I’ve noticed that girls are more willing to read boys’ books than otherwise. So here’s a list of mine with no help from Derek:
Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I’m pretty sure you can’t grow up in America without reading these books, but just in case you were wondering….yes, every girl must read them. I still reread them every year…that’s 20+ times and counting. My favorite is The Long Winter…with the cost of heating in Chicago, maybe we should start burning hay in our furnace to keep ourselves alive…
Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery. I’m pained to know that some women never read these as girls. That’s okay. Anne and Diana’s exploits are probably funnier to me now (in my annual read-throughs) than when my mom and I read them aloud together 18 years ago. The creative genius of Anne (and then of her children and their chums) is inspiring and hilarious.
Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace. Another must-read series, though the early ones are pretty much for young girls, and the high school/college/marriage ones are definitely going to appeal to an older girl. I love series about aspiring female writers…and the friendship of Betsy and Tacy over the 20 years covered in the books is wonderful.
American Girls series. Okay…so this week Leann and I discovered that there are about 10 more historical and countless more modern girls than when we were girls. I can’t speak to the quality of the stuff post Felicity, Kirsten, Addy, Samantha, and Molly, but I loved how much history I learned while getting to know these girls. And I’ve promised myself that my daughters will actually get a doll someday (sometimes it takes a generation for dreams to come true, right?).
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney. Okay, the Pepper books are melodramatic, but growing up, I wanted to BE Polly Pepper, who keeps her impoverished family together while her mother takes in sewing and her brother chops wood to help them survive. Some of the sequels feel dated, but the creativity of the Peppers and their simple pleasures make up for it in my book.
They Loved to Laugh by Kathryn Worth. This one is less familiar to many, but it’s a delightful story of how a young girl goes to live with a Quaker family and finds love and acceptance and her own identity in the midst of a bunch of laughing lads. Apparently Clare decided to give this to me for Christmas within minutes of meeting me our first day at Hillsdale, and I’ve enjoyed it so many times in the intervening years!
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. This author does amazing historical fiction, but this may be my favorite. Kit’s adjustment to life with her relatives in a Puritan community and her friendship with an older Quacker woman is always compelling. I love books in which you really see the characters grow and mature.
Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott. Yep, this one, not Little Women, is my favorite Alcott, probably because everybody ends up marrying the right person in the sequel, Rose in Bloom. When sickly Rose Campbell comes to live in the Aunt Hill with her relations (including 7 rambunctious boy cousins), she blossoms into a lovely young woman. Oh, to have the adventures that those Campbell kids had!
Hitty: Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field. This one is probably geared towards lower elementary girls, but it’s a great family read-aloud for all ages. Apparently the first “doll novel” in America, it won the Newberry award in 1930. Hitty’s first century of adventures on land and sea are delightful.
Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen. There’s a whole city-family-moves-out-to-country genre out there from the mid-20th century, but this one is my favorite. It’s also a Newberry winner.
The Borrowers by Mary Norton. When I was young, I wished there really were little people who lived under the floorboards of my house. An older family from church even made a little borrowers home in one of their hollow basement steps! Pod, Homily, and Arietty captivated my imagination more than any dollhouse every could.
The Moffats by Eleanor Estes. This whole series captures the innocence and ingenuity of childhood in a simpler time. There’s something so loveable about poor families who struggle along together. After reading The Moffat Museum, we neighbor kids set up our own museum down in the woods. Classic.
What a lovely walk down memory lane! I remember reading so many of those books!!! Rachelle had the Kristin doll and I had Samantha (both dolls were gifts from our Aunt). I LOVED reading them and learning about the history of the time. My favorites were reading about Nellie, Samantha’s little friend, who had to chop her hair short to work in a factory. I felt so sad for her! I also loved the Betsy, Tacy and Tibb books. Brad and Aidan are reading Baby Beluga right now and I am wondering how many of these books Aidan will eventually read with me!