kidlit: recommend/remind me!

[ceelove]

It's occurred to me, in the midst of reading a shelf full of chapter books to S this past year, that there are more Strong Female Leads (tm) in kidlit than I would have guessed. Like, everybody knows it's next to impossible to find good role models for young girls, the best we can do is screen out the worst of the BarbieDisneyprincessy idiocy, right?

But with S being all about Oz and Ramona Quimby, it's made me stop and think. What enduring kidlit can you think of that features a strong girl? And what do I mean by "strong"? Well, I'd say, self-aware (or at least growing in self-awareness), curious and inventive in figuring out her world, able to balance kindness and assertiveness. And by "enduring," I'd say, still resonates with a generation other than the one it was written for.

examples:
Dorothy, Ozma, and others in the Oz books
Pippi Longstocking
Laura and others in the "Little House" series
Beezus and Ramona
"Anne of Green Gables" etc
Heidi
Mary from "A Secret Garden"
Fern in "Charlotte's Web"
Aerin in "The Hero and the Crown"

What kidlit can you name that features a strong girl? a strong boy? a strong ensemble? Which doesn't just mean, whatever kids in classic kidlit. For example, the kids in Mary Poppins don't really do things so much as experience stuff - the stories are kind of picaresque, but with the adventures coming to them instead. The kids in the Narnia books (or the Half-Magic books), on the other hand, take their fates into their own hands in their pursuit of magic.

Comments

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

I just re-read "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler," and was completely delighted with the characters. There are almost no grown-ups, the plot is kid-driven, though it starts with an un-happy 10(?) year old deciding to run away from home, so I could see how that might be challenging material. But she and her kid-brother who is 7(?) act like empowered, thoughtful, careful, intelligent and clever kids, even though they are still totally kids.

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

I remember not feeling like I really got it as a kid, certainly not to the degree its reputation led me to expect. I shall revisit it.

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

I don't remember how old I was when I read it, so that's a big question. And it's dated in so many ways in terms of what one can and cannot get away with, but what I had not remembered from when I was a kid was the really cool stuff in the last chapter... but it's more for slightly older girls.

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

Is that the one where kids hideout in the library?

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

You know, when I wrote library above, I was wondering if it was a library or a museum. After I wrote it, I sensed I was wrong, but I was not near a computer to fix it. Oops.

I loved that book, but it was a long, long time ago when I read it. Might warrant a new reading...

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

At the Metropolitan Museum of Art. To this day I cannot go to art museums without thinking about living there. :)

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

Yup. See above. Thanks:)

[safetybitch.livejournal.com]

Madeleine L'engle; Meg and Polyhmnia were my favourites growing up. I mean, other than Anne (and did you know Emily?), of course...

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

As I recently verified for myself, that's still a good few years away - but yes, I do expect she'll encounter the Wrinkle in Time trilogy (I read and didn't enjoy a fourth book so I'm pretending it's still just a trilogy).

[mathhobbit.livejournal.com]

Vesper Holly, by Lloyd Alexander.
The Rats of NIMH (Mrs. Frisbee? I forget.)

If the "From the Mixed-Up Files..." book is in the right age range, I'll throw in Peter Pan, and the Ursula LeGuin trilogy that includes A Swiftly Tilting Planet (does this edge too close to your complaint about Narnia?) I also liked Beloved Benjamin is Waiting and Lizard Music at that age, but I'm less sure they meet your criteria.

I can probably scrape up a dozen examples of strong female characters in young adult fantasy, but it may be a bit early for that.

[arachne8x.livejournal.com]

Momo and the Time Thieves for a strong girl

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

Do you have a copy in English? I'm assuming it's the same Michael Ende of Neverending Story.

[arachne8x.livejournal.com]

I don't, but the BPL does.

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

I was quite surprised to discover that Carl and Sylvana were halfway through "Neverending Story" a couple of months ago - I wouldn't have expected she would be able to take it for years, really. But they found it on my shelves and read it, and so when C requested more adventurous material, I checked out "Momo" for them and they're halfway through. I admit, I'm a bit jealous - I don't know the story myself. But she and I are already buried in another series right now...

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

Do you mean a different LeGuin trilogy, or do you mean the Madeleine L'Engle? I don't actually have a complaint with Narnia, nor with Mary Poppins - it's just, I'd rather be telling S stories of kids, and girls in particular, who are more active participants in their own fates, rather than just passive recipients of cool magic.

I don't think I ever read Peter Pan myself; it wasn't until the 2004 movie that I really got how magical the story could be.

[mathhobbit.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, L'Engle. Sorry!

I've read Peter Pan several times. Wendy and her mother lean a little far toward passive victims of fate, but Wendy in particular does a wonderful job of making the best of whatever she's handed.

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

I loved the Sheila Moon fantasy books when I was a kid. Strong female protagonist and some interesting spirituality stuff going on.

Knee-Deep in Thunder, Deepest Roots, and Hunt Down the Prize are the titles. I haven't read them since childhood, only recently was reminded of the author and titles, so I don't know how they've aged.

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

Crazy raves on Amazon, and I would love to introduce S to some Native American stories, so thanks, I'll track them down!

Completely off-topic

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

Good to run into you yesterday. I apparently need to work on my multi-tasking. The encounter lead to much good processing though, so thanks:)

[cos]

Weetzie Bat is from 1989, so it's too new to call "enduring" yet, but I hope it endures!

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

as long as we don't have to have S read them with you right away...

Matilda, in Roald Dahl's Matilda
T.J. Wexler in The Westing Game

and +1 to the Mixed-Up Files and to Mrs. Frisby (though she is one of those girl heroines who needs the boys to help her out - she frequently turns to the male rats, her late husband, and so on and verrrry slowly gains confidence in herself, no?)

and, obscure rather than enduring, my first childhood "SF"ish book, The Bears Upstairs by Dorothy Haas. Features a girl named Wendy who helps rescue some talking Earth bears who are trying to travel to space to join the bear planet. Suffers a bit from the same "heroine is clueless and defers to clueful male figures" but this may be more because she is in 4th grade and Dr. Corrigan is a PhD scientist who met the bears first, though.

Still, one of the things I like in The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler is that both the kid heroine Claudia *and* the wise grownup Mrs. Frankweiler are female.

[fanw.livejournal.com]

You've forgotten Alice both "in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass"!

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

No, I actually really disliked them as a kid. But an hour after writing this entry, I was privy to a conversation between S and her friend S2 about what media they were "fans" of. S explained that first it was Oz, then she got into "Wicked," and now she was starting to like "Alice in Wonderland" because she had seen Sesame Street's "Abby in Wonderland." So I now I feel I owe it to her, to read her the source text.

[medyani.livejournal.com]

I didn't get into Alice in Wonderland until high school and it was movies including Dreamchild that brought me again to Wonderland.

[mzrowan.livejournal.com]

I'll chuck in the Diane Duane's Young Wizards series. *looks it up on wikipedia* And apparently she's reissuing the first four books updated for the 21st century. Interesting!

[frolain.livejournal.com]

Swallows and Amazons was one of my favorites

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

Never heard of it, sounds lovely.

[highwayhawk.livejournal.com]

I know others who love these as well, but have no idea of protagonist activity.

[medyani.livejournal.com]

Charlotte's Web.

At S's age I most enjoyed books from the perspective of animals - I know, a surprise! -- Cricket in Times Square, Stuart Little, The Incredible Journey, Jock's Island, Bel Ria, Mrs. Frisbee and the Rats of Nimh as mentioned above, Harry Cat's Pet Puppy (with Garth Williams illustrations), and others.

[starphire.livejournal.com]

I've read Charlotte's Web to her a couple of times, it was one of the first long chapter books we read together. Not sure if strong female *animal* characters are what cee's looking for, though.
I don't know Bel Ria, and thanks for reminding me about Mrs. Frisbee and the Rats of NIMH - I haven't read that one myself and want to.

[chaiya.livejournal.com]

I can't believe you're not listing Mandy and The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Edwards. Didn't you give those to me? ;)

Here's a list of books I loved and kept, although haven't necessarily reread them recently:

Lloyd Alexander books, particularly The Ilyrian Adventure etc. series. Freak Magnet by Auseon (which is probably a bit old for her now, but is awesome). The Search for Delicious and Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (haven't reread lately, but loved them to pieces and had to buy replacement copies). The Penderwicks by Birdsall. Understood Betsy by Canfield is old, but teaches a young girl to think for herself, explicitly, and I loved it as a child. I assume someone's listed Matilda by Roald Dahl, among others of his books. The Amber Brown books by Danziger might be exactly S' speed. You already know about Edward Eager books. Harriet the Spy and followup books by Fitzhugh. I've heard great things about books by Elizabeth Enright and Eleanor Estes, but haven't read them yet. I enjoyed The Soap Lady by Renee French, very quirky. I read *lots* of Margerite Henry, but don't remember anything about them at this point, just tearing through them as a small girl. Howl's Moving Castle and Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones (Don't give her Fire and Hemlock, imo, ever -- very confusing even reading it as an adult). To Kill a Mockingbird is probably too much, atm, but sometime. Madeleine L'Engle is a known quantity, although it doesn't sound like you've read the other books beyond the "traditional quartet." I LOVE (and you will, too) The Two Princesses of Bamarre, Ella Enchanted, The Wish, etc. by Gail Carson Levine. E. Nesbit books are a treasure, particularly The Phoenix and the Carpet. I haven't read Mary Norton books yet, but hear good things about Bed-Knob and Broomstick, The Borrowers, etc. AMELIA BEDELIA BOOKS by Parish. Bridge to Terabithia, when S is ready for serious tears over character death. Phantom Tollbooth is amazing, even now, upon rereading. I'm partial to Hope for the Flowers by Trina Paulus, although that's much more simplistic than a chapter book, really. Have you considered Philip Pullman books, particularly the Golden Compass trilogy and the Sally Lockhart trilogy? Cricket in Times Square? I also still really loved Heidi, although I'm a little worried about rereading it as an adult. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart is one of the most amazing kid chapter books to come out in the past decade, imo, and it's now a trilogy. You should read this book with S, seriously. Things by Noel Streatsfield are pretty good, particularly if S is going through a "pretty girls" period, starting with Ballet Shoes. The girls turn out to be quite independent and thoughtful, even though they take girly ballet lessons. When S is older, she'd probably also enjoy The Girl with the Silver Eyes by Willo Davis (although the author handles very adult themes, even more so in Don't Hurt Laurie!).

And don't forget the Emily and Pat trilogies by LM Montgomery, which were less fleshed out than Anne but good if you want more Anne-like books.

I'm very fond of Kelley Armstrong and Holly Black and Cassandra Clare YA novels, but S has miles to go before she can handle those, I suspect. Character deaths, magic, vampires, etc.

I've just acquired two YA novels by Isabel Allende, whose writing in adult fiction I very much respect.

I have all of these and more. Of my collection, these are the ones I most think she'd enjoy, primarily filtered for strong girl characters, although some others are in there, too.

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

Whew. That was a bit overwhelming, so I took a while to go through all the suggestions, but thank you for the thoroughness. I'd like to borrow "Hope for the Flowers" because I'm curious.

I've written down many of these suggestions and decided many more were some years away yet. I have a number of them and don't think she'd be into them yet. Yes, most of what we read her is well above her age level, but still, "Golden Compass" isn't even really YA. Then again, I'm kind of boggled by six-year-olds who read "Harry Potter", so what do I know?

[dreams-of-wings.livejournal.com]

I had to think about this overnight because I had so many recommendations and I had to think hard about what Sylvana would be ready for. I absolutely second the recommendation on Diana Wynne Jones: good titles for Sylvana right now might also include "the ogre downstairs" and the Chrestomanci books, the first one is "charmed life". The enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C Wrede, the first one is "dealing with dragons" and they are amazing and funny stories that play with fairytale conventions. Since Sylvana like Little House on the Prairie books so much you should try Marguerite D'Angeli, particularly "thee, Hannah." anything by Karen Cushman. In a few years, anything by Robin McKinley. Last summer when she was hanging out with me we read some short stories by Margaret Mahy and she really liked those. Joan Aiken is another amazing writer who, like Mahy, is often underappreciated. I enthusiastically second the recommendation for Lloyd Alexander's Vesper Holly series. In addition to "Matilda" I really love Roald Dahl's "the BFG" and "Danny, Champion of the world."

I will almost certainly think of more soon.

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

...whereas I will only now finish going through all of everyone's first round of suggestions.

I didn't know Margaret Mahy wrote short stories! "The Changeover" is possibly my all-time favorite young adult novel, which is saying a hell of a lot, what with all of McKinley's and Meredith Ann Pierce's in the ring.

[aaron white (from livejournal.com)]

Mixed-Up Files was a favorite of mine as a kid, and I like the relationship the sister and brother have. It's not frictionless, but they work together as an effective team. Plus they bath together in a fountain which my 10-year-old sisterless self thought was HOTT.

I was fascinated by Susan Cooper's Dark Is Rising series, but I reread it lately and have mixed feelings about it. Most of the protagonists are boys, and the plots are, as video game nerds say, on rails. The books are more about Cooper's moral/magical thematic structures, and the characters are fairly passive conduits for the working out of conflicts. But sometimes life does play out that way, I think. Anyway, these books leave a stamp on many readers.

Slightly on topic, have you heard of Mel's Movie Rule? To wit:http://alisonbechdel.blogspot.com/2005/08/rule.html

(I met Alison Bechdel once, but didn't talk to her about this rule.)

My wife says she was enthralled by the Witch World books as a girl, but I don't know anything about them. Sounds witchy.

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

Mmmph. Now you comment on a post of mine, right when it looks like I'll be closing up shop and heading to Google+.


Slightly on topic, have you heard of Mel's Movie Rule? To wit:http://alisonbechdel.blogspot.com/2005/08/rule.html

I'm assuming that's what I've known as the Bechdel Test. Yes, I've been using it for, like, a decade, and it has figured prominently in some of my choices in writing movies.