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One of our favorite gentlemanly blogs, The Art of Manliness, recently posted a list of their picks for the 50 best books for boys (specifically for ages 9 to 12, but really for boys of all ages). We liked it, but then we thought — what about the girls? Are we going to let our young girls be relegated to Mormon propaganda like Twilight and stories about simpering princesses?
We think not! Here are our top ten choices of books for girls and young women — we have some overlap with TAOM’s list (because why should girls only read books about girls?) but we’ve also picked out some spectacular novels particularly for the young ladies. Our claim: boys will like them too. Let us know what we’ve missed — we limited ourselves to ten and we know there are lots more out there — and tell us about your personal childhood favorites.
The Chronicles of Prydain series – Lloyd Alexander
Aside from being pretty much awesome in general, Alexander’s five-volume Prydain series (based on Welsh mythology) boasts the Princess Eilonwy — a sarcastic, strong-willed girl from a long line of powerful female enchantresses. She accompanies the adventurous Taran on his quests, frequently hauling him out of trouble and berating him for being so thick-headed and, after all, only an assistant pig-keeper. Magic, action and girls being better than boys — what could be better?
Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card
A irrefutable classic, we would basically recommend the super intense and satisfying Ender’s Game to anyone. The book is filled with both childhood and adult politics, moral struggle and rad Battle Room fights as Ender deals with being the next kid to save the world. Notable girl characters, arguably uncommon in sci-fi, include Ender’s hyper-genius sister Valentine and Petra Arkanian, best sharp-shooter in Battle School. While Ender and Petra fight for freedom in space, Valentine holds Earth together. No big deal.
His Dark Materials series – Philip Pullman
Lyra Belacqua rules the children of Oxford with an iron fist until she is drawn into a battle of the most elemental good and evil, wandering through parallel universes to discover the secret of the Dust that so frightens and fascinates the grown-ups of her world. Lyra is one of the best examples of the stalwart girl-child adventurer in modern fiction, and a children’s book that means to invert Milton’s conclusions in Paradise Lost? We predict some pretty smart young ladies on the horizon.
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles – Patricia C. Wrede
Another kick-ass female protagonist features in Patricia C. Wrede’s Enchanted Forest Chronicles — the ball-busting, matter-of-fact Princess Cimorene, who runs away from her parents’ kingdom because she can’t stand crochet and eyelash-batting lessons and would really rather live with the dragons. She rolls her eyes at the refrain that she’s not a proper princess, and decides to do what she likes — studying Latin and making Cherries Jubilee — and is sure to inspire some independent thinking in your average girl.
A Wrinkle in Time – Madeleine L’Engle
Meg Murray is a bad-tempered misfit who — along with her genius brother Charles Wallace and the dreamy Calvin O’Keefe — gets swept away through the universe by means of tesseract (basically a fifth-dimensional fold in the time-space continuum) in order to save her father, who is trapped on an alien planet. Meg’s transition from awkward teenager to heroine is immensely satisfying, and plus, you gotta love girls who rock at math.
The Redwall series – Brian Jacques
First of all, the Redwall series might be what got us into food — Strawberry Cordial! Hotroot Soup! Deeper’n'Ever Turnip’n'Tater’n'Beetroot Pie! Obviously they’re all vegetarians in Brian Jacques’ multi-layered world, inhabited by animals who have adventures, carry broadswords, and live in abbeys. Though the books are perhaps not as heavy on female protagonists as they are on male, all the girls are just as fierce as the boys (hello Mariel of Redwall), and plus, seriously you guys, all that food.
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler – E.L. Konigsburg
11-year old Claudia Kincaid, feeling neglected by her parents, runs away to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (well, if you’re going to run away…). She and her brother Jamie spend days and nights in the museum, soaking in the art and history, before becoming fascinated with a statue of an angel supposedly sculpted by Michelangelo. The two kids delve into the mystery of the statue and eventually solve it — smart girls unite!
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
An orphaned little girl finds a key to an abandoned garden, which she tends until it turns into a paradise — not only for her, but for the other lost souls — both young and old — around her. A wonderful, classic story about the healing power of nature and of the mind.
Matilda – Roald Dahl
Five-year-old Matilda’s parents think children should watch TV instead of reading books (her father claims that giving her a book would spoil her), but Matilda is too smart for that. She fights back, but her parents and her barbaric headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, refuse to allow her to exercise her brain muscles. Matilda’s brainpower goes in another direction and she develops psychokinetic powers which last until she is allowed to use her brain properly. We don’t know about you, but we definitely tried to move newts with our minds after reading this. Sadly, we failed.
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
In a gorgeous and heartbreaking adventure story, Winnie Foster stumbles upon a fountain of everlasting life in the woods, and befriends the family that drank from it long ago. Ultimately, she must decide whether to live forever or leave her friends behind.
P.S. – If you’re in NYC, don’t forget that it’s Indie Bookstore Week — so it’s the perfect time to go out and get a book that’s not Twilight for your favorite young lady (or gent).
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61 Responses
Awesome list of books for girls. I have an 11 year old niece that I see once a year and have no idea what to get her for Christmas. I’m going to get a bunch of these. They look like great choices, really thoughtfull done, and I will feel good about having given her some good reading for the year.
I love that you have the His Dark Materials Trilogy on here, they are still my favorite books.
What about The Witch of Blackbird Pond and The Song of the Lioness Series?
What about “Harriette the Spy” and “Mary Poppins” ? I loved those books when I was a kid…Too old school?
Terry Pratchett’s Tiffany Aching books.
Wee Free Men
Hat Full of Sky
Wintersmith
(After we finished reading the Prydain Chronicles,) my daughter and I have been reading these books that feature a young witch coming of age accompanied by a horde of rowdy “pictsies.” Good fun, and thoughtful conversations about how to navigate the transition from youth to independence, have been shared. A good step between Alexander and Pullman for those girls ready to think, but not quite old enough for the existential heft of His Dark Materials.
All the Sammy Keyes mysteries are great (and the series is still going strong). She’s smart, funny, independent, and she rides a skateboard, how could she be any cooler?
ditto on Harriet the Spy. but how could you forget the Weetzie Bat/Witch Baby books?! Francesca Lia Block’s characters were my idols in my early teens
I’ve read all of those as a kid! can’t think of anything to add at the moment, but I do think that these are really great choices
I love how you said “Are we going to let our young girls be relegated to Mormon propaganda like Twilight?” And then you list Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card…who is a Mormon. Hahahaha.
Well, I would include “Ella Enchanted” and the “Half Magic” series myself.
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley, and pretty much anything else by her. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith is a classic. Awesome list! I read most of these as a kid too.
my daughter loves “the borrowers” series, which I never read as a child myself. The girl in the borrower’s family is tough and unconventional.
Little Women was a great novel of love, family, stregth and choice foe me.
[...] Ratchere. [...]
‘mormon propaganda’? excuse me!?! i personaly feel offended by that, being a mormon and all. whats that supposed to mean? i have read most of the books in this list and they are all really good. but i cant help but to keep feeling irritated. what does the world have againts mormons all the time!?!
LuLu. As with most indoctrinating religious organizations, Mormons preach gender discrimination. But fear not. The world has issues with plenty of other religions, too.
Awesome list. Pretty much covers my childhood. But I have to agree with zoe that ignoring Ella Enchanted is a tragedy. The Borrowers, Blue Sword, Anne of Green Gables, and some of Anne McCaffrey’s Dragons of Pern books are also top-notch.
Oh, and Scott O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins is a classic.
Oh, there are so many more to add to your great list: If we’re not limiting ourselves strictly to fantasy, then Phillip Pullman’s Sally Lockhart trilogy (Victorian girl detective kicks serious butt), Joan Aiken’s Witch of Blackbird Pond and Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Pippie Longstocking, Michael Ende’s Momo, Caddie Woodlawn, anything by E. Nesbit… and Alice’s Adventures, OF COURSE. I think you’d better go back and do the best 50, or 100.
“Homecoming” and “Dicey’s Song” by Cynthia Voight
Libba Bray’s GEMMA DOYLE TRILOGY is pretty spectacular. It perfectly blends gothic romance, fantasy and just the right amount of girl’s kicking butt.
I so thoroughly loved Scott O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins. Thank you for reminding me, Ai.
You *must* include one of the many, many books by Tamora Pierce! Like the Song of the Lionness series! Or Neil Gaiman’s Coraline.
where’s the other 40?!!
Where’s Alanna?! The Enchanted Forest Chronicles and His Dark Materials trilogy are some of my favorite books, but I agree with Fruzsina, you can’t have a top 10 without the Song Of The Lioness quartet.
I want to add “Mara Daughter of the Nile” and “I Capture the Castle”. Both fav books of my teens (and still today!)
Great list! I’m adding “Bridge to Teribathia” to it. And “Abarat,” from Clive Barker.
I loved every book by Roald Dahl as a child. Every book he wrote was filled with wit, classic humor and pure entertainment.
I found the original list to be too full of sci-fi/fantasy, which is fine … but not terribly appealing to this age group, who now want sparkly fairies (blame Tinkerbell) over sparkly vampires.
Don’t get me wrong — I loved Cynthia Voight and Scott O’Dell all the other 70’s and 80’s YA authors, but I’d love to see a list for this age group that hits the high points of what’s *currently* being written. If you’re not familiar with YA “literature” outside of Twilight and Gossip Girl, there’s a lot of really good new stuff out there. Sadly, there’s also a lot of stuff out there that’s well-loved (Sarah Desen, for instance) that should be exposed for the utter, potentially-damaging dreck that it is.
I must disagree on the lioness quartet comment. I never felt the writing was at the same age level as the story content.
As for the Mormon Twilight comment, I think a lot of the backlash is due to the decision not to abort in er… Breaking Dawn, was it? The message that Meyer is sending is that you should never abort, even if the baby will kill you. That and the fact that everything is a not-so-subtle metaphor for not having premarital sex.
Mostly, though, the books are just godawful, apart from the Mormonism.
How is Twilight “Mormon propaganda”? The only thing I can single out is the emphasis on chastity before marriage, and that’s not a bad thing! Unless you consider the Volturi the equivalent of the Council of Twelve that governs the LDS church :-)
Thanks for the great list! I would add Hunger Games and Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins. The main character, Katniss is a strong and extremely capable young woman. I highly recommend this series!
In response to Ayelet: I’m on the last book of the Twilight Saga, and I think that you’ve given away a plot spoiler :-) Most Americans would support abortion in the case where the woman’s life is in danger.
I’m older than the Twilight demographic, and I wonder if the appeal of Twilight to YA is Edward’s courtliness and restraint.
I would add Gerald Durrell’s books to this list, The Bafut Beagles, A Zoo In My Luggage, or Golden Bats and Pink Pigeons were the ones I loved as a kid. Also the other original OZ books besides the Wizard of Oz like Ozma of Oz, Tick-Tock of Oz etc. And of course the Chronicles of Narnia, especially the third book, The Voyage of the the Dawn Treader, I still love that one!
I’m so glad someone else mentioned “I Capture the Castle”, as it’s one of my all-time favorite books. I would add “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison.
I love E.L. Konigsberg’s books, not only “From the Mixed-up Files …” but also “Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and me, Elizabeth” and “About the B’nai Bagels.” She had the best titles, and the books were fun, too.
I think it’s interesting that almost everything on this list is genre, and mostly fantasy. Surely you can think of some good contemporary fiction?
Twilight is NOT Mormon propaganda. The fact that Stephanie Meyers is a Mormon does not mean that she represents ALL Mormons.
Do books for girls have to be ABOUT girls or by women? As a very young child i loved Brer Rabbit, and then anything by Elyne Mitchell (read all of them at least 6 times each, good for younger than 12), and Mary Ohara’s Thunderhead- i started with Green Grass of Wyoming, and read that multiple times too. All have characters worthy of identification, of any sex or species. I’m glad someone mentioned Pipi Longstocking. And Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn- again read multiple times, and there was plenty in there to admire and to empathise with and to emulate. Actually i’d recommend NOT limiting girls’ readings whatsoever. And not to forget Ray Bradbury, Edgar Alan Poe, Isaac Asimov, Tolkien- anything to enliven the imagination! I read and re-read many of Ursula Le Guin’s books too, and CS Lewis- and what about Charlotte’s Web and Watership Down?!. George Orwell’s Animal Farm, and I must have read Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World probably 6 times between the ages of 12 and 16. And several of John Steinbeck’s books. And Leon Uris. And DEFINITELY Dr Seuss! Think of the great values in his books! Including a healthy appreciation for the absurd. And I don’t know how many times I read Dune by Frank Herbert. Many. Although, like Tolkien, you could accuse him of gender stereotyping, and classism, but actually that was plain to see back then. Do not underestimate girls’ ability to be astute and analytical readers. One thing- most especially THANKYOU for putting in A Wrinkle In Time. For so long it just disappeared into obscurity.
Jonathan Stroud’s Bartimaeus trilogy. Wish it had been around when I was a girl, but good reading for adults too.
How about “Clan of the Cave Bear”? And Diana Wynne Jones has many great novels, such as “Howl’s Moving Castle”.
The classics are nice, but if I’m not interested in reading them then I don’t expect too many teens will either. What about more current books? The Disreputable History of Frankie-Landau Banks is a great book with a strong female character. Also the Kiki Strike books are wonderful for the tween through teen years. If you’re buying a book for a young relative this Christmas, I’d stick to these great new titles.
If it’s contemporary fiction for girls (and boys) you want, can’t get more awesome than Justine Larbalestier’s Liar. Lots of passion and heat, a complicated female protagonist whose tendency to misrepresent the truth puts lots of dichotomies to the test. And writing that is high-wire but puts the reader on the tightrope, too.
I have never read the Lloyd Alexander books, and I think I must go out and get them this week.
You missed a great set, The Song of the Lioness quartet, by Tamora Pierce.
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Pretty awesome series – read them as a child in the early eighties and the stories and history were not lost on me. Our girls would benefit and get into it as well.
Lord of the Flies and To Kill A Mockingbird were also mesmerizing reads and all time favorites.
I loved Dragonsong,Dragonsinger, and Dragondrum by Anne McCaffrey when I was a kid. I read them to my son when he was little and he loved them too! :)
Weird. I always considered Ender’s Game to be rather sexist and girl-unfriendly. Valentine is stereotypically weak and emotional; Petra is the only member of Ender’s inner circle to crack under pressure and be removed from the war.
I would add “The Girl Who Owned A City”
Awesome.
Alright here we go. Abstinence from sex pre-marriage is not an exclusively Mormon doctorine. It’s pretty common in a lot of Christian faiths. Secondly the Mormon church allows for termination of a pregnancy if the mother’s life is in danger. So the author other than being a religious bigot, is also unable to do basic research.
As a Mormon I have read the Twilight series and consider them merely ok. If I had a daughter I would be expressing to her that being whiny, needy, unambitious, and dating a stalker are not ok.
Lovely list – so hard to limit it to ten! I loved Enid Blyton’s The Magic Faraway Tree (youngsters, please don’t mistake this for Mary Pope Osbourne’s Magic Treehouse series).
True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and Caddie Woodlawn – both great books for girls on the go!!
[...] 19, 2009 · Leave a Comment In the interest of gender equity, here are 10 books for girls. I’m 50 percent [...]
Well my 12 year old would have a list a mile long to add. We wrote a tween-books-to-read blog article together last winter about just this subject! I’ll mention a couple of new authors that she has LOVED who write beautifully. Laura Schaefer who wrote “The Teashop Girls” and Susan Runholt who writes an engrossing mystery series which begins with “The Mystery OF The Third Lucretia”.
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett is amazing, if you can find an illustrated version that makes it even better.
there are alot more writers that are religious and noone cares to say anything about them or theyre religion, why care what religion the author of twilight is? just enjoy the books and get over it people!
Definitely the Helprin/Van Allsburg trilogy: A City in Winter, Swan Lake, and The Veil of Snows. They are still as enchanting as they were when I was ten.
Where is “Number the Stars” by Lois Lowry?
I just wanted to point users to a list put together by the American Library Association’s Amelia Bloomer Project committee. It’s a yearly list put together of the best books for a K-12 audience featuring strong female role models and feminist content. This year’s nominations are up on their blog. http://libr.org/ftf/bloomer.htm
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly is really good too.
To those of you who can’t see the Mormon connection to Twilight- here’s a hilarious summary:
http://stoney321.livejournal.com/317176.html
short version:
Whether she realizes it or not when she wrote it, she imbued the entire series with a LOT of mormon ideals and culture. It’s not about the abstinence before sex, it’s a lot more than that. It doesn’t actually surprise me that mormons don’t see it, because it’s common to the culture.
For girls 10 to 14, try English writer Hilary McKay’s series “The Exiles” and The Casson Family series (starting with “Saffy’s Angel”)
These are very funny (subtly) books about girls, their individuality and their relationships with their siblings. I particularly love the character of the very artistic and stubborn Rose in the Casson family series. These are very English, which I, as an Australian, didn’t find a problem, but possibly a challenge to US readers.
“ARE YOU THERE GOD IT’S ME MARGARET?” – JUDY BLUME
I can’t believe this is not included. the novel is the bible for all girls growing up on going through puberty, dealing with social pressures and societal pressures to fit in and accept yourself. It is very funny and very realistic.
thanks.
these are some great books. but i disaggree with the golden compass books. i read one and it was horrible. children involved in killing and blood and gore. i sertainly don’t want any child to read those books.
so on that note, i got 2 go.