In May of 2006, I put out a call on my blog for Cool Girls from Children's Literature. I defined cool as smart, brave, strong, and independent. Several iterations later, with many suggestions from visitors to my blog, here is the list of Cool Girls from Children's Literature. Below I list the top 20 first (by votes), and then the complete list, more than 200 strong. 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
- Henny (Henrietta) from All-of-a-kind Family
by Sydney Taylor
- 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
- Jessie from The Boxcar Children
by Gertrude Chandler Warner
- 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
- Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
- 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 from The BFG
by Roald Dahl.
- 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