There Are New Bedtime Stories For 'Rebel Girls'

Sure you could read Goodnight Moon over and over again to your niece or daughter, with its comb and its brush and its bowl full of mush, but when you're looking for something for your tiny powerhouses who want something a bit louder at bedtime, you can turn to the new book Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls . Timbuktu Magazine launched a Kickstarter today for this new picture book, in the vein of Rad American Women A-Z and other projects raging against the pretty, pretty princess-ification of young girls. Bottom line: You have to buy it for the little ones in your lives, but you also need a copy for your grown-up bookshelf.

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls is a collection of 100 illustrated stories, written as if they were fairy tales, each centering on a formidable and extraordinary woman from history or current day: Elizabeth I, Serena Williams, the Brontë sisters, Frida Kahlo, and way more. Adding to the feminist cool factor is each story is complemented by a portrait of the woman designed by a different female artist from across the globe. (And yes, don't panic: Timbuktu Magazine sent us some inside spreads to share below.) There is serious girl power between the covers of this book.

“We’ve been working in the children’s media space for the past 5 years and we’ve witnessed from the inside how gender stereotypes still permeate books for children of all ages,” says co-founder and creative director Francesca Cavallo in a release to Bustle. “Parents are offered little resources to counter this trend and they are especially concerned about the lack of strong female role models in children’s media. That’s why we decided to create this book."

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli & Francesca Cavallo, $35, Amazon

Starting April 27, backers who pledge just $20 will get a digital e-book version of Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, plus a bonus coloring book in PDF, as well as a PDF bundle of the magazine's "How to Raise Confident Girls." For early birds, you can get a hard copy of Good Night Stories For Rebel Girls plus the coloring book and "How to Raise Confident Girls" for $25 or $30, until each of those price tiers runs out. If you miss the early bird special, you can get that bundle for just $35.

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli & Francesca Cavallo, $35, Amazon

Just so you can see how awesome it is inside, below is a peek into five inside spread of Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls.

Included in the Kickstarter is an option for teachers, administrators, or local do-gooders to bring Good Night Stories to Rebel Girls and its creators to a school for a one-day workshop to help gets overcome gender stereotyping, which probably makes it the only time I ever wished I were back in school. The Kickstarter will close Thursday May 26, so hurry!

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli & Francesca Cavallo, $35, Amazon

Images: Fotolia; Courtesy of Timbuktu Magazine/Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls