Thinking back to the stories we were told as children – of Sleeping Beauty waiting 100 years for her prince to kiss her, of princesses trapped in ivory towers to be freed by dashing knights on trusty steeds – it’s fair to say they weren’t very… empowering.

Which is why we were thrilled to learn about the feminist bedtime story book coming out, Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls.

Read more: My feminist library: 10 books every woman should read

Aimed to inspire young girls to dream of more than being rescued or fitting into patriarchal cis-gendered dreams, the book contains 100 tales of empowered, intelligent women who have fought adversity to get where they are.

The book was created by two female entrepreneurs, Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo, who were convinced that girls should grow up surrounded by female role models. Realising that the majority of books and TV shows they had grown up with focused on men in central roles, they decided to change that.

All about real-life women, the stories include the lives of artist Frida Kahlo, Queen Elizabeth I, tennis champion Serena Williams, author J.K. Rowling and activist Malala Yousafsai, alongside illustrations by different female artists.

Each mini-biography is aimed to inspire girls to fight against the hand they are dealt – whether that be a terrible accident, endless rejection, or even being shot by an extremist group. And they’re exactly the kind of bedtime stories we wish we’d grown up with – and plan to tell our own daughters.

Read more: The top 50 most empowering feminist quotes of all time

If you’re not sure what to buy your friend’s child – whether it be a boy or a girl – this is a good place to start. As the authors say: “by any means, read these stories to your sons! It is crucial that they learn to identify and empathise also with female heroes.”

You can order Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls here.