girl protagonist picture book recs

[psocoptera]

astolat was looking for books for 2-6 year olds with girl protagonists, especially ones who get to have real agency and adventures. Here's the list I came up with, for my future reference, all of which are books that Junie has really liked:

Junie loves the "Ladybug Girl" books by Davis and Soman. Small realistic-for-a-four-year-old adventures like going in the waves at the beach.

We've also enjoyed a number of books by Patricia Polacco, such as Thunder Cake, Bun Bun Button, and Thank You Mr. Falker.

Grace Lin writes picture books in which a family of three sisters enjoy various Chinese customs (Kite Flying, Dim Sum For Everyone).

The Maisy books by Lucy Cousins are ultra-simple - for the 2-3 year old end of the 2-6 age range - but Junie was nuts for them.

Tia Isa Wants A Car and A Chair For My Mother both feature a girl helping out with earning and saving money.

Some favorite girl protagonist picture books: Mama Do You Love Me, by Barbara Joosse, Blueberry Girl, by Neil Gaiman.

Oh, 11 Experiments That Failed and 17 Things I'm Not Allowed To Do Anymore! Jenny Offill. Junie *loved* these and 11 Experiments taught her the word "hypothesis" which has given me much lasting joy. Hahaha, talk about agency.

Comments

[tapas.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the recommendations. We have read Ladybug Girl and Maisy, but I had not heard of the others.

My current favorite entry in this category is the Jane and the Dragon series by Martin Baynton. A young girl, expected to become a lady in waiting, wants to be a knight. She is initially laughed at, but eventually succeeds.

[psocoptera.livejournal.com]

Ooh, sounds good, I'll look for those, thanks!