Charlotte's Web Page
Resources for Capable, Resourceful,
Adventuresome Females
in Books, Videos and Real Life
[Books]
[Books about Books]
[Catalogues] [Magazines]
[Resources for Parents]
[Schools] [Software]
[Videos] [WWW Resources]
Books
...featuring strong, capable and brave
female characters.
Read them to your daughters AND your sons!
Two yr old and up:
- The Little Engine that Could. Bet you hadn't noticed
that the little engine that could is the only female. Which
reminds me, when reading books to our girls, we often change the
gender from the supposedly neutral "he" to "she" in order to make
up for the fact that more books are about he's than she's. We did
this with the "Guess How Much I Love You" book so that it's about
a father and a daughter.
Four yr old and up:
- The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes, by Du Bose
Heyward A girl bunny is told she can't grow up to be one of the
Easter Bunnies. She grows up, has a lot of baby bunnies, but
realizes her dream.
- Tsugele's Broom, by Valerie Scho Carey. Despite the
urgings of her parents, a self-sufficient girl decides she'll
never marry unless she meets a man who's as reliable as her broom.
- A Birthday for Frances, [and other books] by Russell
Hoban. I love Frances, who reminds me of my eldest daughter who
makes up songs which express her feelings when she encounters
difficult situations (such as her sister's birthday, eating eggs,
problems with friends.)
- Sheila Rae, the Brave, [and other books] by Kevin
Henkes. Sheila Rae and Lilly are two wonderful characters created
by Henkes. Akin to Hoban's Frances, they are girls who struggle
with fears, anger, pride, and work their way through it.
- Isabel, Isabel, by Ogden Nash. "Isabel didn't scream or
scurry..." she conquers all manner of frightening apparitions with
calm and humor.
- Mirette on the High Wire, by Emily Arnold McCully. Both
our daughters are daredevils, so they love this story of a
tightrope walking girl.
- Two books based on movies by Hayao Miyazaki. The books are
large-format picture books (but long, so good for school-age as
well as preschool kids), with charming illustrations from the
movies:
- My Neighbor Totoro tells the story of two young
sisters (age 9 and 4) who move into a funky old house in the
Japanese countryside and find a world of magical creatures
living with them. The book, as the film, presents a world of
both imagination and subtle emotional realism (unlike Disney
films)--about things like sibling tensions and love, fears
about an ill parent, taking on responsibility, and so on. And
best of all, the adults--a wise father who respects the girls'
imaginary world, kindly neighbors--are good (without being
smarmy) instead of bumbling like Disney fathers and wicked like
the ubiquitous stepmother.
- Kiki's Delivery Service, based on a story by Eiko
Kadono, is essentially a novel of education about a 13-year-old
apprentice witch. Witches here are not scary or evil but women
with special talents. Kiki has to leave her parents and find
her way in the world in order to become a full-fledged witch.
She flies off to a beautifully portrayed European-style city,
finds a woman baker (very pregnant) who takes her in and lets
her run a flying broom-based Fedex out of her store. When
things get rough, Kiki finds an older girl artist who lives
alone in the woods as a mentor. Kiki struggles with teenage
cliques and finds a friend, a goodnatured boy--whom she saves
from mortal danger with her magic powers at the end of the
book. It's all delightfully and warmly done. I've never seen an
English-language version of the film released (unlike My
Neighbor Totoro) so this book may be the only way to get the
story.
- The books are published by Tokuma Shoten Publishing,
1150 Skyline Tower, 10900 NE 4th, Bellevue, WA 98004. The
Kinokuniya book store in San Francisco's Chinatown carries
the books, which can also be ordered by phone at
(415-567-7625). Get the video too!
Older children (third grade and up):
- Knee Deep in Thunder, by Sheila Moon and A Wrinkle
in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle Both of these are tales of
mythic proportions, of young girls encountering great dangers and
finding the resources within themselves to vanquish darkness. Both
have sequeles.
- The Girls' Guide to Life: How to Take Charge of the
Issues That Affect YOU, By Catherine Dee. A friendly, commonsense
approach for girls who are learning and exploring the basics of
life (Ages 9-15). 1997 paperback, $14.95
Books about Books
- Great Books for Girls: More than 600 Books to Inspire Today's
Girls and Tomorrow's Women, by Kathleen Odean. 1997 Paperback,
$12.95
- Let's Hear it for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14,
by Erica Bauermeister and Holly Smith. 1997 Paperback, $10.95
Catalogues with Good Books for or about
Girls
- Chinaberry Books, 1-800-776-2242
Magazines
- New Moon -
"New Moon challenges stereotypes by accepting girls as they
are, listening to them, and honoring their diverse experience and
dreams. New Moon is a 48-page, advertising-free,
professionally-produced, international magazine with stories by
and about girls and women all over the world. New Moon celebrates
girls, explores the passage from girl to woman, and builds
resilience and healthy resistance to the gender inequities girls
experience. The magazine is written by and for girls 8 to 16.
Resources for Parents
Things Will Be Different for My Daughter: A Practical
Guide to Building her Self-Esteem and Self-Reliance from Infancy
through the Teen Years, by Mindy Bingham and Sandy Stryker. 1995,
Paperback.
Raising a Daughter: Parents and the Awakening of the
Healthy Woman, by Jeanne Elium and Don Elium. 1996,
Paperback.
Failing at Fairness: How America's Schools Cheat
Girls, by Myra and David Sadker. 1996, Paperback.
Promiscuities, by Naomi West. An imperfect but highly
thought-provoking book about young women's coming of age;
particularly resonant for those of us who were teens in the late '60s
to late '70s. Feels more positive about possibilities than the
depressing Reviving Ophelia, by Mary Pipher.
Software - ?
Suggestions, anyone?
Schools
- East Bay School for Girls - a new (private) school for girls,
which is due to open in the fall of 1998. The School will
eventually offer grades K-5, though next year will probably only
offer K-2. If you are interested in finding out more, call
547-8227.
Videos
- My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari no Totoro1988)
- See the description of the book above. We LOVE the animated
movie, the story of two sisters who are brave, resourceful, and
loving, and their encounters with the mysterious Totoro (sort
of a giant rabbit/bear creature.) It is so lushly drawn that
it's a feast for the eyes, and the girls are a delight! You'll
love this movie, and the book is nice to have once you've seen
the video. All of our friends, adults and children, have fallen
in love with this video.Warning: the opening song on the video
can be somewhat addictive, but it's better than singing the
Barney song.
- Buy the video as well as dolls and other Totoro goodies
from Kimono My House. 1424 62nd Street Emeryville, CA 94608
Phone: 510-654-4627 Hours: Usually open Weds-Sat 11-6 and Sun
12-5.
- Front Row Video at the top of Solano and Five Star Vidoe on
University rent the video and sometimes have a copy for sale.
You can also order it from Blockbuster Video for $12.99. Over
at Kinokuniya Book Store at Japantown in SF, not only do they
have the video but also a wonderful hardcover illustrated book
of My Neighbor Totoro for $14.95 in the children's section.
World Wide Web Resources
How
to Empower your Daughter, by Kathleen Odean. Practical
suggestions to help your daughter become self-reliant and
capable.
The Berkeley Public Library has a 1996 list of books about
Brave,
Active and Resourceful Girls in Picture Stories.
The
Children's
Literature Web Guide contains a very useful "lists of lists",
including:
http://home.earthlink.net/~natashab/NMcharlotte.html
Charlotte's Web Page, v. 31 October 1997
edited by Natasha Beery
