In the cute little flick You've Got Mail, Meg Ryan's delightful children's bookstore owner character recommends the famous "Shoe Books" by Noel Streatfeild in addition to many other great reads for her wee customers. Well.....I may not own a bookstore, but I can do that! I realized I have quite a few mothers in my life right now with daughters aged 5 to 9 or so, and while I may not always know what is hip to the girls these days I do know some books that truly endure. First off, you can't ever beat Charlotte's Web by E.B. White. It's all about friendship, being different and even touches on death. And while that's a hard subject to ever get into with your kid, sometimes a book about animals may be the best way to get started. Striped Ice Cream by Joan Lexau may have flown under your radar but it so worth the time to find. Set in the late 1960's it follows Becky, the youngest daughter of a family struggling in Chicago. Even though it is an older book, the themes of growing up poor and being the youngest and feeling left out can resonate with any generation. Judy Blume may be most known for her very teenagery books like Are You There God, It's Me Margaret but her book for younger girls Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great is fantastic. Sheila is about 10 and is going away for the summer with her family in upstate New York. And she is scared. Of. Everything. She wants everyone to think she's fabulous, but shows her true colors when it comes to her many fears including swimming, the dark, spiders....what else???? And when talking about little girls, we can't ever leave out little Ramona. Beverly Cleary wrote many books in the Ramona series including Beezus and Ramona which was written in 1955 and released as a movie in 2010. But you really need to pick up Ramona Quimby Age 8 to really appreciate this quirky girl. She accidentally breaks a raw egg on her head, fights with her sister, annoys grown-ups and horror of horrors.....throws up in the classroom at school! So many great stories for your little girls.....and so many more to recommend once we get to puberty! But we'll save that for another day.........
In the cute little flick You've Got Mail, Meg Ryan's delightful children's bookstore owner character recommends the famous "Shoe Books" by Noel Streatfeild in addition to many other great reads for her wee customers. Well.....I may not own a bookstore, but I can do that! I realized I have quite a few mothers in my life right now with daughters aged 5 to 9 or so, and while I may not always know what is hip to the girls these days I do know some books that truly endure. First off, you can't ever beat Charlotte's Web by E.B. White. It's all about friendship, being different and even touches on death. And while that's a hard subject to ever get into with your kid, sometimes a book about animals may be the best way to get started. Striped Ice Cream by Joan Lexau may have flown under your radar but it so worth the time to find. Set in the late 1960's it follows Becky, the youngest daughter of a family struggling in Chicago. Even though it is an older book, the themes of growing up poor and being the youngest and feeling left out can resonate with any generation. Judy Blume may be most known for her very teenagery books like Are You There God, It's Me Margaret but her book for younger girls Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great is fantastic. Sheila is about 10 and is going away for the summer with her family in upstate New York. And she is scared. Of. Everything. She wants everyone to think she's fabulous, but shows her true colors when it comes to her many fears including swimming, the dark, spiders....what else???? And when talking about little girls, we can't ever leave out little Ramona. Beverly Cleary wrote many books in the Ramona series including Beezus and Ramona which was written in 1955 and released as a movie in 2010. But you really need to pick up Ramona Quimby Age 8 to really appreciate this quirky girl. She accidentally breaks a raw egg on her head, fights with her sister, annoys grown-ups and horror of horrors.....throws up in the classroom at school! So many great stories for your little girls.....and so many more to recommend once we get to puberty! But we'll save that for another day.........