Gender in children’s books

Why are there so few girls in children’s books?

The main characters — whether they're human, animal, a snowplow or a crayon — are almost always male.

By Jennie Yabroff January 8 

Jennie Yabroff is a writer and editor living in New York.

(Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post)

Every night, my daughter picks out bedtime stories from the picture books on her shelf. And every night, my husband gamely asks me the same question before starting to read: “The gorilla [or dog, or pigeon, or llama, or snowplow, or crayon, or bear, or monster, or dinosaur, or fly, or cat, or tank engine] is a girl, right?” “Right,” I say. In our house, she is./.../