The Amelia Bloomer List: A Selection of the Best Feminist Literature for Young Readers
You may have heard of the Caldecott, Newbery and Coretta Scott King awards for children’s literature, but you may not have heard of the Amelia Bloomer Project. Named after women’s rights advocate Amelia Bloomer, the Amelia Bloomer List is created every year by a committee of professional librarians who select the best feminist literature for young readers aged 0-18 years.
Being a Committee Member
In February 2018, the committee (made up of ten librarians) met at the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in Denver to discuss, debate, and ultimately select which books published within the last eighteen months would make the list. As a committee member, I can tell you that this experience is both exhilarating and exhausting. Throughout the year leading up to the Midwinter Meeting, committee members must read and nominate potential titles. This past year, we had a total nomination of 86 titles, of which 56 made it onto the official 2018 list.
How Do We Choose?
There are several factors that we must consider before adding a title to the list. First and most important is that we must evaluate whether or not the book has significant feminist content. There are hundreds of books published each year featuring stories with strong female characters as well as biographies depicting remarkable women in history, however these books do not always convey a feminist message. There are many key questions we must take into account - for example: Does the book challenge gender stereotypes? Do girls and women empower others? Does the book highlight underrepresented voices? It is also important that the book be well-written, accurate and well-illustrated (if a picture book).
The List and Top Ten
Books on which the committee unanimously agrees should be listed are then put in the running for our top ten. These selections represent the strongest works of literature that contain clear and significant feminist content for young readers. The 2018 Amelia Bloomer Top Ten (in alphabetical order by title) are:
Ahimsa by Supriya Kelkar (Lee & Low/Tu Books)
Girl Rising: Changing the World One Girl at a Time by Tanya Lee Stone (Random House/Wendy Lamb)
Hand Over Hand by Alma Fullerton, illustrated by Renné Benoit (Second Story)
Malala’s Magic Pencil by Malala Yousafzai, illustrated by Kerascoet (Little, Brown BFYR)
Noteworthy by Riley Redgate (Abrams/Amulet)
#NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women, edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale (Annick)
The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg (Little, Brown)
Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson (Bloomsbury)
Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali (S&S/Salaam Reads)
Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist by Jess Keating, illustrated by Marta Alvarez Miguens (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky)
To view the entire 2018 list and lists from previous years, please visit the Amelia Bloomer website.
Being a Committee Member
In February 2018, the committee (made up of ten librarians) met at the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in Denver to discuss, debate, and ultimately select which books published within the last eighteen months would make the list. As a committee member, I can tell you that this experience is both exhilarating and exhausting. Throughout the year leading up to the Midwinter Meeting, committee members must read and nominate potential titles. This past year, we had a total nomination of 86 titles, of which 56 made it onto the official 2018 list.
How Do We Choose?
There are several factors that we must consider before adding a title to the list. First and most important is that we must evaluate whether or not the book has significant feminist content. There are hundreds of books published each year featuring stories with strong female characters as well as biographies depicting remarkable women in history, however these books do not always convey a feminist message. There are many key questions we must take into account - for example: Does the book challenge gender stereotypes? Do girls and women empower others? Does the book highlight underrepresented voices? It is also important that the book be well-written, accurate and well-illustrated (if a picture book).
The List and Top Ten
Books on which the committee unanimously agrees should be listed are then put in the running for our top ten. These selections represent the strongest works of literature that contain clear and significant feminist content for young readers. The 2018 Amelia Bloomer Top Ten (in alphabetical order by title) are:
Ahimsa by Supriya Kelkar (Lee & Low/Tu Books)
Girl Rising: Changing the World One Girl at a Time by Tanya Lee Stone (Random House/Wendy Lamb)
Hand Over Hand by Alma Fullerton, illustrated by Renné Benoit (Second Story)
Malala’s Magic Pencil by Malala Yousafzai, illustrated by Kerascoet (Little, Brown BFYR)
Noteworthy by Riley Redgate (Abrams/Amulet)
#NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women, edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale (Annick)
The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg (Little, Brown)
Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson (Bloomsbury)
Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali (S&S/Salaam Reads)
Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist by Jess Keating, illustrated by Marta Alvarez Miguens (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky)
To view the entire 2018 list and lists from previous years, please visit the Amelia Bloomer website.
Youth Librarian Melissa Nemitz pictured top left.
- Melissa Nemitz, West Windsor Branch
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