Query:

[nilchance]

I need examples of awesome female characters in books appropriate for an 8-10 year old. Bonus fries if the characters are crafty. I've already got Lyra from the Golden Compass and Eilonwy from the Prydain Chronicles.

(Short version of the story: Jake Jensen is the best uncle EVER, and also soulbondomg.)

Comments

[denyce.livejournal.com]

Okay I actually haven't read these in years, but they stand out as personal favs when I was that age.

Ramona Quimby by Beverly Clearly
Wonapalei of Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

[eponin10.livejournal.com]

What about the Alanna books by Tamora Pierce?

[kattahj.livejournal.com]

Depends on the reader, but considering readers who can manage the Golden Compass:

Stephanie from the Skulduggery Pleasant novels by Derek Landy.
Ronia, Mardie/Meg and Pippi, from the various books by Astrid Lindgren.
Matilda from the novel by that name by Roald Dahl.
The Irregulars from the Kiki Strike novels by Kirsten Miller.
Mig from Black Maria (or Aunt Maria), Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle, and Charmain from House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones.
Cimorene from Dealing With Dragons by Patricia Wrede.
Anastasia K. from the series of books by Lois Lowry.
Dinah and Dorinda from The Wind on the Moon by Eric Linklater.
Mary from The Secren Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
Gilly from The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson.
Little My (and Tooticki) from the Moomin novels by Tove Jansson.
Judy from Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner.
I'm not sure whether 8-10 is old enough for Michael Ende's Momo or for the Anne of Green Gables books, but if it is, those are good too.

[tiki-92090.livejournal.com]

I loved Dealing With Dragons!

[linnet-melody.livejournal.com]

That book taught me tact. Nine years old, and it finally hits me that "Oh. If I say something the dragon doesn't like, he eats me."

[tiki-92090.livejournal.com]

:D I love that series. It taught me about the stupidity of gender roles, like how Kazul became King even though she's female and Cimorene tried to correct her, I thought it was the coolest thing when I was a kid.

[embroiderama]

I think the first couple of Anne of Green Gables books would be good for that age group, at least for good readers.

[etty-kay.livejournal.com]

depending of the maturity of the child I reccomend Tamora Pierce I love her and still read her books.

http://www.tamora-pierce.com/about.html

This is a link to the sumuries of her books, for the younger age I would reccomend the Circle of Magic and The Immortals. All the books have female main characters in the majoritiy and generally defying the social norms as well. The books do have a fair amount of violence that is dealt with pretty well.

hope it helps
kay :)

[gwendolen.livejournal.com]

Ronia in Ronia, the Robber's Daughter by Astrid Lindgren
Momo in Michael Ende's Momo
Alanna in Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness-series (8-10 might be a touch too young for those books)
At that age I actually liked George in Enid Blyton's Five Friends-series, don't know how dated that is these days.

[topaz119.livejournal.com]

Claudia in From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler
Meg in A Wrinkle In Time
Maureen in Misty of Chincoteague (though she tends to defer to her brother a bit more than I think you're looking for. Still, she's out there chasing down wild horses.)
Zee Zee from The School Story
Cara from The Landry News
Kit from The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Emily from The Boggart

[atypia.livejournal.com]

Elspeth from the Obernewtyn Chronicles by Isobelle Carmody? She's pretty awesome.

[lost-erizo.livejournal.com]

Harry from The Blue Sword and Aerin from The Hero and the Crown, both by Robin McKinley.

[lomer.livejournal.com]

Tamora Pierce books are chalk full of positive female characters. I particularly like Alana from... whatever the name of that series was. She dresses up like a boy and becomes a soldier. It's very Joan of Arc minus the firey death.

[1more-sickpuppy.livejournal.com]

Seconding Matilda and Ronia Robber's Daughter, since others already mentioned them...

[jdsgirlbev.livejournal.com]

From my long ago childhood, my first brush with fantasy: The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and The Moon of Gomrath by Alan Garner. These are from the early 60's so Susan isn't quite what she would be if the books were written within the last 20 years. But damn, I loved those books, and always wanted a third one where Susan learned to control the "old magic" of her bracelet and Colin, her brother, got to a wizard.

Also, Jane Drew from The Dark is Rising Sequence. (If you've seen The Seeker: The Dark is Rising, expunge it from your memory.) Will Staunton is the character the books revolve around, but Jane is a strong character in Over Sea, Under Stone, book 1, Greenwitch, book 3, and Silver On the Tree, the sixth, and last book of the series. This series can be read by adults too, though the first book is much "younger" than the others.

[beetle-breath.livejournal.com]

Seconding Dealing with Dragons & any Tamora Pierce series (though I don't know how comfortable the parents would be with the whole "Alanna sleeps with 2 guys at once" thing)

also The Westing House

maybe the Redwall series? Not really female-centric but I loved those books as a kid.

[notrotten.livejournal.com]

Seconding The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown. I still love these books. Harry had a huge impact on how I viewed myself when I was young.

[spazzer-mctwich.livejournal.com]

is harry potter appropriate for that age? like the first few books? cause i was in 4th grade when i read the Scorers Stone and Hermione was basically the most smart and awesome chick ever to me.

Animorphs book series also had two really strong female characters that kinda bust up the gender/racial role norms that i was used to seeing in the media. Rachel, a slim popular blond girl who was kind of fashion obsessed, was arguable the muscle on the team. And Cassie, a shy African American girl who wanted to be a vet when she grew up, was basically the moral center of the team; she also was the best at changing her shape and incredibly smart. Also the two girls have a really good friend ship, which i think a lot of media lacks these days between female characters, and Cassie has a romance with the team leader Jake (who is half Jewish) for most of the book.

[aranya4.livejournal.com]

The women of "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeline L'Engle. Mom, daughter, witches...actually some of the guys were fairly admirable too.

[futbol16-4.livejournal.com]

Yes! I second this! (Or third, as I believe I've seen this in a couple of other posts?)

I was drifting away from The Boxcar Children when I picked this one up, and it was fantastic. It totally influenced my future reading choices, because til then I liked SciFi movies but hadn't quite found a book that was as action packed and that I was able to identify with.

[deadlychameleon.livejournal.com]

The Witch of Blackberry Pond (Historical fiction)
http://www.amazon.com/Witch-Blackbird-Elizabeth-George-Speare/dp/0440995779

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
http://www.amazon.com/True-Confessions-Charlotte-Doyle-rpkg/dp/0380728850/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275431708&sr=1-1

And yes, the Animorphs series has some good female leads.

[tygermama.livejournal.com]

I get to rec her! \o/

Tiffany Aching, from Terry Pratchett's The Wee Free Men, and it's two sequels. Tiffany is nine and when her brother is attacked by Green Jenny, a fairie water monster that shouldn't exist, she looks Jenny up in a book, makes a plan, stakes her brother out as bait and wallops Jenny with the largest cast iron frying pan she can find.

She only gets more awesome, but is still a flawed human child, as the books progress.

[southernfloyd.livejournal.com]

This is the first time I've ever commented, but I love your fic and also literary girls of awesome, yay!!
Meg Murry from Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time is a favorite, but I truly love Blossom Culp. The books are almost impossible to find now days, but Richard Peck wrote a series starting with The Ghost Belonged to Me, wherein a boy named Alexander sees a ghost, and a girl named Blossom Culp follows him home from school. Blossom can see the ghost as well (and she can also see the future) and worms her way in to the adventure and helps him save the day. The next few books in the series are her using her powers to help people. Finally, Sabriel and Lirael from Garth Nix's Abhorsen trilogy are both fantastically awesome characters.

[realpestilence.livejournal.com]

Blossom, ftw! Those books are hard to find, but worth it. :D

[nightwalker.livejournal.com]

Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede
The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine
Anything by Sherwood Smith, but that might be a little old.
And I'm going to second (third?) the Animorphs recommendation. Rachel kicked so much ass.

[realpestilence.livejournal.com]

Richard Peck also wrote a very funny, offbeat YA book called "Secrets of the Shopping Mall", which deals with conformity and resisting it. IDK if Jensen's niece would like it, but you probaby would, lol. Teresa and several other female characters are very individual, and strong in their ways.

M.M.Kaye wrote "The Ordinary Princess", which deals with Amy, the princess who is exactly that, and it's full of charming illustrations, too.

[kachera.livejournal.com]

The Paperbag Princess by Robert Munsch.
Absolutely my favorite for a quick read that puts our heroine Elizabeth in charge of saving her self and her prince from a dragon. Funny, smart, and a great story.
Quote from Wikipedia:
"The book reverses the princess and dragon stereotype. As a result, it has won critical acclaim from feminists, including an endorsement from the National Organization for Women, which sells the book on its website."

[jdsgirlbev.livejournal.com]

I can't believe I forgot Anne McCaffrey's Menolly! Dragonsong and Dragon Singer are Menolly's strongest books, but she's an important character in many of the Pern novels.

[vofpracticality.livejournal.com]

Another strong vote for Tamora Pierce. My 11 yr-old started reading her a few years back and I love her female characters. They are all wonderful.