Kathryn Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 I'm a Goodwill book shopper and mom of only boys so far. While I do have a few must-read classics that would be considered "girly," our home library really reflects that I have only boys. Having a girl on the way, I'd like to be on the lookout for books/series that I've overlooked until now. So, what are some books or book series that you'd recommend to have in a home library for girls? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Any of the Betsy-Tacy series are WONDERFUL. They are by Maud Hart Lovelace. They start when the girls are very young and then move up through her childhood, highschool, college, and young married adult years, taking place in the early 1900's in the midwest. The reading level reflects the age that the book characters are at. (So when Betsy is a young child, for example, the reading level is for lower elementary school students.) They are sweet, wholesome, fun, interesting... All of my girls loved them! They all have different tastes, and the books fit the bill for all of them! :) Also, wanted to add... you should read these books in order, because as in most series, each book builds on the previous one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Betsy-Tacy absolutely, I just finished the first one with my 4 year old and she loved it. Clementine Ramona Milly-Molly-Mandy is kind of old-fashioned but has nice short chapters for the very young Little House series Anne of Green Gables The Doll People The Penderwicks A lot of those my boys have enjoyed too, especially Clementine, Ramona and The Penderwicks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Betsy-Tacy absolutely, I just finished the first one with my 4 year old and she loved it. Clementine Ramona Milly-Molly-Mandy is kind of old-fashioned but has nice short chapters for the very young Little House series Anne of Green Gables The Doll People The Penderwicks A lot of those my boys have enjoyed too, especially Clementine, Ramona and The Penderwicks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinchick Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Our favorites here: The Saturdays series by Elizabeth Enright Anne of Green Gables Pippi Longstocking The Secret Garden A Little Princess There are also early reader series that we try to pick up at library book sales for a quarter a piece. I figure if DD goes on a run of them, it's good to have them on hand to feed the reading fire. Magic Tree House Rainbow Fairies Judy Moody Dear America American Diaries American Girl Doll Boxcar Children Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 The ones I remember most from childhood are Betsy-Tacy, Anne of Green Gables, King of the Wind, The Melandy Family Quartet, and A Little Princess. Another lovely series for youngers by Cynthia Rylant is Mr. Putter and Tabby about an elderly gentleman, his cat, and his whimsical neighbor. Her Cobblestone Cousins series is also very nice. ETA: "Eight Cousins" and "Rose in Bloom" by L. M. Alcott - they seem a little overly romanticized to me now, but I loved them when I was young. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Some my dd enjoys: As read alouds: Peter Pan Little House Series All of a Kind Family Baby Island Winnie the Pooh complete original series. Pippie Longstocking Burgess Marguerite Henry books(she loves horses). Mary Poppins Stuart Little The Twenty One Balloons For her to read: Circle C Beginnings. American Girl Amelia Bedelia Frog and Toad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted December 11, 2013 Author Share Posted December 11, 2013 Would you recommend the Anne of Green Gables series? I have the first book, but didn't get any of the rest of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Would you recommend the Anne of Green Gables series? I have the first book, but didn't get any of the rest of them. Yes I loved reading that series. I haven't gotten to it yet with my girls but I bought the whole set used already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 I would be on the look out for older editions of Nancy Drew. My set is really old because I bought them as a child from used book stores. The older the better. Trixie Belden and Cherry Ames are a couple of other old series which dd loved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Trixie Belden and Cherry Ames are a couple of other old series which dd loved. I remember Trixie Belden! I always wished I had her friend Diana's dark hair and deep blue eyes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 In addition to the ones already mentioned: The Night Fairy Ozma of Oz Ballet Shoes Tumtum and Nutmeg Where the Mountain Meets the Moon The Little White Horse The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making The Light Princess The Ordinary Princess Momo Eloise Madeline Twig Big Susan Understood Betsy Baby Island Four Dolls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 The Misty series (I especially liked Stormy, Misty's Foal) Little House on the Prairie Sara Plain and Tall Rhymes for Annie Rose Heidi All of a Kind Family Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Trixie Belden and Cherry Ames are a couple of other old series which dd loved. I remember Trixie Belden! I always wished I had her friend Diana's dark hair and deep blue eyes! And I remember reading Cherry Ames! I wonder what I would think of one of the books now .... Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlebug42 Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 My daughters have both loved Milly Molly Mandy. So well loved that I need to buy a new copy. My 12 year old still goes back to it. Others have been mentioned already. I will add, if you don't mind Christian content, the Grandma's attic series of books. Stories from Grandma's Attic is the first one. My younger daughter LOVES these books. I read them to her when she was younger and she keeps going back to them on her own. Older daughter has loved Sarah, Plain and Tall. Has reread it multiple times along with the Little House series. Also, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler, if not already in your library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostSurprise Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 My basement girly stash consists of Laura Ingalls' books, Anne of Green Gables, Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (how I love that book--the Golden Illustrated Classics Illustrations), books by Lois Lenski (Strawberry Girl for one), The Secret Garden, The Little Princess, an old version of Heidi, and The Midwife's Apprentice. These slightly less girly books are allowed (yes allowed, I have 4 boys) on the main floor: Wrinkle in Time, Five Children and It, Cheaper by the Dozen, The Wizard of Oz, The Princess and the Goblin/The Princess and Curdie, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Pippi Longstocking, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, the Little Women series or off-shoots, and the Ramona Quimby books. I do remember liking several of the series mentioned above (and The Bobbsey Twins which no one has mentioned). I too wonder what I'd think of Cherry Ames. Like many series it suffered from 'the first 4 are great but after that not so much' syndrome. Nancy Drew was the same for me. Trixie Beldon and The Bobbsey Twins were a little better (you could skip around it was a toss up as to whether it would be good or not but the best ones were in the first 10). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 A Wrinkle in Time B is for Betsy A Little Princess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 I reread most of the series 3 or 4 years ago. I still like them. :lol: And I remember reading Cherry Ames! I wonder what I would think of one of the books now .... Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 I think "The Bobbsey Twins" are free on the kindle like the Oz books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Magic Attic series Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 We have the entire Cherry Ames series too!! Love it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSOchristie Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 I liked Nancy Drew, The Misty Books, Black Beauty, Sara Plain and Tall, The Little House Books, and Little Women. My dd loves Eloise, Madeline, Fancy Nancy (my boys do, too :)), and Olivia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomeontheprairie Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 While I'm sure my dd MIGHT like books aimed at girls, a good book is a good book. I LOVED books that were considered only for boys, and so do my girls. Nearly everything they have truly enjoyed are either gender neutral or masculine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted December 18, 2013 Author Share Posted December 18, 2013 While I'm sure my dd MIGHT like books aimed at girls, a good book is a good book. I LOVED books that were considered only for boys, and so do my girls. Nearly everything they have truly enjoyed are either gender neutral or masculine. I do agree with you, and I have many of the books mentioned already. But there are some that I don't because they're just not on my radar or they seemed a bit too feminine for them to be interested in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 I do agree with you, and I have many of the books mentioned already. But there are some that I don't because they're just not on my radar or they seemed a bit too feminine for them to be interested in. I hear that a "good book is a good book." And that has certainly been the case here with my 2 dds. Oldest dd who is a bit of a tomboy (rides horses, barrel races, likes martial arts, prefers to wear jeans, cowboy boots, and tshirts) prefers more feminine books. She likes Jane Austen, the Cranford series, Emily Dickens poetry. My youngest who is very "girly" (loves fashion, dolls, stuffed animals, crafts, makeup) prefers science fiction. She reads H. G. Wells, Anne MacCaffrey, some Michael Crichton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigs Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Robin McKinley's The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown. Both have strong female lead characters. McKinley has other books, but pre-read because some are definitely for adults. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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