Books for Spunky Girls

Patrick and I have been watching some of my family's old home videos. "You're exactly the same!" he said. "Except a little spunkier back then." Dagger to my heart. It's true, though, whether through simple maturity or in quest for approval, my spunkiness wavered as I got older. As an adult, I know I can be quirky and opinionated ("strong willed" they say) but there's really no equivalency to a youthful spirit. What a wonderful mixture of carefree opinions and imagination, untethered by socialization (or hormones)! 

 As a teacher, I strive to expose my students to a variety of books and genres. We recently moved on from Dragon Masters to a realistic fiction series called Ivy + Bean and I simply adore the two female main characters. They are precocious, creative and imaginative, full of big ideas.

We are currently reading Ivy + Bean Take Care of the Babysitter, where Bean is being babysat by her older sister, Nancy, for the first time. Convinced this is an insulting injustice, Bean starts to plot her escape from the house. 

 The winning scene so far came near the beginning of the book when the girls and their friends pretend a mound of dirt is a volcano. They are wildly dramatic,crawling on the ground searching for food, shaking nearby bushes (why not add an earthquake to the mix?) and convincing a neighborhood boy to be the lava (which involves sitting in the center of the mound, holding a water hose). Illustrations on almost every page add to the humor and reader engagement.

 There are ten titles in the series so far, and since the last one came out in 2014, I'm not sure if the author will be adding more. Check out her website for a synopsis of each book in the series: Annie Barrows. Let me know what you think!

 Here are a couple more early chapter books featuring unconventional, spunky female leads:

The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale

Princess Pink and the Land of Fake Believe by Noah Z. Jones

Beautiful by Stacy McAnulty (see illustration below)


Happy reading!

 XOXO,
Maria

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