ISO "alternative" fairy tales/books or toys for girls

[Jenn98]

I'm on the hunt for some alternatives to the Disney fairy tales where the girl gets saved by the handsome boy and they live happily ever after. DD is still quite little (12 months) but I like to buy ahead and to keep things in mind for gifts for others too. So, I'm looking for books/stories/fairy tales that are empowering to women. (Not necessarily anti-Disney, or anti falling in love with a prince, but more along the lines of having the girl be the heroine of the story.) I'm looking to add another dimention to the princess craze that I'm sure will hit when DD#1 is about 3ish :) And if there are such toys out there I'd love to hear about those too.

I'm about to have my second daughter this winter and I think it might be our last baby, so I'm trying to make sure our home is balanced and very equal-opportunity, so to speak. (I plan to have both girls take dance as well as karate or t-ball, soccer, whatever.)

Any suggestions?

TIA,
Jenn

[californiagirl]

Robert Munsch, The Paperbag Princess
Jane Yolen, Sleeping Ugly

I have a list of little girls (or their animal equivalents) triumphing at

http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/listmania/fullview/R2MX44GCDOK1BF/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full/103-6453685-9869466

[sdbc]

The Olivia books are fabulous for little girls. We also like Madeline, but some parents might think they are old-fashioned. Both are strong-willed, opinionated girls.
Sue, mommy to Aurora (Rory) born 5/13/04

[sdbc]

The Olivia books are fabulous for little girls. We also like Madeline, but some parents might think they are old-fashioned. Both are strong-willed, opinionated girls.
Sue, mommy to Aurora (Rory) born 5/13/04

[sdbc]

The Olivia books are fabulous for little girls. We also like Madeline, but some parents might think they are old-fashioned. Both are strong-willed, opinionated girls.
Sue, mommy to Aurora (Rory) born 5/13/04

[kcimato]

Are you talking about traditional fairy tales or books about faries ? As far as tradional tales go, the girl always seems to get saved.
However, there are some good books about fairies that might fit the bill. The first one that came to mind was Alice the Fairy by David Shannon. There is also the new one from I See Me books called my Very Own Fairy Tale. I just received this and it is beautiful.
http://www.iseeme.com/ormyveownfat.html

Last year ,while vacationig in Maine ,we walked our dogs around an island called Mackworth island. As we came to the end there was a clearing with a big sign that said Fairy Houses. There were tons of houses made of natural materials from the island for houses. Some huge ,some very tiny. You are invited in to build one of your own.An author from Maine has written 3 books about faries and and had a group of children build these. It is so cool.Here's the link for the books and there is also a video also.
http://store.musicforlittlepeople.com/3740.html
My DH and I built a house and took pictures and made a book of our own for our grand daughter. We of course bought the books and video plus a fairy skirt and wand and this was her Xmas present. We also gathered natural materials from our yard,pinecones,acorns ,birch bark ,leaves, dead flowers,pine needles and so on. We gave her the bag and told her to build a fairy house. We did this together in Smokey Mts in March. She had so much fun. Then she topped it off with a huge log and the whole thing caved in. Oh well, it's the process not the product! I'll see if I can find the pics and post later.

[Jenn98]

I think it'd be nice to find some traditional fairy tales with a modern twist, but I am also just looking for any story or toy that has the female as the one who does the saving instead of always being saved.

A little OT, but I just bought the book Mud Pies and Other Recipes: A Cookbook for Dolls by Marjorie Winslow, and it sounds like it'd be right up your granddaughter's alley. I can't wait till DD is old enough to play with it :)

[kcimato]

It's on my list. She and Grandpa do a lot of cooking in the kitchen so this will be a nice alternative. She always wears her Home Depot apron to cook.

[Corie]

My daughter LOVES her Mud Pies cookbook! She takes it
outside with her and we gather up twigs, grass, leaves,
berries from the bushes, etc.

We have alot of fun!! :)

[smiles33]

This book is more appropriate to read to your girls, but I loved it and can't wait to read it to my DD when she is older. It's a collection of stories about strong heroines! I also liked it because it features women/girls from other cultures so it will help DD gain a broader worldview.

Fearless Girls, Wise Women, and Beloved Sisters: Heroines in Folktales from Around the World by Kathleen Ragan

Enjoy!

[Jenn98]

Thanks for the tip and welcome to the boards! I just looked the book up on Amazon (interesting reviews of it there.). I think I'll order it from the bookstore to take a look at it. Sounds promising.

I was just thinking about how I wanted to look for play people who might be diverse as well. For example, the mommy wearing a business suit and daddy with the baby, or a bus with a female driver. I don't want to be obsessive about it, but I realized that I need to make an effort to look for toys that break gender stereotypes so I can mix them in with the "regular" stuff too. Thanks!

[kcimato]

Tow others I thought of are Don't Mention Pirates by Sarah Mc Connell and the Eloise books by Kay Thompson.

[holliam]

Barefoot books has several I'm planning on checking out:

Goddesses: http://www.barefoot-books.com/us/site/pages/productone.php?pid=1154

Grandmother's Stories: http://www.barefoot-books.com/us/site/pages/productone.php?pid=390

Fiesta Feminina: http://www.barefoot-books.com/us/site/pages/productone.php?pid=1576

There are actually a lot more there!

We love this audio book too:

http://store.musicforlittlepeople.com/79858d.html

Holli

[ellies mom]

I love The Princess Knight by Cornelia Funke. She also wrote Pirate Girl. I second the Oliva books and Alice the Fairy by David Shannon.

I haven't read these yet but a friend recommends Princess Smarty-pants by Babette Cole, Falling for Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox and The Very Smart Pea and the Princess to Be by Mini Grey.

[zuzu]

The ones I was going to recommend have already been mentioned. My three year old loves The Pricess Knight, The Paper Bag Princess, and Alice the Fairy, and has since she was about 2 1/2.

When her friend (a boy stanging on the ground) wouldn't rescue her from the top of her playset a few weeks ago she said, "Fine, I'll have to come rescue you from the alligators then." She had her hand on her hip and everything. :)

[updacountry]

The website WWW.iseeme.COM (http://WWW.iseeme.COM) has a great book about fairies that spells out your name. I just ordered it for my daughter she loves the pictures and I think she is actually learning something. She loves that it is about her!

They had one before with animals but this one is new. If you want to order I got a free shipping code from another board that has no expiration date. Also it says that it comes in three weeks with the shipping code but I've ordered about four of these and they always come quicker.



website: www.iseeme.com (http://www.iseeme.com) (sorry don't know how to make clickable)

Good luck,
Jill

[californiagirl]

I'm not crazy about Princess Smartypants -- she's just too mean for me. I liked the prince better!

The Bravest Ever Bear is about a bear (kind of) but it has a princess in it (the perfectest ever princess, who DD likes because she spends a lot of time saying "Push off, prince"). The princess does not save the day (that's done by 4 and 20 black bears and a sausage -- it's a very odd book) but she is a very independent character.

[eb1]

This is not exactly what you were asking for, but you've already received some good suggestions, and I thought this might be a useful addition anyway. It's a list of books that break gender role stereotypes:

http://www.journal.naeyc.org/btj/200303/Books4Children.pdf

ETA: As a 4- or 5-year-old in the 70s, I was really into my "Free To Be You and Me" album. :) "Atalanta," one of the stories, fits in with what you're looking for. If you're not familiar with this record/book, mind you, it's very much a product of the 70s!

[Jenn98]

This is very much what I was looking for, in addition to the PP's rec's of specific fairy tale books, etc. Thanks!!

[Lovingliv]

Jenn, Congrats!!! I didn't know it was a girl!!!! Any names yet?

You certainly are on a mission. I bookmarked this thread for when i have the energy to really read it! Thanks for being so well balanced!

[Jenn98]

Well the ultrasound tech was a little unsure, but she said girl. I'm smart enough to know that the absence of boy parts does not always mean girl, but I did see the shots she got and if it was/is a boy it should have been pretty obvious. So, I'm cautious about it, but thrilled about the idea of two little girls!!!! Right now we are set on Cecilia Caroline. And I'm not so much on a mission as I am bored and avoiding work! ;)

[smiles33]

Thanks for the warm welcome Jenn98 and congratulations on your newest addition! I'm bookmarking this thread for future reference myself, as my new daughter is only 11 weeks old. :) Thanks for starting it!

[mum1day]

Pirate Girl is fabulous! I was just going to suggest it!

[kwc]

Thank you for your list... I think I will be getting a bunch of these!
My 3 year old DD is also interested in books with Chinese characters, so even the
"crocoduck" book looks perfect.

Karen