How To Build A Feminist Library For Your Baby

By Raakhee Mirchandani for Elle Magazine

It was bedtime and I was reading "The Story of Ruby Bridges" to my almost 3-year-old daughter Satya. She was wiggling and squirming, picking things out of places I would rather not mention. A little frustrated—like, hello, little toddler, don't you see me totally killing this parenting thing right now?—I let her have it, "Satya, if you don't want to listen to mama, I can just stop reading." She sat back down. The kid loves story time.

And while I wasn't convinced anything even remotely meaningful was happening, I kept going. We do two books a night before bed and, if nothing else, I like being able to squish, side by side, into our cozy reading rocking chair.

A few days later, when I picked her up from school, Satya said, totally unprompted: "When I was praying to my God…" and I froze. What? Praying? Her God? Who was this child whom, despite her adorable exterior, has been known to have some pretty intense demonic tendencies. She continued, "...like Ruby Bridges."

And there it was. The little nose picker was paying attention the whole time.