Some books make you want to say, Rubbish!

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 7, 2001

The story was about a garbage man who gave out used stuff instead of crunching it up in his truck. I was enjoying reading it to my 4-year-old daughter until I turned to Page 16. It read: "After everyone had helped themselves, fathers went to work and mothers went back to the dishes."

Uggggggh. Please give me a small break here. Granted, Dear Garbage Man, by Gene Zion, was copyrighted in 1957. But if Zion was already pushing recycling, couldn't he give the mothers something else to return to than the dishes? They could at least be sorting the paper from the aluminum.

It was this book that prompted me to talk with librarians and start a list of books that have female role models doing something more interesting than the dishes. I got some great titles I'll share with you. Still, it can seem an uphill battle. Even with all the progress women have made, there are still plenty of books, movies and TV shows that depict girls and women as inferior to boys and men.

Soon after our little girls start clamoring for Barbie dolls with the perfect body dimensions and long, blond hair, they want more than the dolls themselves. There's also an array of books to choose from in which Barbie is hosting sleepovers, making muffins or going shopping. All fine things to do, things I enjoy myself, but our girls need to know there's much more they are capable of.

I love the favorite fairy tales, but as we all know, the happy endings for Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White hinge on their handsome princes saving them from their plight. My husband and I still read these to our girls, of course, but we at least point out that the princesses are smart, nice and brave, not just lovely.

Of course, I hope both my girls marry wonderful men and are very happy raising a family, as I am. But I want them to know they can still aspire to do anything a boy might dream of doing. And that their success doesn't depend on their looks.

I was pleased to finally take my daughter to see the first G-rated movie of the summer, The Princess Diaries. It was nice and tame and seemed to try to send a message that it's okay to be different. The heroine starts off as a likable, smart, frizzy-haired misfit with bushy eyebrows and glasses. After learning she is actually royalty, she gets a major makeover and wows her school with straight dark hair, sculpted brows and a clear, rosy complexion.

So instead of being inspired by an awkward geek who becomes a princess, the lesson was more like: "With a hair straightener and the right makeup, you can change your looks and become much more confident, happy and popular."

I'm probably ranting because my daughter is at the age when it's now boys against girls on the playground. She asks me why boys say girls are dumb. The other day a boy told her: "Girls drool. Boys rule."

I suggested she simply turn it around and say: "Girls rule. Boys drool."

"But I can't say dool," she wailed in her less than perfect articulation.

My "girl power" books should help to subtly boost her confidence.

"You need to give them a reading environment that exposes them to all the possibilities," said Eva Marie Nesbit, children's librarian at Mirror Lake Library in St. Petersburg. And by reading fun books you're not forcing them to be one thing or another, just showing them a variety of things women and girls can do.

"All you're doing is creating an environment in which girls know it's all right to have any kind of goals they choose," Nesbit said.

It didn't take more than 10 minutes of looking over the shelves to gather a stack of great girl power books. Ask your librarian or book retailer for some good titles. You can also look up careers or other topics in the Children's Books in Print catalog at the main library.

If your girls can read themselves, there are many biographies written for younger readers. Most are about men, but there are plenty on women such as abolitionist Harriet Tubman; author Louisa May Alcott; former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright; scientist Marie Curie; Annie Sullivan, the teacher of blind and deaf Helen Keller; and Bessie Coleman, the first female African-American pilot.

Children's fiction is also a great place to find female role models.

"It can be inspiring to learn about famous women who broke down boundaries, but it can also be daunting," said Beth Travelsted, librarian at St. Petersburg's Main Library. "In fiction, it may not be the main point of the story, but there are lots of strong female protagonists. It's not always the perfect character, but it may be a regular kid who shows characteristics of not taking the back seat to boys in the classroom or on the athletic field or even at home."

Here's a list of titles to get you started:

The Girl Who Wore Snakes, by Angela Johnson, tells of a girl who is the bravest in the class when the man from the zoo visits with a bunch of snakes.

Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie, by Peter and Connie Roop, tells of a young girl who saved ships and lives by keeping her family's lighthouse burning all night when her parents couldn't do it.

I Like Me, by Nancy Carlson, is about a girl pig who has a best friend. Herself.

The Artist's Friends is about a young girl who meets all types of male and female artists.

Kate and the Beanstalk, by Mary Pope Osborne. Hey, girls can climb too.

The Berenstain Bears series features a stay-at-home mother bear who does a great job of running the household and keeping everybody -- especially Daddy Bear -- in line.

The Fourth Little Pig, by Teresa Celsi. It takes sister pig to show the others that they can't spend their life in fear of the wolf.

Baseball Ballerina Strikes Out, by Kathryn Cristaldi, is one of a series about a girl who cross-trains between baseball and ballet.

Lily's Purple Plastic Purse, by Kevin Henkes, features a spirited mouse who wants to grow up to be a teacher . . . or a surgeon or an ambulance driver or a hairdresser or a pilot.

Saving Sweetness, by Diane Stanley, is about a runaway orphan who does more to save the sheriff sent to help her than he does.

There is also a slew of career books featuring women in all kinds of work. Mary Frances Lawrie, the librarian at Seminole Elementary School, said the young readers prefer fiction but often check these books out for class reports. "There are lots of pictures and some of the younger children are fascinated," she said.

Some career titles are A Day in the Court with Mrs. Trinh, Riding the School Bus with Mrs. Kramer, Buying a Pet from Ms. Chavez and Who Keeps the Water Clean? Ms. Schindler.

-- You can reach Katherine Snow Smith by e-mail at Oliviachar@aol.com; or write Rookie Mom, St. Petersburg Times, PO Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731; or call (727) 822-7225.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright