STARKE MAEDCHEN: 8 KIDS' BOOKS IN GERMAN WITH STRONG FEMALE CHARACTERS
October 11th is International Girls' Day, to empower girls and help eliminate challenges girls face. But of course reading books about girls that defy the typical stereotypes is great to do all year round, to boys and girls alike. Here are our favorite 8 kids' books in German with strong female characters!
Marianne Dubuc
LUCIE UND DIE VIER
3 short stories for little ones are told in this beautifully serene picture book. Whether Lucie is looking for a perfect spot to have a picnic together with her friends - and almost mistake a snail for a hazelnut. Or she goes searching for a treasure on her birthday. Or finds some unattended eggs she decides to tend for until they hatch:
a perfect mix of little stories, some adventures, but nothing scary. And you can talk with your kid what they would do or if they have ever been in a similar situation.
2 years and up
Francesca Sanna
GEH WEG, HERR BERG!
One day a girl comes by and asks the mountain to move aside, because she wants to see what is on the other side. Of course he can't, but he also is a little outraged at the audacity of the girl. So he lets lots and lots of rain pour on her and a terrible wind gust her way, but the girl doesn't budge. So he has one last idea, he puts her on his tip. And the girl can't get enough of all she sees. She learns to climb and remains curious: what is where the horizon meets the sky?
Bold illustrations with short sentences make this a perfect read for smaller and even older kids (who maybe are not so strong in German.)
3 years and up
Robert Much / SaBine Buechner
DIE PRINZESSIN IN DER TUETE
If your girl is into princesses, why not pick a story that doesn't follow the usual pattern of fairytales? A dragon has destroyed Lilly's castle, stealing her prince-to-be Ronald and leaving her with nothing but a paper bag as clothes. But Lili is determined to get her prince back! With nothing but the paper bag on her she follows the dragon's path and tricks him until he falls asleep, to free Ronald. But Ronald doesn't seem grateful at all, instead he criticizes Lily for her looks! Will Lily put up with this?
A nice twist on the dragon princess prince mix, that is lots of fun to read aloud and kids love!
3 years and up
Lea Melcher
LOTTA LUSTIG
Lotta knows she is a superhero! She even has the right attire. What she is unsure about: what is her superpower? Together with a friend she is determined to find out. Can she fly? Or make herself invisible? As it turns out, her special gift is a very different one: she makes people laugh.
A fun story illustrated in bold colors about hidden gifts and the importance of bringing joy to other people's lives.
4 years and up
Volker Schmitt / Mariam Ben-Arab
ZACK!
Bonny is moving to a new place with her parents and baby sister. The house is empty and slightly spooky, but she still decides to sleep in her new room by herself. She has a hard time to fall asleep. When she sees a cat sitting on the tree outside, she ventures out to befriend her - and falls right from the tree onto a beach. Lying there as well is a red bearded man with just one leg who doesn't remember his name. Convinced he must be a pirate, she makes him a leg, a float and gives him a name: Zack! And sails off with him to look for his pirate ship. This is a joyful, adventurous comic that depicts a refreshingly diverse and modern family and has a strong female protagonist. It also is the perfect book for a beginning reader - and works well for beyond that age, of course, with any reluctant bilingual reader. My son hid it in his bed for a while to read and reread it at night and early morning.
6 years and up
Malala Yousafzai / Kerascoet
MALALAS MAGISCHER STIFT
Children's rights activist Malala Yousafzei was born in Pakistan and started as an 11 year old to blog about the atrocities of the Taliban. When she was 15 she barely survived an attempt by the Taliban to assassinate her. She was the youngest person to ever receive the Peace Nobel Price in 2017. In this picture book she tells how as a little girl she would watch a show about a boy with a magical pen as a super power. She dreams of a magical pen herself, to sleep in in the morning or make the garbage smell in the city disappear. Growing older, seeing other poorer kids searching for food in garbage, she realizes she is privileged - many girls from poorer families can't go to school. But then the Taliban declare girls should be no more allowed to learn at school, And she realizes she doesn't need a magic pen, she can write with a regular pen - and the world actually listened to her. A powerful and truly impressive book about how we can all make a difference.
5 years and up
Kathrin Rohmann
GLUECKSTAGE UNTERM APFELBAUM
7 year old Minna has a vivid imagination. Even ordinary events for her can turn into big adventures - and at the end every one, in particular the adults, seems very surprised. Apart from Minna, of course. She thinks it is normal for tiny men to appear in her room, complaining about the breakdown of their car. She just runs over to get her father's car magazines and asks a car mechanic to jump out and help. Done.
28 short adventures, perfect for a read aloud, well written und highly entertaining.
5 years and up
Anna Woltz
SONNTAG, MONTAG, STERNENTAG
Nora is an inventor. She has invented a human sized dragon to scare her brothers, a trap for her older brother and has tried to get her dog to fly. Right now she would like to have some glasses that allow her to see through walls. She really wants to know what is in that big black box that the boy next door carried into the house. As it turns out, she can do without, there is a little hatch on the attic that allows her to sneak over! Soon the two befriend each other. And Nora can put her inventor skills to good use: how can her friend overcome his incredible fear to speak in front of others? He has a presentation coming up in school and really needs to overcome it.
Perfect story for beginning readers and to read aloud, for boys and girls alike.
7 years and up
