Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls
Cover page of Volume 1
Author Elena Favilli, Francesca Cavallo
Discipline Children's non-fiction
No. of books 2
Website http://www.rebelgirls.co/

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls is a series of two children's books, aimed at ages six and up. Both were funded through the crowdfunding website Kickstarter, and broke site records for fundraising for literature publication. The books each feature short stories about 100 real women who can be role models to children.

Writing and publication

Elena Favilli (left) and Francesca Cavallo (right), authors of the Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls series.

The first volume of Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls was written by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo, and published in 2016.[1] The first and second volumes of Goodnight Stories were crowdfunded on Kickstarter, both breaking records on the website. The first volume was Kickstarter's "most funded children's book", raising over $675,000 (with an original goal of $40,000). The second volume was their "fastest-funded publishing project" ever.[2]

Each book in the series dedicates one page to the story of 100 women (all with illustrations by woman artists) who can be role models to children.[3] The women come from different backgrounds, eras, and are culturally diverse and have a wide variety of occupations.[4] Examples of entries include Malala Yousafzai, Alicia Alonso, Manal al-Sharif,[5] J. K. Rowling,[6] Irena Sendlerowa, and Lella Lombardi.[2]

Reception

Good Night Stories has sold over one million copies, and has been translated into more than 30 languages.[5] They have received praise for being an alternative to the stereotypical portrayal of girls and women in fiction (such as the Disney Princess), or books about heroes which primarily focus on male protagonists. It focuses on telling young girls that they can grow up to be whatever they wish, regardless of what other people think.[6]

The inclusion of Aung San Suu Kyi in the book has received criticism for her failure to condemn the ongoing Rohingya persecution in Myanmar. Favilli and Cavallo have commented that they are considering (but have not committed to) removing her from future printings of the book.[7][8]

References

  1. ↑ "Not our hero anymore: Calls to cut Suu Kyi from Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls". Hindustan Times. 25 December 2017.
  2. 1 2 Ruiz, Rebecca. "This book for 'rebel girls' just broke a Kickstarter record for the best reason". Mashable. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  3. ↑ Georgina Rannard (6 March 2017). "The anti-princess book teaching girls to rebel". BBC.
  4. ↑ Catalina Sofia Dansberger Duque (26 June 2017). "Q&A: Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo on Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls and Why Children's Books Need Feminism". Ms Magazine.
  5. 1 2 Walker, Esther (26 November 2017). "Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls — a revolution at bedtime". The Times. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  6. 1 2 O'Farrell, Maggie (15 December 2017). "In praise of JK Rowling and all other Rebel Girls". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  7. ↑ Schaub, Michael (27 December 2017). "Does Aung San Suu Kyi belong in a children's book of heroic women, 'Rebel Girls'?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  8. ↑ Merrick, Jane (24 December 2017). "Parents demand Aung San Suu Kyi is cut from children's book of role models". The Observer. Retrieved 22 January 2018.

Further reading

  • Moorhead, Joanna (February 28, 2018). "Return of the Rebel Girls: the runaway success stories of women who changed the world". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235.
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