Recently, I was astonished to realise that my otherwise confident preschooler seemed afraid to say “no” to other kids, even if they were taking her headband or dragging her around by the jacket hood. Alarmed,  I did what I always do when I can’t decide on the best parental next move: I called on a good friend of mine who is a brilliant early childhood educator.

Among her many excellent suggestions was … wait for it … bibliotherapy! Over the next few days, she came up with a wonderful list of picture books full of strong female characters. The books are too fabulous to keep to myself, so here they are:

Chester’s Way, Lily and the Purple Plastic Purse, Lily’s Big Day, and Sheila Rae the Brave, by Kevin Henkes

Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon, by Patty Lovell

Rumpelstiltskin’s Daughter, by Diane Stanley

Sally Jean the Bicycle Queen, by Cari Best

Brave Irene, by William Steig

The Katie Morag books, by Mairi Hedderwick

We’ve devoured all these books together, and I’m very pleased to report last week, my daughter spoke up loud and clear when a friend did something objectionable. Hurray for strong females! And hurray for my dear friend Nancy, bibliotherapist extraordinaire.

If you have any titles you think should be added to this list, please do drop me a line!