From chapter 3 of The Will to Change (join the book club!) while she's discussing how mass media reinforces partriarchal norms onto boys and young men
From chapter 3 of The Will to Change (join the book club!) while she's discussing how mass media reinforces partriarchal norms onto boys and young men
It's interesting she mentions the (understandable) fact that non-patriarchal books don't see the same exposure, because I'm having a really hard time thinking of children's/YA books that don't reinforce these tropes. If someone asked me for book recommendations for their young child I'd have trouble recommending any.
What about books by the GOAT Ursula K. Le Guin?
Oh crap you're right. I guess I don't associate them with children literature because I read them much later in life.
If I ever have children I will read earthsea to them
I’d say the Bartimaues Trilogy is a decent replacement to the latter Harry Potter books (3-7) if I recall correctly. The first 2 Harry Potter books are for a younger audience and are more childlike.
Nathaniel, one of the 3 POV characters of the series, is a chauvinistic asshole, but it is shown as such and the book frames him negatively as he develops these traits and goes down the dark path of becoming a government sorcerer fascist. He then redeems himself by abandoning all that baggage and conditioning and aiding the revolutionaries.
The other 2 POV characters are a revolutionary woman who is basically a straight up anti-mage communard, and a witty and sarcastic demonic entity that is actually just a tortured spirit that wants release. I seem to recall themes of equality and fighting oppression and unlearning prejudices and it was generally pretty judgmental of the oppressive world that sorcerers made and their wars, their entire system of magic is made out of summoning and enslaving spirits and they are tyrannical against non-magical ubermensch, and this entire thing is overthrown.
Hell yeah I never thought I'd see the Bartimaeus books being mentioned on Hexbear. Loved those books growing up and you're right, they were immediately one of the series I bounced to in between like Half-Blood Prince & Deathly Hallows. That trilogy, basically Garth Nix's entire bibliography at the time (what I would give to read Sabriel and Abhorsen again for the first time...s/o to Keys to the Kingdom too I remember those being decent), stuff like Kate Constable's Singer of All Songs series, and Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness & Circle of Magic series; all 58 of the Animorph books - shoutout The Solution and the other 2-3 David books; I would've trapped him as a rat too - based Rachel I will always remember the part where she went "yeah I'll stay with him to make sure he gets stuck in the rat morph, his tears won't affect me" and then she fuckin used that bald eagle morph to fly his rat ass to the desert and leave him there.
GOOD YOUNG ADULT FANTASY BOOKS - MY CHILDHOOD!!!! Shoutout to Firegold by Dia Calhoun too because that fucking book and the golden apple that plays a role in it have been stuck in my head since like 2005 because I was sitting in the library like 70 pages into it and going "oh...wait...this is a horse novel? i thought it was gonna be about wizards or something"
I read those books so many times as a kid, absolutely loved them.
there's also a cool fourth book set way thousands of years before the events of the trilogy when Bartimaeus was serving Solomon the Great btw
The Earthsea books by Ursula Le Guin are pretty good, though I only read the first one
They’re also pretty hard reads for kids though. No one does tell, don’t show like LeGuin… but definitely not a style you can consume as easily
did you mean show, don't tell— or am I misunderstanding
Nope, which is what makes her writing so unique. Show don’t tell is the standard way of doing things, but LeGuinn often verges into tell for large chunks. Highly recommended reading The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, if you want to see how crazy she can get with it!
yeah I've read that, a great story
I recently read Iron Widow which is YA scifi that has thick anti-patriarchal themes. It's pretty recent though.
the lib feminist mech furry polyamory book is not a replacement for harry potter. like were talking elementary school vs highschool. also just becuase it has a protaganisnt who spend a lot of time TALKING bout the patriarchy she still embodies the critiques bell hooks made. like the main character is the only smart capable women and all the others are mean, stupid, or cowards, and the only people on her side are her two male lovers. she singlehandedly changed the world through her force of her will and "spirit". also the author is anti communist fyi. (still gonna pirate that second book in hopes of a threesome) EDIT also the book is pure slop. just botton of the barrel fanfic quality slop that you read if you like polyamory and mechs and furrys not because its good. its actully a laughably bad book, like i literally laughed while reading it because of how absurd the "feminist" parts of the book were. like yeah babe being sexually abused is soooooooooooo girlboss when you are just too cool and bad ass to CARE that you are being sexually abused.
Get the lists of books being banned from middle school libraries.
Can always ask a librarian at a non crazy library. NYPL probably has some ideas.