Empowerment for Girls: Riveting Reads for Primary Schools Synopsis
Children learn about the world through reading and the media – particularly the images they see and the messages they hear. If these are constantly gender-biased they send a strong signal reinforcing gender inequality, and a message that boys and girls not only are different, but should also be treated differently. This continual reinforcement via childhood, school and society results in an assumption that this is how it should be and that male dominance is the norm, impacting on how children respond to each other.
The books in this collection have been selected to challenge the gender assumptions girls – and boys – grow up with. They celebrate female heroines, female figures from history and public life, and female role models. Each book has been given a suggested age range and is tailored towards Primary level readers at Key Stages 1 and 2. However, as children vary in their emotional maturity as well as their reading levels and capacity for inference, these are only recommendations. The book suggestions are divided into four categories: Picture books, Fiction books, Information books, Graphic novels and Manga.
Barbara Band is a qualified Chartered Librarian. After working for over thirty years as a school librarian, she now offers support, advice and training as a school library, reading and literacy consultant; not being tied to the 9–5 routine enables her to undertake several voluntary roles advocating for and promoting school libraries. In addition to writing several SLA publications, she regularly blogs for professional journals and also has her own blog. When not ‘flying the flag’ for libraries, she can be found knitting, travelling, occasionally painting, taking photos or introducing her grandchildren to her favourite authors and illustrators!
