Strong, Adventurous, Smart Young Girls
When I was growing up, I read a lot of "boy's" stories and imagined myself in the boy role. I didn't want to be Wendy; I wanted to be Peter Pan. There weren't a lot of female characters running around having adventures, so I had to be creative. With the recent boom in YA fiction, there are plenty of female characters for teen and pre-teen readers to relate to, but what about younger readers? Where are the heroines for the 8-year-old or the 6-year-old? After all, little readers grow up into bigger readers, so it'd be nice if we could cultivate them and at the same time give them the message that yes, girls can be strong and independent, just like boys.
Flashlight Worthy has come up with a list of 5 books for Strong, Adventurous, Smart Young Girls, which is a nice place to start, but I'd like to see it grow longer. So please, feel free to add your suggestions!
When I was a shorter person than I am now (and those who have met me will concede that's an impressive feat on its own), I read a lot of Beverly Cleary. I liked that she wrote girl characters who might have made mistakes and gotten themselves in trouble over and over, but they did things. Oh, tattered copy of Beezus and Ramona
, you've even aged well.
Flashlight Worthy has come up with a list of 5 books for Strong, Adventurous, Smart Young Girls, which is a nice place to start, but I'd like to see it grow longer. So please, feel free to add your suggestions!
When I was a shorter person than I am now (and those who have met me will concede that's an impressive feat on its own), I read a lot of Beverly Cleary. I liked that she wrote girl characters who might have made mistakes and gotten themselves in trouble over and over, but they did things. Oh, tattered copy of Beezus and Ramona
, you've even aged well.