by Catherine Leung
My daughter has always enjoyed reading stories with strong female characters, even from a very young age, and one of her early favourites was the story of Chinese legendary folk heroine Mulan, who she admired in a picture book long before ever watching the Disney film. Even before she could read, she looked at the pictures so much the pages are now all falling out!
Strong female protagonists – whether they challenge stereotypes, are powerful, dreamy, funny, clumsy, flawed, independent thinkers, or possess an unusual talent – all have the power to inspire the next generation of readers as soon as they are old enough to hold a book! Perhaps you already have a favourite story with a strong female character that you are drawn to? If you are looking for new inspiration, here are just a few ideas to get you started, from picture book to YA.
Written and illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna
Translated by Jill Davis
Translated from French
Published by Thames & Hudson
Picture book Never, Not Ever! by talented Beatrice Alemagna takes the strong female protagonist to the extreme with plenty of humour. Larger-than-life girl bat Pascaline stands out from the other animals in the story with her rosy-pink tinted wings and fuzzy ears. She is relatable to young readers with her fear of her first day of school, but what makes Pascaline special is her impressive double-page refusal when she yells NEVER, NOT EVER! so loudly her parents shrivel up to the size of two peanuts! Pascaline then proceeds to tuck them both under her wing, thereby avoiding having to go to school by herself. There is a clever twist however, as Pascaline’s parents end up cramping her style – she has to carry them around all day, preventing Pascaline from enjoying herself and of course, she has no parents to pick her up when school’s over! I love the idea that while Pascaline’s strong character enables her to get her own way, and go against her parents’ will, in the end she comes to realise that she’d have a better time if she followed her parents’ advice and went to school alone.
Author-illustrator Beatrice Alemagna brings her characterful and funny story to life with her unique artwork. Jill Davis captures the humour of the story in her translation and the refrain Never, not ever! works a treat!
Written by Agnès Mathieu-Daudé
Illustrated by Olivier Tallec
Translated by Nanette McGuinness
Translated from French
Published by Arctis Books
Set in the world of the vikings, the two books in this funny series – No More Ear Buns and Secret Viking Wishes focus on the protagonist, Dagfrid, a wilful young viking girl who tells her own story and wins over the reader with her independent outlook. Unlike other viking girls in her village, she is not content with accepting her lot – she is not happy with her name, her gender role which involves sewing, sweeping and preparing food for the male viking warriors, or the viking girl fashion of long dresses and hair styled in ear buns. She is also not a fan of the viking staple diet of dried salted fish! Not only is she discontented, but she decides to do something about it!
The author writes in the first person in a convincing contemporary young girl’s voice that young readers will relate to and translator Nanette McGuinness carries this over well in her translation. This voice adds to the humour given the historical context, and is established from the very first lines: “My name is Dagfrid. Yes I know. It’s a terrible name.”
As an early chapter book, Olivier Tallec’s colourful and characterful illustrations play a vital role in piquing the young reader’s interest and add wonderfully to our sense of Dagfrid as a strong-minded discontented young lady – the very first picture of a disgruntled Dagfrid with her arms crossed, wearing trousers and her hair down in plaits rather than done up in ear buns says it all!
Written by Christelle Dabos
Translated by Hildegarde Serle
Translated from French
Published by Europa editions
This series came strongly recommended by my (now teenage!) daughter. Spanning a quartet of books, the reader is plunged into a magical and epic fantasy which unfolds on floating celestial arks, splinters of an old and ruptured world.
At the heart is our female protagonist Ophelia, who stands out as a misfit, largely misunderstood by the other characters. At first, she does not appear to have any of the obvious characteristics of a heroine. Ophelia is clumsy with an eccentric look, hiding behind grey-tinted glasses which change according to her mood, and a long and lively multicoloured scarf with a life of its own. This is what makes her so endearing to the reader though, along with the fact that she is a bundle of contradictions, as she also possesses unique talents. Not only can she ‘read’ objects, picking up their history and the trace of anyone who has touched the objects before her, but she also has the ability to pass through mirrors.
Ophelia’s peaceful family life on the ark of Anima, where she works in the family museum, is disrupted when a marriage of convenience is organised with taciturn Thorn from another clan. She is abruptly whisked off to his home on the Pole, a contrasting snowy, ice-cold, and distant ark, rife with dangerous plots and intrigue. Here the people are generally hostile and in order to find her way through its labyrinth of illusions, Ophelia needs to draw on all her talent and genius for survival.
Alongside the gripping plot line, French author Christelle Dabos has a distinctive voice and her beautifully detailed descriptions build a vivid picture of the magical world, bringing the eccentricity and elegance of its characters to life. The richness of this language is successfully carried over in Hildegarde Serle’s English translation.
Meet Catherine Leung
Catherine Leung is a literary translator, children’s picture book author of award-winning Long-Long’s New Year, and editor, having worked at Oxford University Press for a number of years. After a dreamy childhood in rural Devon, with a degree in French and German, her passion for language took her on a journey spanning almost a decade to China via France. While she is now settled in South West London, her journey continues through books and her imagination.
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