Cool Girls from Kid Lit: The Long List

Last week, I started a list of Cool Girls from Kid Lit. Here is what I specified for "cool" criteria: "they should be smart and strong and independent, people who would make good role-models for girls today."

Apparently, a lot of people who blog about children's literature have a special interest in cool girls, because I received by far the most feedback that I've ever had for a post. You can go to the original post and read everyone's comments, but I thought that there would be benefit to a single, organized list of all of the suggestions so far.

I'll follow up later this week with a short list of the most popular entries (Lyra, Laura, and Harriet are in the lead, based on the very unscientific feedback that I've received so far). So, if you haven't cast your vote (by commenting) for your favorites, now is your chance. And if you think that I've missed anyone, do let me know, and I'll update the list.

Many, many thanks to everyone who has contributed to the list so far! You can find the list of contributors at the end of this post. If you click back to the original post comments, you can see who suggested what. Thanks!

1. Alice from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
2. Amy from The Witch Family by Eleanor Estes
3. Anastasia Krupnik from the series by Lois Lowry
4. Anna from As Simple as Snow by Gregory Galloway
5. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
6. April and Melanie from The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
7. Arabella from The Windmill Summer by Hila Feil
8. Babymouse from Babymouse: Queen of the World! (and sequels) by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
9. Belinda from Little Plum by Ed Young
10. Boots from the Gregor The Overlander series by Suzanne Collins
11. Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
12. Cedar B. Hartley from The Slightly True Story Of Cedar B. Hartley by Martine Murray
13. Christina from the Flambards books by K. M. Peyton
14. Cimorene from Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
15. Claudia from From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
16. Corinna Stonewall from The Folk Keeper by Franny Billingsley
17. Dicey from Homecoming and Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt
18. Dido Twite from Black Hearts in Battersea and Nightbirds on Nantucket (among others) by Joan Aiken
19. Dorothy Gale from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
20. Eilonwy from the Prydain Chronicles (e.g. The Castle of Llyr) by Lloyd Alexander
21. Elizabeth Ann from Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
22. Ellie from Squashed by Joan Bauer
23. Eloise from the series by Kay Thompson
24. Emily from Emily of New Moon (and sequels) by L. M. Mongtomery
25. Francie Nolan from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
26. Frances from A Bargain for Frances (and others) by Russell Hoban and Lillian Hoban
27. Franny K. Stein from the series by Jim Benton
28. Harriet M. Welch from Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
29. Harry Crewe from The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
30. Heidi by Johanna Spyri
31. Hermione Granger from Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling
32. Ivy from The Changeling by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
33. Jane from The Dark Is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper
34. Jenna Blake from the Body of Evidence series (starting with Body Bags) by Christopher Golden
35. Jennifer from Jennifer, Hecate, MacBeth, William McKinley and Me, Elizabeth by E. L. Konigsburg
36. Jill Pole from The Silver Chair and The Last Battle (Narnia books) by C. S. Lewis
37. Jo March from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
38. Josie Alibrandi from Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta
39. Judy Moody from the series by Megan McDonald
40. Julia from Night Daddy by Maria Gripe
41. Karana from Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
42. Kate from Look Through My Window by Jean Little
43. Kate from Sensible Kate by Doris Gates
44. Kit Tyler from The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
45. Laura Ingalls from the Little House books (and she's a real person, too!)
46. Liesel from The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
47. Lilly from Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse and other books by Kevin Henkes
48. Lirael by Garth Nix
49. Lucy from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia) by C. S. Lewis
50. Lyra from the His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
51. Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
52. Lola from The House of Stairs by William Sleator
53. Margaret Thursday from Thursday's Child by Noel Streatfield
54. Mary Lennox from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
55. Martha from The Secret Language by Ursula Nordstrom
56. Matilda by Roald Dahl
57. Meg from A Wrinkle in Time (and sequels) by Madeleine L'Engle
58. Meg from The President's Daughter (and others) by Ellen Emerson White
59. Meggie from the Inkheart books by Cornelia Funke
60. Melinda from Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
61. Menolly from Dragonsong (and others Pern books) by Anne McCaffrey
62. Mia from The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot
63. Minnow from The Seventeenth-Street Gang by E. C. Neville
64. Miss Bianca from The Rescuers books by Margery Sharp
65. Molly Moon from Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism by Georgia Byng
66. Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene
67. Nita from the Young Wizards Series by Diane Duane
68. Omakayas (or Little Frog) from The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
69. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
70. Polly from Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones
71. Pony from Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kastner
72. Rachel Pye from Ginger Pye and Pinky Pye by Eleanor Estes
73. Ramona Quimby from the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary
74. Randy from the Melendy books (starting with The Saturdays) by Elizabeth Enright
75. Roberta (Bobbie) from The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
76. Sabriel by Garth Nix
77. Sal from Blueberries for Sal and One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey
78. Sara Crewe from A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
79. Sarah from One Morning in Maine by Lucy Frank
80. Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
81. Simone from A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life by Dana Reinhardt
82. Sophie Hatter from Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
83. Susannah Simon from the Mediator books by Meg Cabot.
84. Sylvia and Bonnie from The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
85. Tacy from Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace
86. Tish Sterling from The Keeping Days by Norma Johnston
87. Trixie Belden from the series by Julie Campbell
88. Trot from The Scarecrow of Oz and other Oz books by L. Frank Baum
89. Turtle from The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
90. Vesper Holly from The Illyrian Adventure by Lloyd Alexander
91. Winnie from Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
92. Zoe from A Room on Lorelei Street by Mary A. Pearson

Contributors and Commenters

• Becky from Farm School
• Gregory K. from GottaBook
• Katie B. from the First Book Blog
• Kelly from Big A little a
• Leila from Bookshelves of Doom
• LibraryLady
• Little Willow
• Liz from A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cozy
• MotherReader
• Natalie_eve from Lives to Read
• Mrs. Coulter from The Republic of Heaven
• PJ Librarian from The Magic of Books
• ReadAlert (Note: ReadAlert didn't comment, but posted suggestions on their own blog, which I have included in the above list.)
• Sally Apokedak from All About Children's Books
• Sherry from Semicolon
• Susan from Chicken Spaghetti
• Wendy from Blog from the Windowsill

Thanks again to everyone who contributed to this list! Isn't it great how many cool girls there are in children's literature?

Comments

[MotherReader]

I swear to you, I am going to browse the library shelves tonight and push up your list to 100 even.

I have to admitt, I keep thinking Junie B Jones, but not because she is smart or strong (though she is a strong character), but because she goes after what she wants, even if it is in her own, midguided way.

Sometimes I think we emphasize sharing, and being fair, so much to girls, that they start to lose the ability to speak up for themselves. Even brag a little. Then in the corporate world we wonder why its the men who get the promotions.

I don't know that Junie B is a role model overall, but I wish we all had a sense of her fearlessness.

[Becky]

Now there's a cool summer reading list, for girls and and boys!

I agree with MotherReader, we should make it 100 even.

(Hey, what happened to my favorite girl spider?)

[Becky]

Ooh! Thought of a few more...

Cassandra Mortmain from "I Capture the Castle" by Dodie Smith
Ella from "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
Sara from "Summer of the Swans" by Betsy Byars
Annabel Andrews from "Freaky Friday" by Mary Rodgers

[wisteria]

India Opal Buloni from Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

Miriam Williard from Calio Captive by Elizabeth George Speare

[Heidi]

Hooray! Turtle (Tabitha Ruth Wexler) is on the list.

Margaret from Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

Or Deenie, or Blubber, or Sally J. Freeman...

[Anne]

Very nice. I'll send this list to the 10-year-old girl I'm helping. She wants to know what books she should be reading, so I'm compiling a list on my blog. Though this post has enough titles to keep her busy for several summers.

[Gregory K.]

It's interesting that I was the only guy to contribute, so far as I can tell. I guess we just have a totally different perspective or something?

Anyway, great list!

[Jen Robinson]

Thank you all so much for the additional suggestions! I will get them added to the list tonight, when I have a bit more time. I thought of a couple more myself, too. After all, can there be too many cool girls of children's literature?

I did want to respond to Greg's comment, in which he noted that he seems to be the only guy contributing to the list. He is the only male online contributor that I know of, though Mheir cast a vote offline for April from The Egypt Game.

I am going to start a Cool Boys list sometime soon. It will be interesting to see if that garners the same level of response. I'm guessing that it won't, given, in part, the demographics of kid lit bloggers. However, I think that cool books for boys who are reluctant readers are especially important.

[MotherReader]

I browsed the shelves and this is what I found so far:

Charlotte from Charlotte's Rose by A.E. Connon

Matilda Bone by Karen Cushman

Katie from Hoofbeats: Katie and the Mustang by Kathleen Duey

Francie by Karen English

[MotherReader]

Ok, I'm back with the rest of the alphabet. Consider:

Keldry of the Tamora Pierce, Protector of the Small Quartet

Violet from the Lemony Snicket novels

Koly from Gloria Whelan's Homeless Bird

[Stephanie]

Wow! There are some great character on that list. I think it could go on for ages.

Bella From Diane Stanley's Bella at Midnight.

Lina Mayfleet in Jeanne DuPrau's City of Ember.

Anidori–Kiladra Talianna Isillee in Shannon Hale's Goose Girl.

Nory Ryan from Patricia Reilly Giff's Nory Ryan's Song.

Sammy Keyes from the series by Wendelin Van Draanen.

Nymah Rose from Edith Pattou's East.

Juli Baker in Wendelin Van Draanen's Flipped.

Annabeth from Rick Riordan's Lightning Thief.

Sumiko in Cynthia Kadohata's Weedflower.

Sabrina and Daphne in the Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley.

[Melissa Wiley]

When I was little, I wanted to be just like Dorrie the little witch.

[Katie]

I just read The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis. The main character is Parvana. She's an 11 year old girl living in Afghanistan under the Taliban. She must pose as a boy to work and earn money so her family can live.

And how about Anne Frank?

[Christine M]

Most everyone I could think of was on the list - but how about Mandy from the book of that name by Julie (Andrews) Edwards. It was one of my favorite books as a child, and I still love it.

[Mirissa]

How about Olivia, from the Olivia books by Ian Falconer? Granted, she is a pig, but she's a girl pig and a free-thinking, creative one at that.

Or Judy from Judy's Journey by Lois Lenski? I loved Lenski's books as a girl.

[Beth]

What a wonderful list!

Alanna from The Lioness Quartet, by Tamora Pierce.

And Kel from the Protector of the Small Quartet, by Tamora Pierce.

Two not to be missed heroines and series!

[Kate S.]

What a marvellous list! I'm glad to see Tacy Kelly of Maud Hart Lovelace's Betsy-Tacy series included but I'd definitely add Betsy Ray as well. They had different kinds of strength which is part of the reason that they were such good friends for one another. I'd also include Darrell Rivers from Enid Blyton's Malory Towers series, Jane Stuart from Lucy Maud Montgomery's Jane of Lantern Hill, Katie John from Mary Calhoun's series about her, Lou Emma Miller from Alberta Wison Constant's series about the Miller girls (especially Does Anybody Care About Lou Emma Miller? in which Lou Emma campaigns for a town library), and Penny Gareth from Noel Streatfield's The Growing Summer.

[Jen Robinson]

My thanks to everyone for such wonderful feedback! I've become a bit swamped by the feedback, in fact, but I'll be updating the list this weekend. I've also thought of another suggestion myself: Arrietty from The Borrowers by Mary Norton. She's small, but brave. I'll be including the cool girls suggested above, with the exception of Anne Frank, because I think that the list should stick to fiction (Laura Ingalls, though real, is filed in the fiction section, so she gets a pass). Thoughts?

[Agnes]

How about Coraline from Coraline by Neil Gaiman? That's one of my favorite books. :-) And I really like Nancy Blackett from Swallows and Amazons.
Agnes (12)

[Alice Gunther]

We love Martha from both the Little House in the Highlands and Little House by the Boston Bay series by Melissa Wiley.

[Alice Gunther]

And I agree with my daughter Agnes (above) that Nancy Blackett is the ultimate "cool girl."

[Cate]

How about the Fossil sisters (Pauline, Petrova and Posy) from Noel Streatfeild's _Ballet Shoes_? At least Petrova; she rocked.

[Michele Fry]

In no particular order:

Aerin and Harry Crewe from The Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sword respectively.

Hermione Granger from the "Harry Potter" series.

Leaf and Suzy Turquoise Blue from Garth Nix's "Keys to the Kingdom" series.

Sabriel and Lirael from Nix's "The Old Kingdom Series".

Roald Dahl's eponymous Matilda.

Lyra Silvertongue from Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" series.

Sophie Hatter (and her sisters) from Diana Wynne Jones' Howl's Moving Castle; I include her sisters for daring to do the spell that allowed them to swap their apprenticeships, so each could do that which they were most suited to do.

Polly from Diana Wynne Jones' Fire and Hemlock.

Cassandra Mortmain from Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle

India Opal Buloni from Kate Di Camillo's Because of Winn Dixie

Arrietty from Mary Norton's "Borrowers" series.

Tiffany Aching from Terry Pratchett's The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky and (the forthcoming) Wintersmith.

I think that's everyone !

How about Lily from Lily's Crossing or Meggie from Willow Run both by Patricia Reilly Giff?

[patty (awesmom on flickr)]

Definitely Lyra. I agree with Arietty from the Borrowers and Tiffany from Wee Free Men. What about Ozma? Or Scraps? Does she count, not being a "meat person?"

[Michelle]

I think that Mercy should also be on the list. Yes, Kit is a very cool girl, but Blackbird Pond would lose a lot of strength and character (especially obstacles which she overcame) without Mercy.

[bibliomaniac]

Jerusha Abbott from Daddy Long Legs!

[bibliomaniac]

Catherine from Catherine Called Birdy?! Also, why not add Guenevere?

[Jen Robinson]

Thank you all for the additional comments and feedback! Michele, I was hoping that you would participate, because I know that you read a lot of books about cool girls. Regarding these recent suggestions, I'll be adding them all except for Scraps from Oz (we already have three from the series, I think that's enough). And I'm deferring adding Guinevere unless I hear of a good story in which she is a kid. It seems to me that she's already grown up in The Once and Future King, and the list is meant (in my mind) to be about girls and teens, not adults.

Anyway, thanks again for all of your great suggestions!! The complete list that I'm keeping is up to 157, with Lyra now in first place.

[guitarnan]

Another vote for Betsy Ray here!

Also, Miriam Willard from "Calico Captive" by Elizabeth George Speare. This young heroine, who really existed, survived capture by Indians, servitude in Canada, and a voyage back to New England via England. A great read!

[Stephanie]

How about Cassie from "Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry" and sequels. She really learns a great deal about dignity and doing the right thing in very trying circumstances. Maybe Zia(?) the girl in "Island of the Blue Dolphins"

[Jen Robinson]

Thanks for the additional suggestions, Stephanie and Guitarnan. The girl from Island of the Blue Dolphins is named Karana, and she was already on the list, but I cast an additional vote for her from you, Stephanie. Cassie will be a new addition to the list (which I'll re-publish with additions in a few days). Thanks!

[Love2learn Mom]

We REALLY love Kate from "The Good Master" and "The Singing Tree" by Kate Seredy.

[Little Willow]

Anne Shirley!

[Library Lady]

How could I forget Lois Lowrey's "Anastasia Krupnik"?

[Dana]

I'm partial to the Paper Bag Princess, myself. A little spunk and common sense...and she doesn't marry some guy just because he's a dashing, rich prince. She wants a real man!

[Elena]

Speaking of Karen Cushman, I think Alyce in The MidWife's Apprentice should be included. So should Catherine in Catherine Called Birdie!

[Veronica]

Great list, and lots of new books to try.

I second Jerusha Abbott of Daddy Long-Legs.