Middle-grade Books for Feminists
Books are a great way to build empathy. With empathy can come a sense of outrage for the injustices of the world. If you have a young feminist in your life, these are great books to build their awareness of how to identify and battle bias.
Calpurnia Tate series by Jacqueline Kelly (started 2011)
Kelly’s historical books focus on Callie Vee, who is fascinating by science and resistant to the established roles for girls and women. Her grandfather supports her intellectual interest, and she finds ways to express herself. Great fun for the reader to see the world through Callie’s eyes.
The Witch Boy series by Molly Knox Ostertag (started 2017)
This fantasy graphic novel’s universe is binary: girls are witches and boys are shapeshifters. But Aster can’t shift and loves magic, which he secretly practices. Good book for questioning norms and gender roles.
Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed (2020)
Amal is forced into servitude in Pakistan. She recognizes the big problems with the system imposed by the ruling family of their village. She slowly finds ways to ally with her fellow servants and push back against the status quo.
Go with the Flow by Lily Williams and Karen Schneemann (2020)
Williams and Schneemann’s graphic novel is all about periods. One character becomes an advocate for better access to period supplies for her school. This book is a great primer for how to become a period activist.
The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy by Anne Ursu (2021)
As in the world of The Witch Boy, Ursu’s fantasy is set in a place where magic is divided on a gender binary — only boys can be sorcerers. At least that’s what everyone has always been told. What if that weren’t actually true? See more in this blog post.
Hazel Hill is Gonna Win This One by Maggie Horne (2022)
Horne’s novel is a story about standing up for yourself and your friends. Hazel realizes that the chatty and annoying boy who is always talking to her is sexually harassing her rival. She is able to change her view of her peers and insist on better behavior from the adults around her.