Cool Girls from Kid Lit: The Long List
May 31, 2006
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!
- Alice from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
- Amy from The Witch Family by Eleanor Estes
- Anastasia Krupnik from the series by Lois Lowry
- Anna from As Simple as Snow by Gregory Galloway
- Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
- April and Melanie from The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
- Arabella from The Windmill Summer by Hila Feil
- Babymouse from Babymouse: Queen of the World! (and sequels) by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
- Belinda from Little Plum by Ed Young
- Boots from the Gregor The Overlander series by Suzanne Collins
- Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
- Cedar B. Hartley from The Slightly True Story Of Cedar B. Hartley by Martine Murray
- Christina from the Flambards books by K. M. Peyton
- Cimorene from Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
- Claudia from From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
- Corinna Stonewall from The Folk Keeper by Franny Billingsley
- Dicey from Homecoming and Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt
- Dido Twite from Black Hearts in Battersea and Nightbirds on Nantucket (among others) by Joan Aiken
- Dorothy Gale from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
- Eilonwy from the Prydain Chronicles (e.g. The Castle of Llyr) by Lloyd Alexander
- Elizabeth Ann from Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
- Ellie from Squashed by Joan Bauer
- Eloise from the series by Kay Thompson
- Emily from Emily of New Moon (and sequels) by L. M. Mongtomery
- Francie Nolan from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
- Frances from A Bargain for Frances (and others) by Russell Hoban and Lillian Hoban
- Franny K. Stein from the series by Jim Benton
- Harriet M. Welch from Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
- Harry Crewe from The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
- Heidi by Johanna Spyri
- Hermione Granger from Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling
- Ivy from The Changeling by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
- Jane from The Dark Is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper
- Jenna Blake from the Body of Evidence series (starting with Body Bags) by Christopher Golden
- Jennifer from Jennifer, Hecate, MacBeth, William McKinley and Me, Elizabeth by E. L. Konigsburg
- Jill Pole from The Silver Chair and The Last Battle (Narnia books) by C. S. Lewis
- Jo March from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
- Josie Alibrandi from Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta
- Judy Moody from the series by Megan McDonald
- Julia from Night Daddy by Maria Gripe
- Karana from Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
- Kate from Look Through My Window by Jean Little
- Kate from Sensible Kate by Doris Gates
- Kit Tyler from The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
- Laura Ingalls from the Little House books (and she's a real person, too!)
- Liesel from The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
- Lilly from Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse and other books by Kevin Henkes
- Lirael by Garth Nix
- Lucy from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia) by C. S. Lewis
- Lyra from the His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
- Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
- Lola from The House of Stairs by William Sleator
- Margaret Thursday from Thursday's Child by Noel Streatfield
- Mary Lennox from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
- Martha from The Secret Language by Ursula Nordstrom
- Matilda by Roald Dahl
- Meg from A Wrinkle in Time (and sequels) by Madeleine L'Engle
- Meg from The President's Daughter (and others) by Ellen Emerson White
- Meggie from the Inkheart books by Cornelia Funke
- Melinda from Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
- Menolly from Dragonsong (and others Pern books) by Anne McCaffrey
- Mia from The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot
- Minnow from The Seventeenth-Street Gang by E. C. Neville
- Miss Bianca from The Rescuers books by Margery Sharp
- Molly Moon from Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism by Georgia Byng
- Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene
- Nita from the Young Wizards Series by Diane Duane
- Omakayas (or Little Frog) from The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
- Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
- Polly from Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones
- Pony from Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kastner
- Rachel Pye from Ginger Pye and Pinky Pye by Eleanor Estes
- Ramona Quimby from the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary
- Randy from the Melendy books (starting with The Saturdays) by Elizabeth Enright
- Roberta (Bobbie) from The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
- Sabriel by Garth Nix
- Sal from Blueberries for Sal and One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey
- Sara Crewe from A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
- Sarah from One Morning in Maine by Lucy Frank
- Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- Simone from A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life by Dana Reinhardt
- Sophie Hatter from Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
- Susannah Simon from the Mediator books by Meg Cabot.
- Sylvia and Bonnie from The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
- Tacy from Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace
- Tish Sterling from The Keeping Days by Norma Johnston
- Trixie Belden from the series by Julie Campbell
- Trot from The Scarecrow of Oz and other Oz books by L. Frank Baum
- Turtle from The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
- Vesper Holly from The Illyrian Adventure by Lloyd Alexander
- Winnie from Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
- 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?