The Library
Hiya Feminist Friends!
Imagine if we, as feminist families, could gather in a local library and sip tea (or coffee) together. We could pour over the pages of these beautiful books and plan the feminist utopia for our children. Until this is a reality, please enjoy this curated list of feminist children’s books.
I have organised the books by theme as best as I can, sometimes a book may appear in two categories. Please know this list is constantly being updated. If you have suggestions for titles that need to be added please feel free to email me on kate@futurefeminists.org
Feel free to print this list out, screenshot, send it to your friends, request these books from your library or ask your local indie bookshop to order them in. You may even be able to find them second-hand online.
In solidarity as always,
Kate BC x
-
Bye Bye Binary by Eric Geron and Charlene Chua
C is For Consent by Eleanor Morrison
Feminist Baby by Loryn Brantz
Feminist Baby Finds Her Voice by Loryn Brantz
Feminist Baby (He’s a Feminist Too) by Loryn Brantz
HAIR by Kate Bullen-Casanova (me!) and Freya Bennett
Feminism is for Boys by Elizabeth Rhodes
My Feminist ABC by Irene Pizzolante
Izzy Gizmo by Pip Jones and Sara Ogilvie
A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara
Hats of Faith by Medeia Cohan and Sarah Walsh
We are Little Feminists: Families
We are Little Feminists: On the Go
We are Little Feminists: Hair
My First Book of Girl Power by Julie Merberg
Baby Business by Jasmine Seymor
-
The Girls - Lauren Ace & Jenny Lovlie
Rosie Revere Engineer - Beaty/Roberts
Ada Twist, Scientist - Beaty/Roberts
Bronte: Me and My Boots - Penny Harrison & Evie Barrow
ABC: What Can She Be? - Sugar Snap Studio
Izzy and Frank - Katrina Lehman and Evie Barrow
The Spectacular Suit - Kat Patrick & Hayley Wells
Howl - Kat Patrick and Evie Barrow
Princess Freya’s Great Escape - Rebecca Taylor
The Paper Bag Princess - Robert Munsch
Some Girls - Nelly Thomas
Girls are pretty... - Susan Hoffman
Ivy Bird - Tania McCartney and Jess Racklyeft
The Girl and the Dinosaur - Holly Hughes
Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World - Susan Hood
-
Tough Guys Have Feelings Too - Keith Negley
I’m a Boy Oh Yes I am! - K.A. Farrell
Be Your Own Man - Jessica Sanders
Arthur and the Tiger - Sophie Beer
Some Boys - Nelly Thomas
Boys will be.... - Susan Hoffman
Julian is a Mermaid - Jessica Love
Julian at the Wedding - Jessica Love
Iggy Peck, Architect - Beaty/Roberts
Pink is for Boys - Rob Pearlmann
Fred Gets Dressed - Peter Brown
When Langton Dances - Kaija Langley and Keith Mallett
This Boy Can! - Cori Brooke
The Boys - Lauren Ace and Jenny Lovlie
-
Girls and Boys: Identity and Body - Created by Naizen
Not a story book but is a free trans-inclusive educational resource pdf all about bodies. It specifically says “There are girls with a vulva and girls with a penis. There are boys with a penis and boys with a vulva.”
Available to download for free here.
A House for Everyone: A Story to Help Children Learn about Gender Identity - Jo Hirst and Naomi Bardoff
Not Quite Narwhal - Jessie Sima
This Day in June - Gayle E. Pitman
Grandad’s Camper - Harry Woodgate
Grandad’s Pride - Harry Woodgate (coming 2023)
Who’s Your Real Mum? - Bernadette Green & Anna Zobel
Love Makes a Family - Sophie Beer
Red: A Crayon’s Story- Michael Hall
Zoom - Sha’an D’Anthes
Making a Baby: An Inclusive guide to how every family begins - Rachel Greener & Clare Owen
We are Little Feminists: Families
They, She, He, Easy as ABC - Maya Christina Gonzales
The Art of Drag - Jake Hall
What Riley Wore
Being You: A First Conversation About Gender- Megan Madison
The Hips of the Drag Queens Go Swish, Swish, Swish- Lil Miss Hot Mess
People of Pride: RuPaul Charles- Vincent Chen
Have Pride: An Inspirational History of the LGBTQ+ Movement - Grace Stewart
The Girl With Two Dads - Mel Elliot
When Aidan Became a Brother Kyle Lukoff and Kaylani Juanita
Introducing Teddy- Jessica Walton and Dougal MacPherson
Prince & Knight - Daniel Haack and Stevie Lewis
Santa’s Husband - Daniel Kibblesmith
Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and The Rainbow Flag- Rob Sanders
Stonewall: An Uprising - Rob Sanders
Auntie Uncle: Drag Queen Hero - Ellie Royce and Hannah Chambers
Uncle Bobby’s Wedding - Sarah Brannen and Lucia Soto
Princess Princess Ever After - K. O’Neill
The Boy and the Bindi - Vivek Shraya and Rajni Perera
Our Family Pledge - Emmaline Caroll Southwell and Vivian Minekar
The Trans Self-Care Workbook - Theo Nicole Lorenz
From Archie to Zack - Vincent X. Kirsch
‘Twas the Night Before Pride - Joanna McClintick and Juana Medina
The Rainbow Flag: Bright, Bold and Beautiful - Michelle Millar Fisher and Kat Kuang
-
When We Say Black Lives Matter - Maxine Beneba Clarke
Antiracist Baby - Ibram X Kendi
The Colors of Us- Karen Katz
Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness - Anastasia Higginbotham
Separate Is Never Equal - Sylvia Mendez
Happy in Our Skin - Fran Manushkin and Lauren Tobia
Our Skin: A First Conversation about Race- Jessica Ralli
Eyes that Kiss in the Corner - Joanna Ho and Dung Ho C
The AntiRacist Kid- Tiffany Jewell
Hair Twins - Raakee Mirchandani
Muslim Girls Rise - Saira Mir and Aaliya Jaleel
-
Hats of Faith - Medeia Cohan and Sarah Walsh
The Proudest Blue - Ibtihaj Muhammed with S.K. Ali, illustrated by Hatem Aly
Rama and Sita: The Story of Diwali- Malachy Doyle & Christopher Corr
The Miracle of Hannukah- Malachy Doyle & Christopher Corr
Ramadan Moon- Na’ima B Robert and Shirin Adl
La Noche Buena: A Christmas Story- Antonio Sacre
Daddy Christmas And Hannukah Mama- Selina Alko
Too Many Tamales- Gary Soto
Tree of Cranes - Allen Say
My First Chanukah - Tomie dePaola
It’s a Miracle: A Hannukah Storybook - Stephanie Spinner
Diwali - Rebecca Pettiford
Amal’s Eid - Amy Maranville and Joshua Stevens
Amal’s Ramadan - Amy Maranville and Joshua Stevens
Rashad’s Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr - Holli Conger
Christmas in a Noisy Village - Astrid Lingren
Little Glow - Katie Sahota and Harry Woodgate
The Gift of Ramadan - Rabiah York Lumbard and Laura K Horton
-
Change Starts with Us- Sophie Beer
Kindness Makes us Strong - Sophie Beer
Sofia Valdez, Future Prez - Beaty/Roberts
If I was Prime Minister - Beck & Robin Feiner
I’m Australian Too - Mem Fox & Ronojoy Ghosh
Goat on a Boat - Nick Dent and Suzanne Houghton
Usborne Politics for Beginners - Louie Stowell, Alex Frith and Rosie Hore and Illustrated by Kellan Stover
Get Up, Stand Up - Bob Marley lyrics turned into a book
Peaceful Fights For Equal Rights - Rob Sanders
If You’re Going to March - Martha Freeman and Violet Kim
The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye - Cynthia Levinson and Vanessa Brantley-Newton
The Pink Hat - Andrew Joyner
Protest! How People Have Come Together to Change the World - Alice and Emily Haworth-Booth
-
This is MY Body- Lil Carle
Bodies are Cool - Tyler Feder
All Bodies are Good Bodies - Charlotee Barkla and Erica Salcedo
Love Your Body - Jessica Sanders
How To Say Hello - Sophie Beer
Vaginas and Periods 101: A Pop Up Book - Christian Hoeger and Kristen Lilla, Illustrated by Sara M. Lyons
U.S. Stockist available here: https://period.shop/products/vaginas-and-periods-101-a-pop-up-book
The Calicolour Cat - Curtis Ackie and Sydney Jackson
Published by small independent publisher Formy Books - amplifying Black representation and creative talent. Find them on instagram here.
What’s an Abortion Anyway? - Carly Manes
Own Your Period - Chella Quint —> Inclusive book about puberty, periods, fertility all the way up to perimenopause and menopause.
Welcome Period! - Yumi Stynes and Dr Melissa Kang
-
Demystifying Disability - Emily Ladau
The Brain Forest - Sandya Menon
A Friend for Henry - Jenn Bailey - A sweet picture book about a book called Henry looking for a friend. Henry exhibits lots of attributes of being autistic but it is never explicitly mentioned.
Wild for Winnie - Laura Marx Fitzgerald
Remarkable Remy - Melanie Hayworth
I am Not a Label - Cerrie Burnell
Proud to be Deaf - Ava Beese
Brilliant Bea - Shaina Rudolph
We are Little Feminists: On the Go
What Happened To You? - James Catchpole
Benji, The Bad Day and Me - Sally J Pia
A Friend Like Simon - Kate Gaynor
This book seems okay from an autistic point of view but is quite gender binary.My Friend With Autism - Beverly Bishop
Note: this book uses person-first instead of identity-first language, (eg. person with autism instead of autistic person). Personally, we use identity-first language with our children because listening to autistic adults has taught us to do so.When Charley Met Emma - Amy Webb and Merilee Liddiard
Yes I Can! A Girl and Her Wheelchair - Kendra J. Barrett
A Plan For Pops - Heather Smith and Brooke Kerrigan
My Brother Otto - Meg Raby and Elisa Pallmer
A story about an autistic boy called Otto and his siblings. Features use of an AAC Device, (Augmented and Alternative Communication Device)
Note: This book uses language like “naughty” to describe behaviours which look like an autistic meltdown- this is not neuroaffirming.
Other than this the book is a simple way of explaining some things like deep pressure, stimming and different learning and listening styles.
I am Me from A-Z - Victoria Nelson
Features sign language (possibly American sign language?), positive character traits of autistic people and a variety of disabilities.
AAC Rhyme Time - Amanda Hartmann and Nanhee Ha
Something to Say About My Communication Device - Eden Molineux
Can Bears Ski? - Raymond Antrobus and Polly Dunbar
A Different Sort of Normal - Abigail Balfe
Good for older kids - roughly 8+ Written by an autistic author about her experience as an autistic girl and teenager.
Some Brains - Nelly Thomas - Note: In the glossary, this book makes a reference to “Aspergers Syndrome” as a place on the Autism Spectrum. Through my journey parenting recently diagnosed autistic children, I commit to listening to autistic and disabled voices in the language I use. Overwhelmingly, autistic voices have said that the term “Aspergers” and other functioning labels, (eg. high functioning and low functioning) are hurtful and damaging. As such, I will not use these labels.
Love Your Brain- Chrissie Davies
-
Change Starts with Us - Sophie Beer
The Australian Climate Change Book - Polly Marsden and Chris Nixon
Your Planet Needs You - Philip Bunting
Greta and the Giants - Zoe Tucker and Zoe Persico
You Can Change the World - Lucy Bell
Plastic: Past, Present and Future - Eun-ju Kim and Ji-won Lee
What A Waste: Rubbish, Recycling and Protecting Our Planet - Jess French
Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt - Kate Messner
Compost Stew: A Recipe for the Earth - Mary Elizabeth McKenna Siddals
Usborne Lift the Flap: Looking After our Planet - Katie Daynes
Usborne Climate Crisis for Beginners - Eddie Reynolds
How Does My Garden Grow? - Gerda Muller
Stand Up! Speak Up! A Story Inspired by the Climate Change Revolution - Andrew Joyner