Feminist Reads for All Ages

Posted on December 13, 2017

I can probably count using my fingers the number of women we *vaguely* learned about in primary school growing up. (Elizabeth I, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Anne Frank immediately spring to mind). Middle school and high school are only slightly more gender inclusive – (AP European History cemented my love for Mary Wollstonecraft).

But I can remember thirsting for wanting to know more about famous women – it’s why when we were all able to chose a historical figure to do a 4th grade (age 9ish) presentation on, I chose Marie Curie. Because I was obviously a baby feminist without even knowing it.

There’s a lot of great books about women and feminism these days and I thought I’d put together a reading list for any age. Some of these books would make great gifts for the kids in your life.

And yes, I said “kids” not just “girls”. Because how can little boys grow up to truly respect women when they never learn what women are capable of?

For kids:

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo
Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers who Changed the World by Wren & Rook
Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty
Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty
The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch
Matilda by Roald Dahl
A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara
Rad American Women: A to Z by Kate Schatz
Tough Guys Have Feelings Too by Keith Negley
Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World by Kate Pankhurst
Tiger in a Tutu by Fabi Santiago
Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio
Princess Smartypants by Babette Cole
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

For tweens:

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman
Speak by Laurie Andersen
The Ruby in the Smoke by Phillip Pullman
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

For teens:

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
The Female of the Species by Lionel Shriver
You Don’t Have to Like Me by Alida Nugent
Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu
Poisoned Apples by Christine Heppermann
We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Milk & Honey by Rupi Kaur
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

For adults:

Antigone by Sophocles
The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan
A Vindication of the Rights of Women *(I told you I like Mary Wollstonecraft. Here’s a woman that was ahead of her time. I also love her daughter Mary Shelley. Basically Mary Shelley showed two man babies ((Lord Bryon and Percy Bryce Shelley)) how to write a NOVEL. They wanted to tell spooky stories to scare each other. Bryon and Shelley were both like “oooooohhhh scary ghostsies” And Mary Shelley was like “BAM! Here’s a story: Frankenstein.”) **** story not edited for historical accuracy
How to Be A Women by Caitlin Moran
Sexual Politics by Kate Millett
Ain’t I A Woman? by Bell Hooks
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
Shrill by Lindy West
The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf
The Native Tongue by Suzette Elgin
Men Explain Things To Me by Rebecca Solnit
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
Fat is a Feminist Issue by Susie Orbach
The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
The Female Eunuch by Gremaine Greer
We Were Feminists Once by Andi Zeisler