From: Monica Edinger <monicaedinger_at_gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 11 Mar 2011 05:36:19 -0500

I'm fine with pink especially when it is on the cover of a new BABYMOUSE graphic novel. Babymouse is a delightful female character, just right for kids of a certain early and middle grade age. In fact, I'm loving the girl characters showing up all over the place in graphic novels. My favorite right now has got to be Mirka in Barry Deutsch's HEREVILLE: HOW MIRKA GOT HER SWORD.

Two recent fictional females in middle-grade novels that I find beautifully presented as complex characters are Miranda in Rebecca Stead's WHEN YOU REACH ME Delphine in Rita Williams-Garcia's ONE CRAZY SUMMER. Both are historical fiction and feel very true to their time period. I appreciated that because I do occasionally find anachronisms in the portrayal of strong girls in some historical novels; that is, they speak out or behave in ways more of our time than theirs.

My all time favorite girl has got to be Lyra Belacqua from Philip Pullman's HIS DARK MATERIALS. There are many delightful girls in more recent fantasy books, but Lyra is the one I'd want for a BFF. Even more than Alice:)

Monica

-- Monica Edinger 600 West 111th Street Apt 2A New York NY 10025 educating alice _at_medinger on twitter My Huffington Post Blog
Received on Fri 11 Mar 2011 05:36:19 AM CST