Gender Equity Resource List

The following bibliography is not exhaustive, but offers a selection of books that portray and explore nontraditional gender roles. There are many more materials in the Lower School Library. Professional materials have not been included.

SYBIL LUDINGTON’S MIDNIGHT RIDE

By Marsha Amstel

The story of Sybil Ludington’s ride on horseback to rouse American soldiers to fight against the British who were attacking Danbury, Connecticut during the American Revolution.

MORRIS MICKLEWHITE AND THE TANGERINE DRESS

By Christine Baldacchino

A young boy faces adversity from classmates when he wears an orange dress at school.

BALLERINO NATE

By Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

After seeing a ballet performance, Nate decides he wants to learn ballet but he has doubts when his brother Ben tells him that only girls can be ballerinas.

RUBY’S WISH

By Shirin Yim Bridges

In China, at a time when few girls are taught to read or write, Ruby dreams of going to the university with her brothers and male cousins.

CLARICE BEAN, GUESS WHO’S BABYSITTING?

By Lauren Child

When her Uncle Ted, the fireman, comes to stay with Clarice and her brothers and sister while her mother is away, things get somewhat hectic.

AKIRA TO ZOLTÁN: TWENTY-SIX MEN WHO CHANGED THE WORLD

By Cynthia Chin-Lee

Introduces students to twenty-six men who changed the world through peaceful methods.

AMELIA TO ZORA: TWENTY-SIX WOMEN WHO CHANGED THE WORLD

By Cynthia Chin-Lee

Presents brief, illustrated biographies of twenty-six women, one for each letter of the alphabet, who have made history in their various fields, including naturalist Jane Goodall, missionary Mother Teresa, and democratic leader and political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi.

THE DARING NELLIE BLY: AMERICA’S STAR REPORTER

By Bonnie Christensen

Introduces the life of Nellie Bly who, as a “stunt reporter” for the New York World newspaper in the late 1800s, championed women’s rights and traveled around the world faster than anyone ever had.

PRINCESS SMARTYPANTS By Babette Cole

Princess Smartypants prefers to stay a “Ms.” and easily dispatches all but one of her annoying suitors. Ridding herself of the final one is a bit more of a challenge.

PLAYERS IN PIGTAILS

By Shana Corey

Katie Casey, a fictional character, helps start the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which gave women the opportunity to play professional baseball while America was involved in World War II.

BASEBALL BALLERINA

By Kathryn Cristaldi

A baseball-loving girl worries that the ballet class her mother forces her to take will ruin her reputation with the other members of her baseball team.

I LOVE MY PURSE

By Belle DeMont

Charlie loves his bright red purse. When he brings it to school, though, everyone questions him on his ‘strange’ choice. But nothing his dad, his friend Charlotte, or even the kids say can make Charlie change his mind. He’s sticking with his purse.

OLIVER BUTTON IS A SISSY

By Tomie De Paola

His classmates’ taunts don’t stop Oliver Button from doing what he likes best.

ASHA’S MUMS

By Rosamund Elwin

When Asha’s lesbian mothers become an issue for the teacher and object of curiosity for Asha responds with clarity and assuredness that, for her, having two mums is no big deal—they are simply a family.

THE SISSY DUCKLING

By Harvey Fierstein

Elmer the duck is teased because he is different, but he proves himself by not only surviving the winter, but also saving his Papa.

THE PRINCESS KNIGHT

By Cornelia Funke

Despite the taunting of her brothers, Princess Violetta becomes a talented knight, and when her father proposes to give her hand in marriage to the knight who wins a tournament, Violetta uses her brains as well as her brawn to outwit him.

MOLLY’S FAMILY

By Nancy Garden

When Molly draws a picture of her family for Open School Night, one of her classmates makes her feel bad because he says she cannot have a mommy and a mama. With the help of her teacher, and her loving mothers, Molly realizes she has all the love she needs in her family.

THE LONG RED SCARF

By Nette HiltonAfter all his female relatives refuse to knit him a scarf as they go on about their business—driving the cows, building a crib—Grandfather learns to knit himself.

REAL COWBOYS

By Kate Hoefler

Real cowboys are gentle, patient, and creative as they move hundreds of cattle, make camp, and dream under the stars.

JACOB’S NEW DRESS

By Sarah and Ian Hoffman

Jacob, who likes to wear dresses at home, convinces his parents to let him wear a dress to school, too.

BIG BOB, LITTLE BOB By James Howe

Despite the fact that they share a name, Big Boband Little Bob are different. Big Bob likes trucks and throwing balls and being loud. Little Bob likes dolls and jingling bracelets and being quiet. No matter what they do, they do not do it the same. Could they possibly be friends despite these differences?

HORACE AND MORRIS BUT MOSTLY DOLORES

By James Howe

Three mice friends learn that the best clubs include everyone.

I’M A GIRL

By Yasmeen Ismail

When a rough and tumble little girl, who is sometimes mistaken for a boy, meets a boy who likes wearing princess dresses and playing with dolls, a wonderful friendship is born.

CATCHING THE MOON: THE STORY OF A YOUNG GIRL’S BASEBALL DREAM By Crystal Hubbard

Presents a biography of African-American baseball player Marcenia Lyle, whose l love of baseball as a child allowed her to break the gender barrier by becoming the first female member of the professional Negro Leagues.

FREE AS A BIRD: THE STORY OF MALALA By Lina Maslo

A picture book biography of Malala Yousafzai, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, discussing her childhood and her political activism.

MARVELOUS MATTIE: HOW MARGARET E. KNIGHT BECAME AN INVENTOR By Emily Arnold McCully

Describes inventor Margaret E. Knight’s childhood, explaining how her interest in mechanical innovations began, and tells the story of her invention of a paper bag maker and her legal battle for the patent after someone stole her idea.

TOUGH GUYS (HAVE FEELINGS TOO)

By Keith Negley

Explains through simple text and colorful illustrations that tough guys have the same feelings as you and I.

A TALE OF TWO DADDIES

By Vanita Oelschlager

A young girl answers her friend’s questions about the different things her two dads do for her.

PRINCESS PRINCESS EVER AFTER

By Katie O’Neill

Sadie and Amira, two very different princesses with very different strengths, are on a journey to figure out what happily ever after really means — and how they can find it with each other.

THE GIRL WHO STRUCK OUT BABE RUTH

By Jean L. S. Patrick

The true story of Jackie Mitchell, a seventeen-year-old female professional baseball player, who struck out the New York Yankees best hitters, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, in an exhibition game in 1931.

WHO ARE YOU? THE KID’S GUIDE TO GENDER IDENTITY

By Brook Pessin-Whedbee

Provides a straightforward introduction to gender for anyone aged 4+. It presents clear and direct language for understanding and talking about how we experience gender: our bodies, our expression, and our identity.

ALVIN AILEY

By Andrea Davis Pinkney

Describes the life, dancing, and choreography of Alvin Ailey, who created his own modern dance company to explore the black experience.

IN OUR MOTHERS’ HOUSE

By Patricia Polacco

Three young children experience the joys and challenges of being raised by two mothers.

FEARLESS GIRLS, WISE WOMEN, AND BELOVED SISTERS: HEROINES IN FOLKTALES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

By Kathleen Ragan

Collects 100 tales from around the world, including Africa, Western Europe, Native American cultures, Asia, and the Middle East, that feature a heroine.

AND TANGO MAKES THREE

By Justin Richardson

At New York City’s Central Park Zoo, two male penguins fall in love and start a family by taking turns sitting on an abandoned egg until it hatches.

JOSÉ!: BORN TO DANCE: THE STORY OF JOSÉ LIMÓN

By Susanna Reich

An illustrated biography of Mexican-born dancer Jose Limon, who moved to the United States and later became world famous as a dancer and choreographer.

GIRLS THINK OF EVERYTHING: STORIES OF INGENIOUS INVENTIONS BY WOMEN

By Catherine Thimmesh

Tells the story of how women throughout the ages have responded to situations confronting them in daily life by inventing such items as correction fluid, space helmets, and disposable diapers.

INTRODUCING TEDDY: A GENTLE STORY ABOUT GENDER AND FRIENDSHIP

By Jessica Walton

Errol’s best friend and teddy, Thomas, is sad because he wishes he were a girl, not a boy teddy, but what only matters to both of them is that they are friends.

TOMBOY TROUBLE

By Sharon Dennis Wyeth

When Georgia, an eight-year-old girl, cuts her hair very short and plays baseball the children in her new school ask her if she’s a boy.

ANNA DAY AND THE O-RING

By Elaine Wickens

Evan lives with his family of two mothers and Anna Day the dog. Evan and his family try to put up his new tent which is his before-birthday present but they cannot find the O-ring. They look for it everywhere before finding it under Anna Day.

NOT ALL PRINCESSES DRESS IN PINK

By Jane Yolen

Rhyming text affirms that girls can pursue their many interests, from playing sports to planting flowers in the dirt, without giving up their tiaras.

WILLIAM’S DOLL

By Charlotte Zolotow

William’s father gives him a basketball and a train but these do not make him want a doll less.