Jen Robinson's Book Page: 200 Cool Girls from Children's Literature (Combined List)

Children's Literacy Round-Up: June 10th

Specials: Scott Westerfeld

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