One for the girls

Pippi image found here

I have been thinking lately, as Lily gets more and more sucked into the lures of the "princesses" branding conglomerate ... you know what I am on about... the saturation of licenced products in the market. I am not going to get into a debate about that or gender issues etc. because lets face it , I am Lily's mum and I can help her make good choices and I can simply choose not to buy it. Lordy knows I wanted a barbie when I was her age... and I had them (still do), my friends and I delighted in dressing them up, pretending to go out into the world, we were farmers, horse riders, shop owners, teachers... ...so what I want to know is, do you have a favourite role model for your little girl, a story that can be read and read again, a story that fires the imagination & soul, that will be treasured till the day she can read that story to her own children?

Comments

[Bex]

Man, now you've got me thinking...you know I don't think the girls do have a story like that. Lots of books of course, just not the perfect 'role model' story. Hmmmmmmm...(wanders away scratching head...)

[shona]

I was obsessed with the Laura Ingalls Wilder "Little House on The Prairie" books, which was also a really popular TV show when I was growing up. Life was hard on the prairie, no one had it easy (except that bratty 'Ol Nellie Olson) but they worked hard, lived simply + pulled together as a family/community.

Pippi was definitely another.

[Donna]

Zilpha Keatley Snyder's older books--before maybe 1980--had great girl characters. The Velvet Room, The Egypt Game, The Changeling, The Headless Cupid were some favorites. They weren't always initially admirable, but they worked out their problems. Then she went through a teen angst phase, and her last few books seem like reworkings of the earlier ones.

Hmm. Sara Crewe. I wanted to be like her in A Little Princess--where she pretends she is a princess, but I think a much different sort than the type marketed today. I liked Lucy and Susan in the Narnia books, but I particularly liked Jill in The Silver Chair.

Actually, in looking this list over, I think my favorite kind of character was a bit unconventional, a little troublesome, but ulitmately good-hearted. I really liked Harriet the Spy as well.

My daughter prefers stories with animals as the main character so we haven't yet found a human girl role model she aspires to

[Jenn]

I was big on the Laura Ingalls Wilder books too, from quite a young age. Later on, I read Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden (smart, resourceful, and capable), and Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne and Emily series.

I'm also a big fan of a relatively new book called The Beejum Book - it's great for adults and kids, and I think has some really good messages.

[kris]

Trixie Belden, definitely! The All of a Kind family series about 4 or 5 (? need to reread!) sisters growing up with their Jewish traditions in New York is another great one.

[jenni s-g]

I loved Meg Murray in Madeleine L'Engle's _A Wrinkle in Time_ (and the rest of the Time series, too). She felt smart but real to me, like a real person with problems of her own.

I was a big fan of mythologies--Greek gods and goddesses, the Celtic pantheon, and Egyptian myths. I don't know if I ever considered them role models, but I read a lot about them when I was a kid; it was the next step past Cinderella and Prince Charming, I think.

But my all time most influential role model as a kid was Princess Leia from Star Wars. I mean, she was the damsel in distress, but still took the gun from Luke and demanded "this big walking carpet" get out of her way when escaping the Death Star. My heroine!

[Jess]

The books I remember reading the most were Harriet the spy, the Ramona series, The Secret garden, and Heidi. Also my mother read the Laura Ingalls Wilder books to the family. As I grew a little older, I got into all those silly fantasy book with unicorns and whatnot, and it was very hard to find one with a female heroine.

As an adult, I have had difficulty finding books I enjoy with strong female characters that aren't 'chicklit' or romance novels. I am sick of reading books where the ultimate result is the protagonist falling in love or getting married. I think I just might pick up my old copy of Harriet the Spy and read that again!

[string*THEORY]

i dont have daughters (or kids for that matter) but when i do someday, i would like to read anne of green gables to them. lots of innocent imagination and adventure in those books, not to mention lessons in history and the way people used to live.

[Persephone Snyder]

Alas, I was only blessed with boy children. But, my favorites as a girl were A Little Princess, The Secret Garden, Pippi Longstocking, and I liked the Alice books by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. I, too, loved Barbie and I feel she has lost her spark over the years. What career has Barbie got now? When I was younger she was a veterinarian, a pilot, an astronaut, etc...

[Levineke]

It's hard to think of picture books with strong female characters, but Emily loved the Madeleine books. As she got older there were a few good series and one in particular was the Alanna series by Tamora Pierce. I also remember reading her a book when she was about seven called Dragonsbane by Patricia C Wrede. It's about a princess who doesn't want to marry a prince so she runs off to live with a dragon. Very funny in parts - especially when the prince tries valliantly to rescue her only to find she doesn't want to be rescued! Em and I both loved the Little House series and I still love Little Women. Good luck with your search!

[zose]

we have been dodging the product saturation so far, and talk about princesses from different countries (russia, japan, china, new zealand etc) and look at pictures of royalty from other times middle ages.

[Lissy]

I loved Pippi :) So does my 3 year old :) Madeline is popular too.

No barbies in our house yet and only limited princess interest as yet...but bound to happen...but she has a tool bench and stuff too...

"the Paper Bag Princess" is a good modern fairy tale!

[tracy]

ramona is loved here by my almost 6 yr old. and the little house books too. pippi is one that i recall so fondly from my own childhood - and has resonated with e too. the classic princesses(snowwhite, cinderella, princess and the pea...) by wonderful illustrators (not disney!) are favourites too!

[esther]

I was a big Ramona fan...in fact I thought I was her. When I got a bit older I was totally devoted to Judy Blume's books. I have just recently re-read these (at the age of 30) and i still think they're great. There is a resource book called "Once Upon a Heroine: 400 books for girls to love"...might be worth a look-see?

[Rebecca]

Lately, I have been remembering how much I love(ed) the Alice in Wonderland books. Not only are they full of fantasy and whimsy, but they are also very intelligent books. L Carroll was a math professor, and both Alice in Wonderland and Through the Lookingglass are riddled with logic games and puzzles. And, if you think about it, Alice was a pretty brave little soul for a late 19th century heroine. Beyond the other wonderful authors that your readers have already noted (Madeline L'Engle, Judy Blume, CS Lewis), I also want to mention Tolkein (the female elves and humans kicked ass) and the Sword of Shannara series by Terry Brooks - the Elfstones of Shanara in particular has an outstanding female lead. Tolkien and Brooks are for older kids, though.

[Allyson]

"Anne of Green Gables", Miss Twiggly from the book "Miss Twiggley's Tree" by Dorthea Warren Fox, "Mandie" series books. Well those are three so far that I would want to influence my girl with. I could probably think of more...

[Bethany Hissong]

I loved Eloise books when I was young, especially "Eloise in Paris" but I'm not sure about her as a role model. I was shy and she was bold! Nancy Drew books were probably my favorite as a preteen.

[Mary]

I have to agree with the Anne of Green Gables votes (the whole series) and cast my vote also for the whole series of Little Women - I am in my early forties and have kept those books on my shelves for many years - and my little girl knows they are there for her when she can read - and we already giggle together over Eloise racing around the Arc de Triomphe - the classics truly are ...classics!

[Wendi]

I was a bookseller for 15 years and now you're really getting me going. Ramona is always great. My daughter loves Junie B. She makes a lot of mistakes and has atrocious grammar in the early books, but I think my daughter kind of likes feeling superior. She also loves the Magic Tree House books and really identifies with Annie. For slightly older kids all of the Madeleine L'Engle books are great. My favorite was A Ring of Endless Light. Little Women is one I read a million times (and I named my daughter Jo) and i also loved The secret garden. And I loved Eilonwy in the Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. And check out his Vesper Holly books for an Indiana Jones-like girl. There are a couple of books that nobody has mentioned yet that I loved. Catherine Called Birdy by Karen Cushman is awesome, and I loved the girl in True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi. For older girls I really recommend anything in the Tortall world by Tamora Pierce. The Alanna books are really good, but Trickster's Choice is really outstanding. Lirael by Garth Nix is awesome. Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier is one of the best books I've read in years. Ooooo - and the Penderwicks is great. That one's good for ages 8-12. And there's a brand new one for ages 7 and up called Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little that I LOVE.
Sorry - I could go on and on. . .

[amy]

Hello - I have three girls 7, 5 and 19 months. My partner has read to them everynight since I fell pregenant, so we have read and re-read many books. Two years ago, having read Pippi, and Lotta, and the children of Noisy Village (all by Astrid Lindgren) we came upon "Ronia, the Robbers Daughter", also by Astrid. We don't have TV, as a result my middle one is VERY sensitive to anything Scary... but they all totally got lost in this one!! I am not sure how old Lily is, but there are also some great ones called "The Naming of Tishkin Silk" and "Princess Layla" Glenda Millard, who is Australian, that my girls loved... I think the beauty about these too are they show positively the beauty of Girls and Boys being equal and friends, which I LOVE. I love any excuse to still read kids books.

[Gillian]

HUGE Nancy Drew fan here!

[Tiel S-K]

Anne of Green Gables, Heidi, The Secret Garden. Narnia Chronicles..even Peter Pan has Tinkerbell..although I really think this book is more for grown ups. I'm trying to avoid the commercialism senario with my children (boy and girl) My girl is now 3 and loves mermaids. We first read a book about mermaids and then she saw the horrible Disney version, but I have steered her clear of the entire "ariele" side and kept it to beautifully illustrated books about Selkies. It is a balance. Kids will get that horrible side at school and as parents all we can do is keep things nice and balanced with more beautiful books and memories.

[Becca]

This post really makes me want to re-read so many of my favorites, and now with a baby on the way, you're giving me good reason to consider the books I want to share with my child (male or female!)

I loved the Judy Blume series, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Ramona, Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew, Bobsey Twins, Charlotte's Web, Secret Garden, Harriet the Spy, Bridge to Terabithia.... I hope I have a "reader"

[gena]

Oh, I do love Pippy! Another good story we're currently reading is Heidi. Such a powerful child! Also, we recently read Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. The Irish tale "The Long Leather Bag" makes the case that kindness does pay off. Anyway, these were all age appropriate for my Beritt who will be 7 in September. I hope this is helpful. I do have the same issues. It seems the cliqueyness begins early these days.

One other side item. I'm not certain I've commented here before but I really love your blog and feel greatly inspired to draw simply because you have a wonderful banner. I have never been great at trees, but I was translating an idea onto fabric when you changed your banner and used your idea for the trees. You can see it here. Not a great photo unfortunately. Anyway, thank you.
http://monkeyporkbun.typepad.com/monkeyporkbun/2007/05/rooster_run.html

[Ayelet]

Hmmm.. Ramona is wonderful, of course. And there's Princess Smartypants, by Babette Cole - which sadly wasn't around back when I was little, but it's so different from the usual princess stories that I probably would have liked it a lot as a kid.