Children’s media and books are packed with gender stereotypes: princesses waiting for Prince Charming to make them happy ever after, fairies dressed in pink and sparkles; animals and heroes who are invariably male. The list is long.
But Francesca Cavallo and Elena Favilli’s Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, writes Emine Saner, aims to provide a counterbalance by highlighting some of the most brilliant, and inspiring women throughout history.
It’s not to say there aren’t children’s books with strong female leads and characters that flip gender stereotypes (think Lauren Child’s undercover agent Ruby Redfort). A Mighty Girl, a website that catalogues empowering children’s fiction, reports nearly 3,000 books in which girls are the central characters. But given that Cavallo and Favilli’s book is now the most highly funded original book in the history of crowdfunding, there is clearly an appetite for much more.
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