To show our support for a campaign to stop targeting books at girls or boys, Guardian Books asked our male readers about female characters they liked or admired, and we also put out a request for parents to let us know about girls their boys were enjoying reading about. The responses were varied, numerous and encouraging. Among the adjectives used to describe these characters were: imaginative, inspiring, brave, resourceful, funny, awesome, smart, smarmy, eccentric, independent, cunning, wild-spirited, fiery, genius, strong, inquisitive, driven, logical, thorough, obsessive, nerdy, intelligent, fearless, clever, rebel and curious.
If you want to contribute your own, feel free to add your entry to the GuardianWitness assignment or leave a comment in the thread below.
Harriet, Harriet the Spy
Ben (aged 7) likes Harriet the Spy.
This is my son, Ben, with Harriet the Spy. He's only half way through so far but says "it's interesting and mysterious and I like any books that have adventure". He says "Boys can read books about anyone and I wouldn't like to read books that only had boys in". He also loves the Roman Mysteries by Caroline Lawrence which have the central female characters of Flavia and Nubia, as well as Jonathan and Lupus.
Tracy Beaker, The story of Tracy Beaker
Tracy Beaker is great
Dan (11yo) picked Tracy as his top female character. Her feistiness and imagination inspire him.
My naughty little sister
Owen aka the My Naughty Little Sister fan
Owen has adored the My Naughty Little Sister stories since before he could read them himself. And although he's moved on to enjoy "boy" books like Horrid Henry and Beast Quest, there's nothing like a few tales of that naughty little girl to provide an escape for an active 7-year old boy!
Scout Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird
I read this book in my early teens and loved Scout, an adventurous girl with an active imagination. It wasn't until about half way through the book I realised she was a girl!
by m4tty1
Elizabeth Bennett, Pride and Prejudice and Harriet, Harriet the Spy
Felix reading Pride and Prejudice--at age 2!
I am one of the co-creators of Cozy Classics, a series of board books for kids that re-tell beloved classics in 12 words and 12 needle-felted illustrations. Because of the series, my young son, Felix, is already well-versed in the exploits of literary heroines such as Lizzy Bennet, Jane Eyre, Emma Woodhouse, Natasha Rostova and others. As for me, when I grew up I was a big fan of Harriet the Spy.
Matilda, Matilda
As a child in primary school I loved Roald Dahl. I especially loved Matilda and read it maybe about 3 or 4 times back to back. I felt I could relate to her, not because I had a horrible family like hers (my family are lovely), but because of her feeling of isolation and she was so curious about the outside world and a dreamer. I was like that at school and always told off for 'day-dreaming' which would probably be put down to suffering from depression due to bullying. If children are given encouragement then they feel better about themselves and find happiness in their own interests rather than being forced to fit into a rigid structure of learning. [...] After feeling like I had no brains at school, I have now gone on to do a degree in Computing, wrote my first computer program two years ago, and I'm learning Swedish. I always think of Matilda when I feel that I'm not clever enough... and Roald ;)
by Andybee78
When I was a kid, I was absolutely inspired by Roald Dahl's Matilda.
I wanted to be as smart and brilliant as she was. It never really occurred to me when I read it that it was a girl - of course I knew it was a girl, it just wasn't a thing I focused on. She was just an awesome human being.
by joshcomley
Coraline Jones, Coraline
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Great book in fact '' Epic''
Nina, Nina and the kung fu adventure
My 7 year old son really likes the girl character Nina in the book Nina and the Kung Fu Adventure. She's really smart and adventurous and he's always saying how he wishes she were his friend so that he could go on adventures with her!
by Leena123
Thóra Gudmundsdóttir
The Icelander Thóra Gudmundsdóttir (Þóra Guðmundsdóttir), in the series of books by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir. Brilliant character. Love the tangle in her domestic life, good humour, and she is a fighter - always comes out on top.
by Jockie
Dido Twite, Wolves Chronicles series
Dido Twite
Too many to choose from but Dido Twite, the heroine of Joan Aitken's endlessly inventive James III series is brave, resourceful and funny and not even her family can hold her back :)
Lisbeth Salander, Rosie, Emily Hudson, Ludmilla
Too many to choose from but I'll start with an obvious one: Lisbeth Salander in the Millennium trilogy. She's enigmatic, brilliant, tough, stoic and, deep down, very caring. How could one not root for her?
Rosie is a very fun character from The Rosie Project, which I've just read. As with Lisbeth, the exterior is at odds with the interior. And both are super-smart.
Emily refers to Emily Hudson, the main character in a novel of the same name. What I love about her is her inner beauty coupled with her resourcefulness. She is a typical 19th century heroine, only in her case she rescues herself rather than relying on a dominant male figure to do the job for her.
Finally, Ludmilla from If On A Winter's Night A Traveler... She is the ideal reading companion.
by ID5651943
Tyke Tyler, The turbulent term of Tyke Tyler
The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler
Spoiler Alert!!!! This was my favourite book as an 11 year old. Tyke Tiler inspired me so much that I started writing my own version (though I only got halfway through and the manuscript didn't survive to the best of my knowledge). In fact it shaped my adult reading to a great extent: I love to read about anyone who disregards what they're brought up to believe they should do, and I especially love to read stories about girls who are brave enough to
Roberta, The Railway Children
I read Edith Nesbit's Railway Children to my then 8 y.o. twins and again found that Bobbie (Roberta) was human, caring and resilient. My son (as well as my daughter) responded positively to her. She was also resourceful and a very good role model for respecting others. She is also not perfect and shallow like many characters. She builds friendships with the "old Gentleman" and gains his respect. She uses this respect to help her clear her father and bring home.
Over a century old the story still resonated with my children and Bobbie was relevant to a modern 8 year old boy.
by ID7234298
Offred, The Handmaid's Tale
Offred is the main character and the novel is written from her point of view. Although her circumstances are dire due to the theocratic state in which she lives, she manages to remain strong and resilient.
Anne Shirley, Anne of Green Gables
"No, Diana, I am not killed, but I think I am rendered unconscious."
Behold the titular titian (& sometimes green) haired genius Anne (with an 'E') Shirley and her tragical and ultimately royally beautiful life, puffed sleeves and all. Too good for the likes of Gilbert Blythe IMHO.
Hedvig, Hedvig och Max-Olov
Hedvig of Sweden
This is Serbian translation of Swedish chapter book "Hedvig and Max-Olov" by Frida Nilsson. Hedvig is just 7 and she wanted a horse to impress her friends, but her father bought her a donkey instead, and it was horrible for her to handle this, until she made this freaky animal a good friend of her. And she dared to confront a bully in her class who mocked her for this donkey. And not only she is brave, but also perfectly normal: as each healthy village child does, she also collects and burries dead animals she finds around, be it a dead pet or a snake overrun by truck.
Sophia, The Summer Book
Sophia - Tove Jansson's The Summer Book
This is a beautiful, beautiful book by Tove Jansson - a master of simple elegant storytelling. Sophia and Grandmother's relationship couldn't fail to inspire any dreamer.
Nancy Beckett, Swallows and Amazons series
The indomitable, competent and magnanimous captain of the Amazon, what boy could fail to be inspired by Nancy Blackett in the Swallows and Amazons series. She was easily the equal of John Walker, captain of the Swallow! She and sister/first mate Peggy were a swashbuckling contrast to the rather more conventional walkers.
by JonKempsey
Alison Mann, Y: the Last Man
Alison Mann from Y: The Last Man
Everyone should pick up Y for an epic adventure, exciting action and the awesomeness that is Dr Alison Mann. She's smart, smarmy, sexy and probably a few more 's' words too. She might just be able to save the human race as we know it and oh my good golly gosh, it's a comic book!
Lyra Belacqua, His Dark Materials series
Alan Mackie
I love the character Lyra Belacqua in the series 'His Dark Materials' by Philip Pullman. She doesn't fit any particular 'box' and is a wonderfully complex and well-developed character. She's adventurous, brave but also not afraid to be afraid, if that makes sense. There are many atypical female characters in the series but Lyra is the one that I find the most special. Not only that, the first word of the first book and the last word of the last book is 'Lyra'. Which you think Pullman must have done intentionally, and that's pretty cool.
@GuardianBooks @GuardianWitness Better still, heres my flatmate. Lyra broke his heart 10 years ago. He's still not ok pic.twitter.com/6HnTgsIFDj
— Ailean Beaton (@AileanBeaton) April 9, 2014
Pippi Longstocking
Our son loved the Pippi Longstocking stories as a child, superhuman, strong, independent and making up her own rules, what child boy or girl could not admire her?
by skogkatt
Dagny Taggart, Atlas shrugged
@GuardianBooks @GuardianWitness greetings from Athens...me & Dagny pic.twitter.com/6gEgJvTNmf
— Andreas Marneris (@greeknady) April 9, 2014
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