6 Inspiring Picture Books To Build Your Child’s Feminist Library

Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match, by Monica Brown and Sara Palacios
Marisol McDonald loves herself. She speaks two languages, mixes print and cursive writing, has brown skin and orange hair, and loves to mix and match her clothes. While other people have a lot of opinions about Marisol’s supposed mismatched life, Marisol knows she makes perfect sense.

My Mom is Excellent, by Nick Butterworth
It’s all in the title. This is the story about a child who knows his Mom rocks. She’s an amazing artist, tight-rope walker, swimmer, and stunt master. Without defining Mom in opposition to what she should or shouldn’t be, this book is simply about a Mom who is awesome for being what she is: excellent.

Amazing Grace, by Mary Hoffman and Caroline Binch
Grace loves stories and she loves acting them out. So, when she wants to play Peter Pan in the school play, nothing is going to stop her. This is a story about how you can do anything by being capable, talented, and determined.

Mary’s Penny, by Tanya Landman
Mary’s Penny is a classic tale of brains versus brawn based on an old fable. When her brothers are challenged to fill the house with something that costs a mere penny in order to inherit the family farm, Mary proves that smarts are really what it takes to make things happen.

A Sweet Smell of Roses, by Angela Johnson and Eric Velazquez
This is the story of two sisters who secretly join a Civil Rights rally and march led by Dr. Martin Luther King. It honors youth involvement in the Civil Rights Movement and proves that kids who want to see change can participate in causes that are important to them.

10,000 Dresses, by Marcus Ewert and Rex Ray
This modern fairytale is about becoming the person who you feel are inside. Bailey loves dresses and dreams of them every night. Bailey has ideas for dresses made of crystals, rainbows, flowers and windows but no one wants to hear about them because Bailey is ‘a boy’. When dressmaker, Laurel, meets Bailey, she encourages Bailey to become the girl she’s always dreamed she’d be.
What picture books belong on your child’s feminist bookshelf?