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.