Depending how you define feminst, there have been feisty and strong female role models in children's literature dating back to Alice in Wonderland.  This list includes some of the older well-loved titles as well as some more contemporary tales to teach your children to grow up strong and independent and to believe in a world of peace and equality.
 

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh I'd say she's my namesake, but it's spelled differently.  All the same, I identified greatly with Harriet when I was a youngster: the outsider who would someday be famous, but not before learning a few lessons, like equality means you are part of the team too.	Heidi by Johanna Spyri Never considered Heidi a feminist book before?  Think of it: she was emotionally and physically strong enough to live with her Alm Uncle on top of the mountain, and her determination alone (with some mountain air) cured Klara.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare What exactly is a witch?  Kit might like to know too, since it doesn't take long for the Puritan community she has been transplanted into to decide that headstrong and athletic Kit must be one.	Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink Caddie is a Wisconsin tomboy of 1864, based on the real life adventures of Brink's grandmother.  It won the Newberry Medal of 1936.
Matilda by Roald Dahl illustrated by Quentin Blake Ok, she may not be a feminist prototype, but she's a mischievous and strong-minded little girl who uses her head to get out of sticky situations.	Little Women Louisa May Alcott Everyone's favorite literary tomboy Jo!  Lest you forget, this Alcott-alter-ego not only kept the large family together physically and financially, she still found time to write on the side and to keep her spirit alive when the odds were against her.
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George  An adolescent girl escapes her marriage to find herself lost in the Alaskan tundra.  In order to survive, she must question whether to trust her native Eskimo self, or her modern, 20th-century self.  Riveting.	Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell Talk about survival! Try living alone on an island for 18 years.  I love the resourcefulness and strength of spirit that Karana not only displays, but teaches her readers.  Newbery winner 1962.
Otherwise Known as Shiela the Great by Judy Blume Younger readers will love Shiela, who constantly battles her split personality of confidence and insecurity.  One summer she is required to meet her two biggest fears, and despite her bravado and uncertainty, she lives up to the challenge.	Ramona the Brave by Beverly Cleary It's hard to grow up.  Just ask six-year old Ramona.  But grow up she does, and her story continues in a series of other books starring, who else, but fiesty Ramona.
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery Red-headed Anne isn't the orphan boy her foster parents were expecting, but talkative, mischievious Anne wins them over all the same.	Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin Ten-year old Rebecca is fiesty, opinionated, and of course, charming.  Maine might have been a boring place before, but certainly not after,  Rebecca.
Lyddie by Katherine Paterson  Lyddie walked from Vermont to the weaving mills of Lowell, Massachuetts because she needed a job.  And what a job it is.  Paterson describes the historic mill wonderfully, and the social conditions that Lyddie faces as she struggles to work long shifts, learn to read, and strike for better working conditions.	Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales, and True Tales  by Virginia Hamilton illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon  A beautifully illustrated book with wonderful stories that put women, and Black women, in places of power and respect.  Highly recommended for all.
Our Only May Amelia  by Jennifer L. Holm Growing up in the pacific northwest at the turn of the century, May Amelia is the only woman born on the shores of the Nasel River since her parents can remember, but May Amelia does not think that acting like a Proper Young Lady sounds like any fun.	Don't Bet on the Prince:  Contemporary Feminist Fairy Tales  in North America and England  by Jack Zipes (Editor)  I don't have a picture for this one, but you don't need one: just imagine a feminist getting hold of some of those ridiculous fairy tales told to you as a child, and here they are.  This collection re-tells, and re-designs some familiar stories into laughably-realistic tales of caution, and wonderfully robust tales of strong, intelligent women working hard, and getting what they deserve.