Thursday, 23 June 2016

11 Children's Books That Pass the Bechdel Test

No, I'd never heard of the Bechdel Test before either. But it's a great concept. Two named female characters in a book have to have a discussion about something other than a man. Not every conversation of course, but some conversation along the way that doesn't mention a man. Originally a description of gender bias in film, this fun list applies it to kids books.
1. Matilda - Roald Dahl

 2. The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis (well 2 and a bit of 7)

 3. Beezus & Ramona - Beverly Cleary

 4. Harriet the Spy - Louise Fitzhugh (see my review)

 5. Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery

 6. The Witches - Roald Dahl (see my review)

 7.  Number the Stars - Lois Lowry

 8. Because of Winn-Dixie - Kate Di Camillo

 9. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - Ann Brashares


10. The Baby-Sitters Club Series - Ann M. Martin

 11. Charlotte's Web - E.B. White

 7/11

 Actually I've just realised that I did hear of Alison Bechdel very recently when The Book Club read her graphic novel/memoir Fun Home (Series 10 episode 3), and now I've seen it pop up in a book vlog this week too.
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1 comment:

  1. Sue Bursztynski24 June 2016 at 19:58

    Of that list, I've only read the Narnia books and while they may pass the Bechdel test, it's probably for the wrong reasons, ie the girls in the series are not likely to be thinking of boys when they can think about Aslan. Who doesn't count as a boy, really, being God. ;-) And they are, let's face it, hardly feminist, eh :-)

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