Books with Strong Female Characters

Last updated: July 9, 2026

If you think "girl books" are just about princesses, romance, gossipy schoolgirls, and vampires, think again. There are plenty of great books featuring strong female main characters in compelling stories that are sure to appeal to boys as well as girls. We've selected a pile of books with universal appeal for kids of different ages and tastes, from bestselling picture books to young adult novels in just about every genre: adventure, fantasy, sci-fi, historical fiction, and family and school dramas. Check 'em out! And for more strong women, check out these movies with strong female characters.

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Busy Betty and the Circus Surprise book cover: Little blond girl with big glasses hugs her top hat-wearing pug dog, with a makeshift circus tent in the background

BOOK

Busy Betty & the Circus Surprise

age 3+

Lively homemade circus tale celebrates free play, teamwork.

Reese Witherspoon Picture Book (2023)

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Busy Betty and the Perfect Christmas Present book cover: Blond girl holds a plate of cookies surrounded by her pug dog Frank and wrapped presents

BOOK

Busy Betty & the Perfect Christmas Present

age 3+

Betty makes homemade gifts for family in cute holiday tale.

Reese Witherspoon Holiday (2024)

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Leila the Perfect Witch book cover: A smiling Leila holds a black cauldron with purple smoke rising from it; a green frog looks up at her with a smile

BOOK

Leila, the Perfect Witch: The World of Gustavo, Book 2

age 3+

A magical celebration of unique abilities and individuality.

Flavia Z. Drago Picture Book (2024)

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Don't Touch My Hair! Poster Image

BOOK

Don't Touch My Hair!

age 4+

Girl speaks up, sets boundaries in funny picture book.

Sharee Miller Picture Book (2019)

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Eloise Poster Image

BOOK

Eloise

age 4+

Spirited Eloise delights her young readers.

Kay Thompson Humor (1955)

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Five Words That Are Mine book cover: Mexican-American girl with hair in two braids carries her skateboard on her shoulders

BOOK

Five Words That Are Mine

age 4+

Skater girl's triumphant journey to self-discovery.

Melissa Seron Richardson Picture Book (2024)

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From My Head to My Toes book cover: Smiling, athletic girl in blue pants and a pink shirt, jumping across a path in a park

BOOK

From My Head to My Toes

age 4+

A powerful tool for teaching kids about consent.

Aly Raisman Picture Book (2024)

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Girls on the Rise book cover: A diverse group of three girls among giant, colorful flowers

BOOK

Girls on the Rise

age 4+

Inspiring poem celebrates the bravery and power of girls.

Amanda Gorman Picture Book (2025)

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Millie Fleur's Poison Garden book cover: Black-haired girl holds trowel surrounded by creepy plants with eyeballs and teeth

BOOK

Millie Fleur's Poison Garden

age 4+

Unusual girl bucks conformity in fun, spooky outsider tale.

Christy Mandin Picture Book (2024)

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Millie Fleur's Pumpkin Problems book cover: Millie pushes wheelbarrow full of pumpkins; behind her, frog with pencil checks off items on clipboard

BOOK

Millie Fleur's Pumpkin Problem

age 4+

Millie deals with too many pumpkins in fun seasonal sequel.

Christy Mandin Picture Book (2026)

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Piper Chen Sings book cover: Black-haired girl sings into hairbrush, surrounded by butterflies, a dachshund at her feet

BOOK

Piper Chen Sings

age 4+

Girl overcomes pre-performance jitters in empowering tale.

Phillipa Soo , Maris Pasquale Doran Picture Book (2024)

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Prunella book cover: Brown-skinned girl surrounded by unusual plants feeds a bug to a Venus fly trap

BOOK

Prunella

age 4+

Plant-loving loner finds pals in fun friendship tale.

Beth Ferry Picture Book (2024)

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Chubby Bunny book cover: Girl holding bags of marshmallows, plus a bunny nearby

BOOK

Chubby Bunny

age 5+

Girl rises above name-calling in body-positive tale.

Julie Murphy Picture Book (2023)

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Just Help! How to Build a Better World Poster Image

BOOK

Just Help! How to Build a Better World

age 5+

Inspiring portrait of service urges kids to give back.

Sonia Sotomayor Picture Book (2022)

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Malala's Magic Pencil Poster Image

BOOK

Malala's Magic Pencil

age 5+

Nobel winner tells what inspired activism in relatable tale.

Malala Yousafzai Picture Book (2017)

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Sofia Valdez, Future Prez Poster Image

BOOK

Sofia Valdez, Future Prez

age 5+

Girl takes on city hall in fun, diverse tale of persistence.

Andrea Beaty For Beginning Readers (2019)

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The Princess in Black Poster Image

BOOK

The Princess in Black

age 5+

Fun tale of monster-fighting princess who leads double life.

Shannon Hale , Dean Hale For Beginning Readers (2014)

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Dory Fantasmagory: Book 1 Poster Image

BOOK

Dory Fantasmagory: Book 1

age 6+

Funny, relatable tale of 6-year-old with wild imagination.

Abby Hanlon Family Life (2014)

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Goldie Blox Rules the School!: GoldieBlox, Book 1 Poster Image

BOOK

Goldie Blox Rules the School!: GoldieBlox, Book 1

age 6+

Cheery, messy fun in freewheeling female engineer series.

Stacy McAnulty Science (2017)

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Book cover: I Am Malala Yousafzai

BOOK

I Am Malala Yousafzai: Ordinary People Change the World

age 6+

Engaging bio of teen education activist/Nobel prize winner.

Brad Meltzer Biography (2022)

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