To give girls strong role models, the Amelia Bloomer Project publishes an annual list of children’s and young adult books by and about remarkable women. Members of the American Library Association’s Feminist Task Force select the fiction and nonfiction titles, which in 2008 include books by feminist blogger Jessica Valenti, outspoken critic of Islam Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and Vagina Monologues creator Eve Ensler.
The project has run for six years, but pickings remain slim. “We are frustrated by the small number of truly powerful, well-written feminist books for young readers,” the website states, “and by the small number of non-white, non-Western characters…. We challenge publishers to develop thoughtful feminist books that will open the eyes of young readers to the possibility of equality for women.”
(Thanks, make/shift.)
Image by Julio Rojas, licensed under Creative Commons.
