Can anyone recommend a good book for a 9 year old feminist?

[CTyankee]

My granddaughter is an environmental, human rights and feminist activist. Since age 7 she has participated and even designed campaigns for Darfur, arctic polar bears, and now for the first woman president. I would like to get her an inspiring book about women who made a difference. Is there a suitable one on Eleanor Roosevelt? I don't want sugar coating, but it should be age appropriate, altho she reads above her grade level. Thanks for any help you can give!

[MNDemNY]

1. "free to be you and me"

[CTyankee]

2. Thanks! That goes on my list! n/t

[midlife_mo_Jo]

6. I guess I'm not passionate enough about politics and activism

At seven, my kids were totally apolitical, but I tried to teach them things like compassion on a more "local" level or personal level.

[Canuckistanian]

3. "Our Barbies, Ourselves"

Sorry.

[Didereaux]

4. Seriously! 'Nancy Drew Mystery' series.

Because she is too damned young to be screwed up in adult shit. Also Drew is actually one of the most 'liberated' female characters ever.

[midlife_mo_Jo]

7. Totally agree!

I can't imagine my kids being involved at that level at such a young age. I don't think they would sleep at night if they were so involved with the world's problems.

[RebelOne]

22. I read the whole series when I was a kid.

And I think those books had an influence on my life.

[Maine-ah]

37. I read my mother's Nancy Drew books, as did my sister

from what I understand, they have been "updated" and are more (the only word I can come up with at the moment) fluff.

I have the same collection for my daughter when she's old enough, and hopefully she'll pass them down to hers.

[CTyankee]

23. Well, her dad is a political consultant so she hears political stuff all the time.

But don't worry about her! She plays several sports, is acting in school plays and maintains an excellent academic level. Her sisters couldn't care less, but she realy enjoys her campaigns. part of it is that her synagogue is very liberal and promotes good causes. Part of it is that it is just who she is. Her teacher describes her as a "real leader." You'll be hearing from this kid when she grows up!

[Orsino]

5. Aim high.

Go ahead and slip her some Simone de Beauvoir. Read it with her, even.

[CTyankee]

24. Years ago I read "The Second Sex". I should go back and take

another look!

[Stephanie]

8. Get a book on Jeannette Rankin.

First woman in Congress, elected in 1916 - four years before the 19th amendment was passed. A suffragette, a pacifist, she was the only member of Congress to vote no on both WWI and WWII. A true heroine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeannette_Rankin

[aikoaiko]

12. How is voting against getting involved in WWI and WWII a good thing?

:shrug:

[Stephanie]

19. She was a pacifist, admired Gandhi, and opposed violent solutions to conflict.

[TahitiNut]

41. Even Gandhi favored fighting against the Axis Powers in WW2.

:shrug:

[sandnsea]

33. It's like this

As a woman, I can't go to war, and I refuse to send anyone else.

You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake.

There can be no compromise with war; it cannot be reformed or controlled; cannot be disciplined into decency or codified into common sense; for war is the slaughter of human beings, temporarily regarded as enemies, on as large a scale as possible.

Small use it will be to save democracy for the race if we cannot save the race for democracy.

And my pesonal favorite:

If I had my life to live over, I would do it all again, but this time I would be nastier.

[aikoaiko]

34. Well, she sounds like an interesting person but I'm not impressed with her anti war stance.

With regard to WWI and WWII. Getting involved was a moral imperative that we avoided too long.

[sandnsea]

40. There were different choices there

Especially with WWII. We could have insisted on different choices with the Versailles Treaty. Our greedy corporates could have recognized the danger of Hitler and not put money into his madness. Some people look at the entire planet as who to next have war with. When that is your outlook, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy that there will be war. I appreciate people like Jeanette Rankin who challenge us to think differently. That she was the first woman ever elected to Congress, from Montana of all places, and chose to stand against war anyway - shows her courage. And she did it twice. It's too bad Hillary didn't take a lesson from her. She'd be in a much better place today if she had.

[sandnsea]

32. I absolutely love her, good choice n/t

[mod mom]

9. Young People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn might be good choice:

http://www.amazon.com/Young-Peoples-History-United-States/dp/1583227598

2 volumes.

[momster]

10. Maybe Counter-Intuitive

but encourage her also to read books where women and girls are not empowered. Let her see what life was like when the girls stood on the ground admonishing the boys climbing the trees or where the girls did the cooking while the boys went out and earned money (like the first Boxcar Children book). Let her read Tom Sawyer, where Becky cried while Tom was heroic. Once she understands where society used to put women, it will help her to see a) how far we've come and b) what the future could be.

[tekisui]

11. "Herland"

It's a great book. Three male explorers become lost and stranded in a land inhabited by only females. The female society is egalitarian and fair. It does a wonderful job of explaining feminism in a good story. I really enjoyed it. I think is would be appropriate for a 9 year old, especially one as mature as she sounds.

Good for your granddaughter!

edit to add authors name: Charlotte Perkins Gillman


Also, "Gift from the Sea" by Anne Morrow Lindbergh is really good, it may not be as interesting for her now, but later.

[slackmaster]

13. I think George Orwell's 1984 should be required reading

:hi:

[lame54]

14. I was thinking "Animal Farm"

[slackmaster]

17. I read Animal Farm at age 6

I was thinking a bright 9-year-old would be ready for 1984.

[TahitiNut]

15. "Cinderella"??

:rofl: :rofl:

Accessorize it with an Easy-Bake Oven, a Betsy-Wetsy doll, and a collection of Barbie dolls.

:evilgrin:

[CTyankee]

25. Goodness, what's eating you, Nut? Did a girl beat you up in the schoolyard, like Karl Rove?

[TahitiNut]

27. If you want to teach her to swim, show her the water.

Sorry if you didn't get it. :shrug:

Interesting conjecture on your part. :eyes:

[CTyankee]

30. She's got 2 sisters, one older and one younger. To say the least, she's been

exposed to enough pink stuff in her young life. I guess you could make the case that being so "exposed" she turned to feminism and other causes, but I don't think that's the case. She is just who she is and I take her activism at face value. She taught herself sign language at age 4 and became a vegetarian at age 7, all on her own (or influenced by something outside just the family). Her temple encourages Jewish girls to be as intellectually active as the boys are, so that has helped. And she's a leader and very popular in her school. Obviously, she has taken in the "Barbie culture" promoted by the mass media in this country and simply walked away out of complete boredom.

[DangerDave921]

16. Little House

The Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder are fantastic for that age. She won't find feminism - as defined by today's terms - but she will find strength and honor and dignity in being a woman and in working hard.

And actually, the true life story of the author is even more interesting than the books.

[madisongrace]

18. NOW.org

http://www.now.org/cgi-bin/store/scan/mp=default/sf=category/se=children%27s%20book/sf=prod_group/se=books/sp=results_category/va=banner_text=Children%27s%20Books.html?id=eBVYzJXu">Children's Books

[never_get_over_it]

20. I found this website

last summer when I was looking for books for my nine year old nephew

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/reading/elem/gradedbooks.htm

maybe you can find something at this site - I found it quite useful

[alfredo]

21. Check out the Amelia Bloomer Project.

http://libr.org/ftf/bloomer.html

It goes by age group.

[CTyankee]

26. Great website! Lots of ideas, thanks! n/t

[alfredo]

36. Google is wonderful I think I used "Feminist literature for girls."

[gilpo]

28. "Why Mommy is a Democrat"

Great book!

[renate]

29. "How to Run for Public Office and Then Become President in 2036"

If there were such a book, I'd sure want her to read it.

What a lovely young woman she must be. :hug:

[CTyankee]

31. Oh she would love a book like that! She considered running for student body

council this year but found that only as an upperclassperson could she run for President. So she says she'll wait until then!

And thank you for the compliment. She is very pretty, if I do say so myself!

[Lisa]

43. maybe she could write it! She could be a published author, while still in her teens ...

Think about this, CTyankee! She could do around interviewing people about what such an effort -- becoming President once she's old enough to campaign -- would involve. Would she have to take particular courses in school? What kinds of extracurricular activities give a person experience, not just for becoming President, but for mayor, governor, and many other positions that are important in their own right, not only as stepping stones to the Oval Office.

A lot of young readers would find this inspiring ... and I don't think any policymakers out there would turn down requests for advice. She sounds like she's very organized and determined, and that's what you need for writing a book. (I've done this myself, and though I'm older, I did start writing things when I was about her age.) Say it takes her 3 years to get information and write it -- if a book like that reached the stores in an election year, it could be a massive hit. And not just with parents and teachers either. I bet a lot of people have questions about how the electoral process works, but have never found a way to ask.)

It would a fantastic way to humanize the process. Many of us find the thought of running for public office bewildering and offputting. It doesn't have to be that way (and shouldn't, for a democratic society). We shouldn't cringe when we hear the word "politician" -- we should think of someone like us, who is willing to step forward and help make the country better for everybody.


As far as books she might enjoy -- I liked "Math Doesn't Suck", written by a woman who was a Hollywood actress and went on to get an advanced degree in mathematics. It's not just about science and education, but about leadership skills and how to assess complex situations (useful for would-be politicians!).

[CTyankee]

46. Wow! What a great idea!

She is certainly self motivated (one of those reading kids who has to be told to turn off her light and go to sleep!). I think she could do it. And she does have access to political figures, through her Dad's consultancy with a Boston political consulting firm (altho her Dad has been working with Biden, he did work with some Kerry people doing focus groups in 04). I'm going up to see her act in a school play in 2 weeks. We can talk about it!

[coffeenap]

35. She is too old for it, but be sure she has a copy of

The Paper Bag Princess! Wonderful fairy tale for us progressive gals. My 13 year old daughter recommends it to every little kid everywhere!

[eileen_d]

44. "The Real Me" by Betty Miles

This is not exactly what you're looking for because it's fiction, but it's feminist fiction for young girls:
http://www.amazon.com/Real-Me-Betty-Miles/dp/059500489X

[kath]

38. Russell Freedman, one of the very best non-fiction writers for kids, wrote a biography of Eleanor R.

which was a Newbery Honor (runner-up for the Newbery Medal) book. I haven't read it (have been meaning to), but my 15 yo daughter did and enjoyed it. His books are quite well written. Also highly recommend his book on the Bill of Rights - all Americans should read it! His photobiography of Lincoln won the Newbery, also really love his book about the Wright Brothers.

There are several VERY good resources out there re: good books for girls, with strong female characters, etc. They are:

Great Books for Girls, by Kathleen O'Dean
Once Upon a Heroine, by ALison Cooper-Mullin and Jennifer Coye
100 Books for Girls to Grow On, by S. Dodson

I have one or two others, but no time to find them right now.

Another great book is Herstory: Women Who Changed the World, edited by Ruth Ashby and Deborah Gore Ohrn.

[CTyankee]

42. Thanks so much! I have the 2 set videotape of "Eleanor and Franklin"

which I have lent to friends who absolutely LOVED it and I was thinking of bringing it to her and her family to view. It was such a great series, with Jane Alexander as Eleanor. A beautifully done saga indeed.

I'm going out on a search at Barnes & Noble Yale Bookstore. They have a children's section and I'll look for your recommendations and those of others who so kindly posted on this thread. My deepest thanks to you and all!

[ieoeja]

39. "Men are from Mars, Women from Venus"

Seriously. Men are not better than women. Women are not better than men. We are just different in some ways.

And viva la differance!

[jazzjunkysue]

45. Stepford Wives.

She might as well find out, now.