Who says a girl can’t save herself? We’ve put together a list of books featuring strong, independent, and determined female protagonists who defy traditional gender expectations and don’t let anything get in their way!
Picture Books
On her way to Grandma’s house, Little Red meets a wolf. Which might scare some little girls. But not this little girl! She knows just what the wolf is up to, and she’s not going to let him get away with it. A sly, subversive retelling of the classic story “Little Red Riding Hood,” this picture book is a tribute to the power of little girls.
Read an Excerpt.
With irreverent humor and striking illustrations, the same creator of Little Red puts an empowering and delightfully dark twist on a classic story of a helpless damsel. Rapunzel lives all alone in a tall, dark tower. Under the threat of a witch’s fearsome curse, the poor girl seems doomed to a life in captivity. But is Rapunzel frightened? Oh no, not she!
Izzy Gizmo’s inventions are marvelous, magnificent―and they often malfunction. But when she finds a crow with a broken wing, she just has to help! Izzy tries again and again to build a new pair of wings, but nothing is working. And that makes Izzy really cross! Can Izzy overcome her failures? Or is her friend destined to live as a crow who can’t fly? This feisty tale of determination, ingenuity, and friendship is sure to capture the imaginations of aspiring young inventors.
Check out the Teacher’s Guide.
Izzy Gizmo and the Invention Convention
by Pip Jones
illustrated by Sara Ogilvie
Izzy Gizmo returns in this companion to the award-winning Izzy Gizmo, and she’s been invited to Technoff Isle’s annual convention to compete for coveted admittance to the Genius Guild. Great inventors produce gadgets that can be put to good use, so Izzy Gizmo decides to build a recycling machine that mends broken tools, but with fearsome competition, can Izzy Gizmo and Fixer create the winning invention? Featuring the creative and much-loved heroine of color, this wonderfully exuberant story has serious points to make about the importance of make do and mend.
Fairy tales are just stories—or so Princess Martha believes. But when her sisters meet a talking frog, they’re convinced that giving him the royal treatment will turn him into Prince Charming. After all, that’s what happens in their story books. Martha isn’t so sure. The more she sees of Prince Ribbit, the more suspicious she becomes. Armed with the facts, Martha sets out to expose Prince Ribbit and prove to her sisters that “just because it’s in a book doesn’t mean it’s true.” This clever twist on the “The Frog Prince” pits a spunky, bespectacled princess against a sly amphibian to teach a charming lesson on the pitfalls of trusting everything you read.
No Bows!
by Shirley Smith Duke
illustrated by Jenny Mattheson
We all have likes and dislikes, but some of us are just more vocal about it than others. This upbeat book features a likable little girl with an independent (and opinionated) spirit who spends her day letting the world know what she does—and does not—want to do and wear. Definitely not a dress and definitely no bows!
A Tree for Emmy
by Mary Ann Rodman
illustrated by Tatjana Mai-Wyss
Lilliput
by Sam Gayton
illustrated by Alice Ratterree
She is a girl three inches tall with eyes like drops of dew. Her clothes are cut from handkerchiefs and stitched with spider silk. For half her life, she has been trapped in a birdcage while her giant kidnapper sits beside her, writing in a leather-bound book the size of a house. Her name is Lily, and tonight she is escaping. She is going home. To Lilliput.
Read an Excerpt.
Read an Excerpt.
Independent-minded twelve-year-old Sam does not like the fact that she has to spend a month of her summer vacation at her crotchety retired grandfather’s place while her parents are away. Soon Sam finds that her grandfather is acting even stranger than expected, disappearing into the woods and being secretive. When she finally discovers that he is building an airplane, will she and her grandfather find common ground to finish the plane together?
Defending Irene
by Kristin Wolden Nitz
Sliding Into Home
by Dori Hillestad Butler
Pretty Like Us
by Carol Lynch Williams
This Girl is Different
by J. J. Johnson
Evie is different. Not just her upbringing—though that’s certainly been unusual—but also her mindset. She’s smart, independent, confident, opinionated, and ready to take on a new challenge: The Institution of School. It doesn’t take this home-schooled kid long to discover that high school is a social minefield, and Evie finds herself confronting new problems at every turn. Not one to sit idly by, Evie sets out to make changes. But when her plan begins spiraling out of control, Evie is forced to come to terms with a world she is only just beginning to comprehend.
Alba loves her life just as it is. She loves living behind the bakery and waking up in a cloud of sugar and cinnamon. She loves drawing comics and watching bad TV with her friends. The only problem is she’s overlooked a few teeny details. Like, the guy she thought long gone has unexpectedly reappeared. And the boy who has been her best friend since forever has suddenly gone off the rails. Even her latest comic book creation is misbehaving. On top of all that, the world might be ending—which is proving to be awkward. As doomsday enthusiasts flock to idyllic Eden Valley, Alba’s life is thrown into chaos. Whatever happens next, it’s the end of the world as she knows it. But when it comes to figuring out her heart, Armageddon might turn out to be the least of her problems.
Find these books and more at your local library, indie bookstore, or Barnes & Noble. For more books featuring self-empowered females, check out our Books to Celebrate Women in History and Books with Character posts.
Girl power! This is a great post to share with young girls looking for a next book.