I was heartened to read this week that being an older woman is now trendy. I am finally in style! No longer invisible, female baby boomers are coming into their own. They are working, creating, and speaking their minds. This was conveyed to me in the Wall Street Journal article, “Are Fashion Brands Finally Catering to Women Over 50?” by Faran Krentcil. This small, important stance gives me hope. I still have many productive years ahead of me. I can continue to teach, write, have opinions. Besides learning about the many mature women in the fashion industry who are leading voices, the article also notes a trend on TikTok of young women looking for MOTHER, a benevolent female guide, what I now call the new B.F.G. I like the idea of being a B.F.G. for my younger counterparts. After all, isn’t teaching guiding younger ones to make their paths less difficult and more filled with joy.
In a month and a half, I’ll turn sixty-eighty. It is so close to seventy. Where did my sixties go? And those fifties? Could it be almost twenty years since I was fifty? It seems my timeline is rushing away from me fast! If I think about it too much, I could become despondent. But then I remember to turn to God and know that I have been put here to teach – to listen and guide. Like Roald Dahl’s BFG (Big Friendly Giant), I can add some light and light-heartedness to the world. And we surely need much more of both.
Though I have neither superb hearing or supersonic speed like Dahl’s BFG, I think my experiences teaching and learning can be very helpful. I have been working in a private girls school for the last twenty years and see that more and more of our students’ need guidance and acceptance. My guidance is very quiet. It is not bold or commanding. My guidance is not step-by-step directions, rather I try to lead lightly by listening and sharing opportunities for further learning and discovery. These opportunities almost always come in the form of books. Books can lead a shy child to explore or a worried child to not feel so alone in the world. I hope I have many years left to guide children to great books and thoughtful writers.
Below is my selection of books that show positive older women characters (B.F.G.s). I think this is so important. I want children to see older people as having abilities not disabilities. I want them to see that as we age, we become more imaginative, more daring, and more willing to embrace the world with arms wide open.
Picture Books Celebrating BFG’s
- Abuela by Arthur Dorros
- Aunt Flossie’s Hats (and Crab Cakes Later) by Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard
- Gugu’s House by Catherine Stock
- I Know a Lady by Charlotte Zolotow
- I Love Saturdays y Domingos by Alma Flor Ada
- Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena
- Love, Amalia by Ama Flor Ada
- Madame Badobedah by Sophie Dahl (Roald’s granddaughter!)
- Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
- Miss Tizzy by Libba Moore Gray
- Miz Berlin Walks by Jane Yolen
- Mrs. Katz and Tush by Patricia Polacco
- Nana Akua Goes to School by Tricia Elam Walker
- Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs by Tomie dePaola
- Our Granny by Margaret Wild
- Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola
- Take Me Out to the Ballgame by Maryann Kovalski
- The Hickory Chair by Lisa Rowe Fraustino
- The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read by Lorraine Hubbard
- The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoy
- The Raft by Jim LaMarche
- The Mitten Tree by Candace Christiansen
- The Old Woman Who Loved to Read by John Winch
- The Old Woman Who Names Things by Kathryn Brown
Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education 
This is such a great post! You made me laugh (“I am finally in style! “), nod along with you and think a bit more deeply about a few things. I love your stance as a BFG and your wonderful list of books!
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What a list!! Thank you for sharing!! As for adult books, have you read LOTS OF CANDLES, PLENTY OF CAKES by Anna Quindlen? Great memoir for someone who’s sixty-eighty. She’s definitely a BFG for this age. Thank you again for sharing!
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I am going to Amazon right now to buy it! Thank you!
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Yes- love this! Some of the most peaceful and validating times of my life were spent in the presence of older women who had the confidence and perspective I lacked. I love how you approach your role of BFG- with passion, but also with joy and curiosity (amazing reservoirs to remind others to live in the moment!). I’ve noticed that I shrink when students ask if I was born during a certain time period or what my children’s ages are. I’ve told myself to pick up my chin and not give in to ageism (real or perceived 😉 Thinking about BFG makes me feel bigger and bolder and definitely not apologetic! Thanks (as always) for the amazing resource list. One of my favorites is Sitti’s Secret by Shihab Nye.
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Joanne,
This is an amazing list of books. I love this post so much, especially the ending: “as we age, we become more imaginative, more daring, and more willing to embrace the world with arms wide open.” It’s true! I wish I could impart that to other women. And the decades do speed by, so imparting joy to others does help the world turn.
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I love your list of BFG books, Joanne! That round-up is wonderful gift you’ve given us!
When it comes to the years of my life, it feels like a runaway car speeding down a highway. My 30th high school reunion is next year. How on earth did that happen? With vivid memories, it’s hard to imagine three decades have almost gone by.
Thanks for this post, Joanne. I think you hit on something big today.
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Joanne, I am so happy to read that older women’s fashions may now be considered. There is something so sad about the way women are treated as they age. I couldn’t agree more with all you have to offer, and I thank you for this wonderful list of books with women as BFGs!
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Thanks, again, for a list of BFG role models. Having turned 70, I can absolutely appreciate everything you say here. I have always been a late bloomer, definitely one who sees the “timeline running away from me fast.” And that finish line? I don’t want to cross it without having run a great race all the way to the end!
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