Funny kids’ books with girl protagonists
January 20, 2018 12:08 PM Subscribe
Our daughter is 6 and has just devoured the [#] Storey Treehouse books. She’s quite lively and silly herself and I’d love to find more funny and surreal books like those, but I’d especially like to find ones with female lead characters.
Can anyone recommend any children’s books, whether standalone or in a series, that feature girls being silly? There’s a female character in the Treehouse books, but she’s more of a sensible foil to the chaotic wackiness of the guys. And so many of the books for first readers with girl leads are fairly earnest, “girl detective” type tales, or about bloody fairies. (We’re in the UK, which seems to make a difference when it comes to children’s books - there isn’t always an overlap - but we can get hold of US titles.)
Can anyone recommend any children’s books, whether standalone or in a series, that feature girls being silly? There’s a female character in the Treehouse books, but she’s more of a sensible foil to the chaotic wackiness of the guys. And so many of the books for first readers with girl leads are fairly earnest, “girl detective” type tales, or about bloody fairies. (We’re in the UK, which seems to make a difference when it comes to children’s books - there isn’t always an overlap - but we can get hold of US titles.)
Ramona Quimby!
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 12:59 PM on January 20, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 12:59 PM on January 20, 2018 [6 favorites]
The Ivy & Bean series by Annie Barrows is about two girls and their adventures and silliness.
Other silly series with girls in them include:
Bink & Gollie by Kate DiCamillo
Clementine by Sara Pennypacker
Ellie McDoodle by Ruth McNally Barshaw
posted by mogget at 1:19 PM on January 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
Other silly series with girls in them include:
Bink & Gollie by Kate DiCamillo
Clementine by Sara Pennypacker
Ellie McDoodle by Ruth McNally Barshaw
posted by mogget at 1:19 PM on January 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
Best answer: I like the Hamster Princess books by Ursula Vernon.
posted by darchildre at 1:22 PM on January 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by darchildre at 1:22 PM on January 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
Try the Junie B. Jones series—wildly popular in the US!
posted by bookmammal at 1:25 PM on January 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by bookmammal at 1:25 PM on January 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
Regarding the Fountain and its follow up books have a mix of characters, many girls and women.
posted by soelo at 3:58 PM on January 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by soelo at 3:58 PM on January 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
Seconding June B Jones . Also look for Louis Sachar Sideways School, and others, though they are not girl-specific. She might like Amelia Bedelia. Ask a children's librarian for more.
posted by Enid Lareg at 4:27 PM on January 20, 2018
posted by Enid Lareg at 4:27 PM on January 20, 2018
I dunno. Julie B. Jones is funny to grownups. My kindergartener thinks she’s obnoxious.
posted by kestrel251 at 5:47 PM on January 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by kestrel251 at 5:47 PM on January 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Seconding Ivy and Bean for sure. I love the Clementine books too, though they're not particularly goofy. Clementine is an imaginative and kinda hyper kid, and the books have a really sweet sense of humor.
A couple other newish series my 7-year old & her friends (& all of their handlers) are enjoying a lot:
Abby Hanlon's Dory Fantasmagory books. About a 6-year-old girl with a ton of personality and an active, hilarious fantasy life. Three books so far. (Way more interesting & sympathetic than Junie B. Jones, IMO. Not a fan of those books.)
Megan McDonald's Judy Moody books. Similar to Clementine or Ivy & Bean. An imaginative kid with slightly wacky plans in a realistic home- & school-setting.
Long shot: Dana Simpson's Phoebe and Her Unicorn! Funny, oddball comic strips available in book form. (Previously.) Some of the jokes & issues will likely be over your daughter's head but I don't think there's anything too inappropriate here. (I guess the characters say "stupidhead," etc., & there's lotsa fart jokes; maybe that's not great.) Even if you are done with fairies these are worth checking out...
posted by miles per flower at 6:24 PM on January 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
A couple other newish series my 7-year old & her friends (& all of their handlers) are enjoying a lot:
Abby Hanlon's Dory Fantasmagory books. About a 6-year-old girl with a ton of personality and an active, hilarious fantasy life. Three books so far. (Way more interesting & sympathetic than Junie B. Jones, IMO. Not a fan of those books.)
Megan McDonald's Judy Moody books. Similar to Clementine or Ivy & Bean. An imaginative kid with slightly wacky plans in a realistic home- & school-setting.
Long shot: Dana Simpson's Phoebe and Her Unicorn! Funny, oddball comic strips available in book form. (Previously.) Some of the jokes & issues will likely be over your daughter's head but I don't think there's anything too inappropriate here. (I guess the characters say "stupidhead," etc., & there's lotsa fart jokes; maybe that's not great.) Even if you are done with fairies these are worth checking out...
posted by miles per flower at 6:24 PM on January 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
Cam Jansen (girl detective) and the various characters (male and female) of the Louis Sacher Wayside School books were some of my earliest book obsessions.
posted by stoneandstar at 11:19 PM on January 20, 2018
posted by stoneandstar at 11:19 PM on January 20, 2018
I also very distinctly remember my teacher reading Junie B. Jones to our (kindergarten? First grade?) class and thinking it was pretty funny at the time... it is obnoxious on purpose to comedic effect, I guess.
posted by stoneandstar at 11:21 PM on January 20, 2018
posted by stoneandstar at 11:21 PM on January 20, 2018
Response by poster: Thanks, all! The ones I marked as best answer were the ones that seemed most likely to have the silliness of the Treehouse books, and I’ll be picking those up for her, but I’ll check out the other suggestions too.
posted by cardinalandcrow at 1:16 PM on January 21, 2018
posted by cardinalandcrow at 1:16 PM on January 21, 2018
She may like the Yotsuba&! series of manga. Yotsuba is a silly and fierce little girl who has many funny adventures.
posted by mgogol at 7:09 AM on January 22, 2018
posted by mgogol at 7:09 AM on January 22, 2018
« Older How to put an apartment up for rent in New York... | How many new flavors are waiting to be discovered? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by trig at 12:26 PM on January 20, 2018 [3 favorites]