200 Cool Girls from Children's Literature (Combined List)
June 10, 2006
When I started this list of cool girls from children's literature, I thought that I'd get a few suggestions, and that together we would come up with 20 or so, and have a nice little list. Many, many wonderful comments and suggestions later, the list is up to 200 cool girls of kid lit. My deepest thanks to everyone who contributed and/or linked to the earlier lists! I think that together we've come up with a really wonderful resource. 200 smart, brave, funny, independent girls from the world of children's literature. And of course there are more of them out there, just waiting to be discovered... Here I bring you the top 20 (by votes), followed by the full list to date. Happy reading!
The Top 20
- Anne of Green Gables
by L. M. Montgomery (8 votes)
- Lyra from the His Dark Materials Trilogy
by Philip Pullman (7 votes)
- Jo March from Little Women
by Louisa May Alcott (6 votes)
- Laura Ingalls from the Little House
books by Laura Ingalls Wilder (6 votes)
- Harriet M. Welch from Harriet the Spy
by Louise Fitzhugh (5 votes)
- Hermione Granger from Harry Potter
by J. K. Rowling (5 votes)
- Turtle from The Westing Game
by Ellen Raskin (5 votes)
- Arrietty from The Borrowers
series by Mary Norton (4 votes)
- Meg from A Wrinkle in Time
(and sequels) by Madeleine L'Engle (4 votes)
- Nancy Blackett from Swallows and Amazons
by Arthur Ransome (4 votes)
- Ramona Quimby from the Ramona books
by Beverly Cleary (4 votes)
- Sophie Hatter from Howl's Moving Castle
by Diana Wynne Jones (4 votes)
- Annabeth from The Lightning Thief
by Rick Riordan (3 votes)
- Charlotte from Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White (3 votes)
- Claudia from From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
by E. L. Konigsburg (3 votes)
- Harry Crewe from The Blue Sword
by Robin McKinley (3 votes)
- Ivy from The Changeling
by Zilpha Keatley Snyder (3 votes)
- Sara Crewe from A Little Princess
by Frances Hodgson Burnett (3 votes)
- Suzy Turquoise Blue from the The Keys to the Kingdom
series by Garth Nix (3 votes)
- Tiffany Aching from The Wee Free Men
and A Hat Full of Sky
by Terry Pratchett (3 votes)
The Full List To Date: 200 Cool Girls
- Aerin from The Hero and the Crown
by Robin McKinley
- Alanna from The Song of the Lioness Quartet
by Tamora Pierce
- Alice from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
by Lewis Carroll
- Allison from Active Enzyme Lemon-Freshened Junior High School Witch
by Wallace Hildick
- Alyce from The Midwife's Apprentice
by Karen Cushman
- 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
- Annabelle from No Flying in the House
by Betty Brock
- Anne of Green Gables
by L. M. Montgomery
- Ana from Anatopsis
by Chris Abouzeid
- Anidori–Kiladra Talianna Isillee from The Goose Girl
by Shannon Hale
- Annabel Andrews from Freaky Friday
by Mary Rodgers
- Annabeth from The Lightning Thief
by Rick Riordan
- April from The Egypt Game
by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
- Arabella from The Windmill Summer
by Hila Feil
- Arrietty from The Borrowers
series by Mary Norton
- Babymouse from Babymouse: Queen of the World!
(and sequels) by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
- Belinda from Little Plum
by Rumer Godden
- Bella from Bella at Midnight
by Diane Stanley
- Bella Swan from Twilight
by Stephenie Meyer
- Betsy Ray from Betsy-Tacy
by Maud Hart Lovelace
- Bonnie from The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
by Joan Aiken
- Boots from the Gregor The Overlander
series by Suzanne Collins
- Caddie Woodlawn
by Carol Ryrie Brink
- Cam Jansen from the series
by David A. Adler
- Carly from The Pinballs
by Betsy Byars
- Cassandra Mortmain from I Capture the Castle
by Dodie Smith
- Cassie from Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
and sequels by Mildred D. Taylor
- Catherine from Catherine, Called Birdy
by Karen Cushman
- Catherine from Rules
by Cynthia Lord
- Cathy and Diane from the Macdonald Hall series (e.g. This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall
) by Gordon Korman
- Cedar B. Hartley from The Slightly True Story Of Cedar B. Hartley
by Martine Murray
- Charlotte from Charlotte's Rose
by A. E. Connon
- Charlotte from Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
- 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
by E. L. Konigsburg
- Coraline from Coraline
by Neil Gaiman
- Coriander from I, Coriander
by Sally Gardner
- Corinna Stonewall from The Folk Keeper
by Franny Billingsley
- Daisy from How I Live Now
by Meg Rosoff
- Darrell Rivers from the Malory Towers
series by Enid Blyton
- 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
- Dimple Lala from Born Confused
by Tanuja Desai Hidier
- Dorothy Gale from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
by L. Frank Baum
- Dorrie the little witch from the series (Dorrie and the Haunted Schoolhouse
, etc.) by Patricia Coombs
- Eilonwy from the Prydain Chronicles (e.g. The Castle of Llyr
) by Lloyd Alexander
- Elizabeth from The Paper Bag Princess
by Robert Munsch
- Elizabeth Ann from Understood Betsy
by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
- Ella from Ella Enchanted
by Gail Carson Levine
- Ellie from Squashed
by Joan Bauer
- Eloise
from the series by Kay Thompson
- Emma Tolly from the Charlie Bone Children of the Red King series
by Jenny Nimmo
- Emily from Emily of New Moon
(and sequels) by L. M. Mongtomery
- Fane and Emily from The Doll in the Wall by Angela Bull
- Francie
by Karen English
- 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
- Gilly Hopkins from The Great Gilly Hopkins
by Katherine Paterson
- 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
- India Opal Buloni from Because of Winn-Dixie
by Kate DiCamillo
- Ingrid Levin Hill from the Echo Falls books (starting with Down the Rabbit Hole
) by Peter Abrahams
- Irene from The Princess and the Goblin
by George MacDonald
- Ivy from The Changeling
by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
- Jane Stuart from Jane of Lantern Hill
by Lucy Maud Montgomery
- Jane from The Dark Is Rising Sequence
by Susan Cooper
- Jenna from Septimus Heap, Book One: Magyk
by Angie Sage
- 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
- Jerusha Abbott from Daddy-Long-Legs
by Jean Webster
- Jill Pole from The Silver Chair
and The Last Battle
(Narnia books) by C. S. Lewis
- Jinny Manders from the Jinny at Finmory (e.g. The Magic Pony
) series by Patricia Leitch
- Jo Bettany from The Chalet School Series
by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer
- Jo March from Little Women
by Louisa May Alcott
- Josie Alibrandi from Looking for Alibrandi
by Melina Marchetta
- Judy from Judy's Journey
by Lois Lenski
- Judy Moody
from the series by Megan McDonald
- Juli Baker from Flipped
by Wendelin Van Draanen
- Julia from Night Daddy
by Maria Gripe
- Junie B. Jones from the series
by Barbara Park
- Karana from Island of the Blue Dolphins
by Scott O'Dell
- Kate from The Good Master
and The Singing Tree
by Kate Seredy
- Kate from Look Through My Window
by Jean Little
- Kate from Sensible Kate
by Doris Gates
- Kate Sutton from The Perilous Gard
by Elizabeth Pope
- Katie from Hoofbeats: Katie and the Mustang
by Kathleen Duey
- Katie John
from the series by Mary Calhoun
- Keladry of the Protector of the Small Quartet (starting with First Test
) by Tamora Pierce
- Kira from Gathering Blue
by Lois Lowry
- Kit from Down a Dark Hall
by Lois Duncan
- Kit Tyler from The Witch of Blackbird Pond
by Elizabeth George Speare
- Kizzy Lovell from The Diddakoi
(or Gypsy Girl) by Rumer Godden
- Koly from Homeless Bird
by Gloria Whelan
- Laura Ingalls from the Little House
books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
- Leaf from the The Keys to the Kingdom
series by Garth Nix
- Liesel from The Book Thief
by Markus Zusak
- Lilly from Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse
and other books by Kevin Henkes
- Lily from Lily's Crossing
by Patricia Reilly Giff
- Lina Mayfleet from The City of Ember
and The People of Sparks
by Jeanne DuPrau
- Lirael
by Garth Nix
- Liyana Abboud from Habibi
by Naomi Shihab Nye
- Lola from The House of Stairs
by William Sleator
- Lou Emma Miller from the series (for example Does Anybody Care About Lou Emma Miller?
) by Alberta Wison Constant
- Lucy from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia)
by C. S. Lewis
- Luxa from the Gregor The Overlander
books by Suzanne Collins
- Lyra from the His Dark Materials Trilogy
by Philip Pullman
- Madeline
by Ludwig Bemelmans
- Mandy
by Julie Andrews Edwards
- Margaret from Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
by Judy Blume
- Margaret Thursday from Thursday's Child
by Noel Streatfield
- Martha from both the The Little House in the Highlands
and Little House by Boston Bay
series by Melissa Wiley
- Martha from The Secret Language
by Ursula Nordstrom
- Martha Sowerby from The Secret Garden
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
- Mary Lennox from The Secret Garden
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
- Matilda
by Roald Dahl
- Matilda Bone
by Karen Cushman
- Maximum Ride from Maximum Ride : The Angel Experiment
and Maximum Ride: School's Out Forever
by James Patterson
- 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
- Meggie from Willow Run
by Patricia Reilly Giff
- Melanie from The Egypt Game
by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
- Melinda from Speak
by Laurie Halse Anderson
- Menolly from Dragonsong
(and others Pern books) by Anne McCaffrey
- Mercy from The Witch of Blackbird Pond
by Elizabeth George Speare
- Mia from The Princess Diaries
series by Meg Cabot
- Minnow from The Seventeenth-Street Gang
by E. C. Neville
- Miri from Princess Academy
by Shannon Hale
- Miriam Williard from Calico Captive
by Elizabeth George Speare
- Miss Bianca from The Rescuers
books by Margery Sharp
- Miss Rumphius
by Barbara Cooney
- Molly Moon from Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism
by Georgia Byng
- Nancy Blackett from Swallows and Amazons
by Arthur Ransome
- Nancy Drew
by Carolyn Keene
- Nickie from The Prophet of Yonwood
by Jeanne Duprau
- Nita from the Young Wizards Series
by Diane Duane
- Nory Ryan from Nory Ryan's Song
by Patricia Reilly Giff
- Nymah Rose from East
by Edith Pattou
- Olivia
by Ian Falconer
- Omakayas (or Little Frog) from The Birchbark House
by Louise Erdrich
- Ozma of Oz
by L. Frank Baum
- Parvana from Breadwinner
by Deborah Ellis
- Pat of Silver Bush
by L. M. Montgomery
- Penny Gareth from The Growing Summer
by Noel Streatfield
- Petra from Ender's Game
by Orson Scott Card
- Petrova Fossil from Ballet Shoes
by Noel Streatfeild
- Philippa Gaunt from the Children of the Lamp series (starting with The Akhenaten Adventure
) by P. B. Kerr
- Pippi Longstocking
by Astrid Lindgren
- Polly from Fire and Hemlock
by Diana Wynne Jones
- Pony from Emil and the Detectives
by Erich Kastner
- Portia from Gone-Away Lake
by Elizabeth Enright
- 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
- Reason Cansino from Magic or Madness
by Justine Larbalestier
- Roberta (Bobbie) from The Railway Children
by E. Nesbit
- Robin from The Velvet Room
by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
- Rosamund from Nate The Great
by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat
- Rose Rita Pottinger from The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring
by John Bellairs
- Rosie Brine from the Maida
books by Inez Haynes Irwin
- Sabriel
by Garth Nix
- Sabrina and Daphne from The Sisters Grimm: The Fairy-Tale Detectives
series by Michael Buckley
- Sal from Blueberries for Sal
and One Morning in Maine
by Robert McCloskey
- Sally from the Encyclopedia Brown
books by Donald Sobol
- Sammy Keyes from the series
by Wendelin Van Draanen
- Sara Crewe from A Little Princess
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
- Sarah from One Morning in Maine
by Lucy Frank
- Sara from The Summer of the Swans
by Betsy Byars
- Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
- Skye from The Penderwicks
by Jeanne Birdsall
- Simone from A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life
by Dana Reinhardt
- Sophie Hatter from Howl's Moving Castle
by Diana Wynne Jones
- Stellaluna
by Janell Cannon
- Sumiko in Weedflower
by Cynthia Kadohata
- Sunita Sen from The Not-So-Star-Spangled Life of Sunita Sen
by Mitali Perkins
- Susannah Simon from the Mediator
books by Meg Cabot.
- Suzie from The Rebel Witch
by Jack Lovejoy
- Suzy Turquoise Blue from the The Keys to the Kingdom
series by Garth Nix
- Sylvia from The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
by Joan Aiken
- Tacy from Betsy-Tacy
by Maud Hart Lovelace
- Tally Youngblood from the Uglies
series by Scott Westerfeld
- Tia Malone/Castaway from Escape to Witch Mountain
by Alexander Key
- Tiffany Aching from The Wee Free Men
and A Hat Full of Sky
by Terry Pratchett
- Tish Sterling from The Keeping Days
by Norma Johnston
- Trissy from I, TRISSY
by Norma Fox Mazer
- 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
- Velvet Brown from National Velvet
- Vesper Holly from The Illyrian Adventure
by Lloyd Alexander
- Vicky Austin from Meet the Austins
by Madeleine L'Engle
- Violet from the Series of Unfortunate Events
series by Lemony Snicket
- Winnie from Tuck Everlasting
by Natalie Babbitt
- Zoe from A Room on Lorelei Street
by Mary A. Pearson
Addendum
Here are a few more, suggested since the list went out:
- Henny (Henrietta) from All-of-a-kind Family
by Sydney Taylor
- Jessie from The Boxcar Children
by Gertrude Chandler Warner
- Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
New Commenters and Contributors (those not mentioned on previous posts):
Note: This list is copyright (c) 2006 by Jennifer Robinson. All rights reserved.