Books for young women?

To Kill A Mockingbird

My wife recommends:

Go ahead and buy your baby girl books you think she should read. My mother purchased or introduced me to nearly every book on this list and I’ve never forgotten them. Once she is older, figure out what kinds of books she likes and then help her pick out ones that are similar. A great resource for finding books is author Anne Bogel’s blog. Here’s my top favorites:

Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy, Tacy, and Tib series. The three girls grow up in the early 20th century and the main character (Betsy) becomes an independent young woman. Another great book is Gone Away Lake and Return to Gone Away Lake. These books are great for boys or girls. A young girl and her little brother go stay with their aunt and uncle for the summer. The girl has an incredible adventure with her older male cousin. Return to Gone Away Lake is the sequel. The author, Elizabeth Enright, also wrote a delightful series about four sibling (two boys, two girls) and their adventures together. Each child gets to be the hero at different points in the stories. Classic: From the Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwiler is a story about a middle school girl who decides her parents are taking her for granted, and she takes her little brother and runs away from home, and in the process solves an art history mystery. In a similar vein, is Blue Balliett’s Chasing Vermeer. While the main character is a young boy, his foil is a spunky young girl who Balliett writes as a complete equal. They are both really fun characters. And last but not least: if you can find copies of the Dear America diary series, they are excellent reading, cover a variety of perspectives, and are fictional diaries written by strong young women who are living through difficult challenges at different times in American History. I believe the series is out of print but you might check the library. There is also a series that features diaries from the perspectives of various royal and powerful women of the world in ancient and more recent history called the Royal Diaries series. Really, if it’s won a Newbery Medal, it’s required reading for any child. Bonus book: Mara Daughter of the Nile is an amazing work of historical fiction in which a slave girl helps the future Pharaoh to gain the throne.  Thrilling little bit of intrigue and so well written. Hope that helps! 

Congratulations, very soon your daughter will let you know what stories she likes as they will be the ones which keep her attention..  

All children are different but in my experience you can't go wrong with animal stories, when they are young, fairy tales were a favourite with my daughter and granddaughter..  

When they move on to paper books ones with pop ups, where they lift flaps to reveal things or interact in some way are favourites.. 

As she grows provide a wide range of books from the old classics, such as Heidi, Black Beauty, Roald Dahl's books, the Harry Potter books of course.

If you can instill in your daughter a love of books and reading then you will have done a good job.

Start with just reading to her now. As an infant.  

Enjoy your daughter and love her. 

Why not share the book search with the baby's mother, your mother and (I assume she has them) your daughter's aunts? If anyone in your family knows of books about strong girls, they will.

Right now, the books you read to her need not be about girls in particular.  She is learning the sounds of Daddy's voice.  Speak calmly and gently to her, including the times you read to her. 

When she is two or three years old, and has some idea what "books" are, introduce her and yourself to the public library's children's collection. (You could start browsing the shelves now if you wish, to see what there is and to grow comfortable with the place.) Introduce yourself to the staff. The children's librarian should know what books will suit her age, and the shelvers will probably remember what "cool cover pictures" caught their attention. Teen shelvers are pretty savvy about what delights little kids.  Borrow a few picture books and "read" them with her. She might pay more attention to the pictures, but the idea is to have fun and play a game together. If she won't listen to the story, you can point out the animals and ask "What does the donkey say? Hee-haw!" Or "What is Peter Rabbit or Dora the Explorer doing?" I grew up with Dr  Seuss stories and nursery rhymes. "Green Eggs and Ham" and "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish." are still my favorites and those of my nieces, who have toddler sons. Rhymes are great.

As she learns to read on her own, let her choose the books, with your guidance and that of your spouse of course. Hopefully she will know the library staff and her pre-school teachers well enough to listen to their opinions too.  I don't know if "Caddie Woodlawn" and "Pippa Longstocking" are still in print, but my Grade One teacher read them to us nearly 60 years ago and the whole class was enthralled. I think they were fine, strong, enterprising girls too. Your daughter will develop her own tastes in fiction, and you should learn what they are, but she will love reading and read broadly if you encourage her and not discourage her in her choices. Let her tell you about the stories she is reading. Don't act bored or superior! Discuss them with her.

You're really thinking far too far ahead.

When she's in her teens she can choose her own reading material.

All you should do is let her grow, develop and find her own way in life.

Make sure that she gets the best education, the most life experiences and the most good information possible.  Love her, encourage her but don't spoil her too much.