'I'm A Girl' - The impact of the stories we read our daughters

Marjorie Brennan talks to Yasmeen Ismail, author of the children’s book ‘I’m A Girl’, about the impact of the stories we read our daughters

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales,” said Albert Einstein. “If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”

But fairy tales have been getting a bad rap in recent years, especially in terms of how they reinforce gender stereotypes. It’s generally acknowledged that the helpless princess waiting to be rescued by a handsome prince is a poor role model for a young girl to aspire to, but by dispensing with such classics are we in danger of throwing the baby out with the bathwater? And what should we be reading to our children instead to help shape their identity in a positive way?