily.co.uk/kidsbooksfem.html

http://childrensbooks.about.com/cs/forpare...eliabloomer.htm

http://www.amazon.com/Charming-childrens-b...m/2ECG4WQCZFDAL

HTH

Dot and the Kangaroo by Ethel C Pedley (I have never read the book but the 1977 film is great - has some scary scenes though)
Emily Eyefinger series by Duncan Ball
Tracey Binns by Sherryl Clarke (you can email her here: http://members.optusnet.com.au/sherrylc1/)
Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner (I thought Judy was great when I was about 10yo)
Don't wake the baby by Catherine Jinks (not really feminist but the big sister, Annie, is the one with all the fun ideas for getting up to mischief)
Horrible Harriet by Leigh Hobbs (Harriet is not exactly admirable but it is a funny book)
Go Girl series by various authors (don't be put off by the pink covers)
Girlz Rock series by various authors (again, don't be put off by the covers. These are good for early independent readers about 7-8yo)
My Grandma Lived in Gooligulch by Graeme Base
Koala Lou by Mem Fox
Tomorrow when the war began by John Marsden (this is an action book for older kids. The narrator, Ellie, is a girl who gets into the action boots and all)
Tracey McBean by Mary Small and Arthur Filloy (I have never seen these books but like the spin off tv series about Tracey the girl inventor)
My Place by Nadia Wheatley (features a number of different children who live in the same house in different time periods)
My Place by Sally Morgan (I think there is a version for younger readers)
Fairy Realm series by Emily Rodda
A Little Bush Maid by Mary Grant Bruce
Hating Alison Ashley by Robin Klein
Prue Theroux the cool librarian by Gillian Rubinstein
Girl Underground by Morris Gleitzman

For non-Australian, we love Princess Smartypants by Babette Cole. Also loads by NZ author Margaret Mahy.

The paper bag princess. Love it!

LOL, beaten by Niggles and Mystykl!

awesome thread thanks!

I have been back to this thread a few times to by books for my ids and for presents. Some wonderful suggestions here, thought I would comment to give it a bump. So tired of the princess girl meets boy, marries him and only then lives happily ever after.
Lets give our kids a bit more inspiration!

Not sure if it properly fits the OPs' request, my suggestion is "A Proper Little Lady" By Nettie Hilon.

Summary:

This is the light-hearted story of Annabella Jones, who decides to be a proper little lady. She dresses in all her glory, assumes her posh lady voice, and goes for a walk. Alas, despite her precautions, various adventures take their toll on her outfit- climbing trees, even playing football and arrives home looking a little less proper!
In the end, Annabella and Mum decide jeans and t-shirt are best for a proper little lady.

I liked it and DD does too.

The Feminist bookshop in Sydney has a list of children's picture books http://www.feministbookshop.com/booklist.html under Children & Teenagers --> Favourite Picture Books For children and they do mail order

http://www.allanbaillie.com.au/books.htm

I love the books by Alison Lester. They are semi autobiographical - so involve bits of her life growing up.
Magic Beach, My Farm (I think), and Are we there yet. They are not particularly feminist, but show Australian kids being outdoors and just doing kid things, rather than any gender stereotypes.

http://www.alisonlester.net/booklist.html

Books by Babette Cole

My DD who's 6 likes this one ....

http://www.qbd.com.au/product/978186291586..._by_Lyn_Lee.htm


Cheers : )

yes, this is a great book!

To the PP who mentioned 'Seven little Australians' I wouldn't agree that it's a feminist book. My memory is that Judy is a really spunky character but she does something dangerous and ends up dead. So, the underlying message is: girls really ought not to do dangerous things like the boys. I could be wrong on this as my memory of the book is actually based on the 1980s tv series and it's a hazy memory at that

Hi Lyra

You are right about Judy ending up dead (a tree falls on her) so maybe that isn't a good message about being strong willed. She is a very admirable character and the one that has stood out to generations of girls reading these books (I think that was why Ethel Turner went back and wrote a kind of 'prequel' starring Judy - called Punch and Judy).

Also when I originally responded to this thread, I forgot Mary Elizabeth's House by Pamela Allen (NZ rather than Australian but close enough).