Stand up for Girls

Today is the International Day of the Girl.

According to the website LitWorld, 2/3 of the world's illiterate population are women. Wherever you are at noon today, stand up for ten seconds. LitWorld -- a global literacy nonprofit -- will be posting photos of people standing up for girls at their website.

For the last two weeks, my daughter and I have been talking about girlhood and awesomeness. I've been following the blog Redefine Girly, which has been tackling some interesting issues that U.S. girls face, from back-to-school t-shirts that promote the idea that being pretty means playing dumb, to the television show Toddlers & Tiaras.

My kid is new to middle school, and she's facing some of those issues. This morning, she told me that -- despite anti-bullying training at school -- her outfit got a disapproving once-over from a girl who "thinks she's popular or whatever."

She said, "Mom, talking about 'Waking up Full of Awesome' really helped me."

The two of us posted about some of our favorite books featuring girls who hold tight to their own sense of awesomeness. Today, I'm adding YA titles to that list. Miss J is too young to read most of these books. I'm glad she'll have some great characters to show her how to stay awesome when she heads to high school.

Parents -- these books put the "adult" in young adult. Make sure you know what your kid is ready for before handing her one of these books.

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Colin, a genius high schooler, strikes out on an adventure and finds down-on-her luck Lindsey. The story is too full of quirky details to summarize here. Among a list of love interests named Katherine, Lindsey is like a not-Heather in the movie Heathers. She's unapologetically different. That's why I think she's awesome (and Colin comes around to sharing that POV.)

Side note -- my teenage son loved Green's Looking for Alaska. He would not touch Katherines. Maybe he could have gotten past the girl-centric title, but the cover was too much for a boy reader. I hope it comes out with a new design soon.

A Girl Named Disaster by Nancy Farmer

Nhamo runs away from her village in Mozambique. Not only does no one recognize she's an awesome kid, but she's in danger of losing her inner-fire as the child bride of an older man. Nhamo's harrowing journey tests her resources, but also leads her to a new life. Taken under the wing of a female scientist, Nhamo gains access to education and thrives.

Good Girls by Laura Ruby

The more I thought about this novel, the more important I realized it was. It's not a comfortable read for a parent. At a party, someone snaps a cell phone photo of high schooler Audrey Porter performing a sex act. The photo gets around school, is sent to her parents -- worst case scenario. The book focuses on how Audrey questions her self-view. Is she still a good kid after what happened? What does that even mean? Audrey re-invents herself, makes some new friends (kids she had previously labeled as "bad girls")  and finds her way back to that inner sense of awesome.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore
In this fantasy novel, some people have a "grace" -- a special ability. Katsa's is her ability to kill, or so everyone thinks. The story follows Katsa as she handles political intrigue and assassination attempts without losing sight of who she is. She never plays along or does what she's told. Obedience isn't on her menu. Eventually, Katsa learns to redefine her grace and see herself as more than a killing machine.

This book met the boy seal-of-approval at our house. If your son liked The Hunger Games, he will love Graceling. My guy also liked Fire, a novel set in the same world.

Harry Potter Books 5-7 by J.K. Rowling

Miss J and I discussed this one at length. We are not going with the obvious choice, Hermione Granger. While Hermione never apologizes for being smart, we both think she's too judgmental of others to be on our list.

The honor goes to Ginny Weasley. In the first three books, Ginny's crush on Harry Potter makes her goofy, shy, and leads to her victimization. In the later books, though, Ginny learns to be herself around Harry. It turns out she's a fabulous Quidditch player (who wouldn't be with six older brothers) and has a mean bat-bogey hex. Ginny is tough. She doesn't let others tell her who she is or should be. We both liked that Ginny realizes the only guy worth dating is a guy who likes you for who you are.

The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins

I avoided reading this fantasy novel for a long time. What parent wants to read about kids fighting to the death on TV? Finally, I gave it a chance. So did everyone else in the world.

What makes Katniss Everdeen so appealing? She's tough. She stands up for herself, feeds and protects her family. She's smarter than the politicians who want to manipulate her for their own purposes. I liked that she didn't give in to the excesses of "The Capitol" -- where everything is about appearance and consumption. In this future, people matter only for their usefulness to the government. Katniss shows that one independent spirit can change the world.

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli


Stargirl captures the heart of Leo BorlockStargirl's uniqueness. But it doesn't last long. The pressure to conform is too great and Stargirl is anything but a conformist. If you've read the "Waking Up Full of Awesome" post -- I think Stargirl has never lost the wild and wonderful sense of self we see in five-year-old girls.

I am sorry to say that this list is short on awesome girls of diverse backgrounds. That's more about what's on my bookshelf, unfortunately, than what books are available. If you have an awesome YA heroine to recommend -- no matter what heritage -- please let us know about her in the comments.

Stand up for girls today!

Fiction Full of Awesome

Last week, I confessed that I tried to "unawesome" my middle school daughter (read the horrible truth here).

We were having a bad morning. We were fighting about clothes. She was about to leave the house with her hair hanging defeatedly in front of her face.

With the help of an amazing blog post at Redefining Girly, I took a step back, changed tactics, and sent Miss J off to school laughing, with a list of all the awesome things she had done that morning.

Guest blogger and book reviewer Miss J :-)

The blog post, "Waking up Full of Awesome," struck a nerve with a lot of people. It was passed to me by an awesome lady, Miss J's fifth grade teacher and fellow girl-mom Nancy Black.

I love the idea of helping girls (even grown up girls) retain some of that "I don't care if my socks don't match, my hair rivals Pippi Longstocking's and I didn't learn my dance moves in ballet class" attitude that five-year-old girls exude.

Miss J is an avid reader, like her mom. Together, we put together a reading list -- our favorite "Full of Awesome" kids' lit heroines. These girls face obstacles, including people who want them to act like proper (or popular) girls. Nothing doing. Even when they try to put on airs, it doesn't last. The real girl, the awesome person inside, always breaks free.

Picture Books
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes, Recommended by Laura

Chrysanthemum, a white mouse, starts the school year full of awesome. Her parents love her. She's got a fabulous, unique name. But the other girls don't think her name is so fabulous. Chrysanthemum has to learn how to get her awesome back.

Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans, Recommended by Laura

I had this book memorized by the time I was two. Madeline is not afraid of mice or hospitals. She says, "pooh-pooh" to lions. How awesome can you get?

Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner, Recommended by Laura

Not a girl, not even a girl cat, but totally in touch with his inner awesome. This is a great read-aloud to share with all of your amazing kids.

Early Readers
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White, Recommended by Miss J

I like Fern Arable because she stands up to her father. She says that just because Wilbur is the runt of the litter, he shouldn't get killed. She takes on a great responsibility of taking care of a baby pig and makes animal friends along the way.

Junie B. Jones Series by Barbara Park, Recommended by Laura

I used to read these books aloud to my son. We both loved Junie B. What makes her so funny is her belief in herself, and how clueless she is when others try to guide her in the "right" direction.

Middle Grade (Grade 5 - 8)
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, Recommended by Laura
Orphan Anne Shirley always tries to be good, but her love of adventure and her strong emotions keep her in the awesome zone. She never apologizes for being smart. She's funny. And every time I see the TV series on PBS, I love the series all over again. Come on, Miss J, you know you want to read this one!


Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, Recommended by Miss J


Even though Ella is cursed to be obedient, she finds a way to be herself. Despite dealing with her step-sisters, she shows her inner awesome and what a tomboy she can be. She stands up for herself and fights ogres.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Miss J and I visited Orchard House (post is here), where Little Women is set and was written, this summer. We learned a great deal about Louisa May Alcott, who modeled the character of Jo March after herself. Alcott was the best-selling author of her time, supporting her entire family. Jo is funny, strong, and won't marry her wealthy best friend because she trusts her inner voice. I re-read the book after our house tour. Loved it all over again.

The Mother Daughter Book Club Series by Heather Vogel Frederick, Recommended by Miss J
All of the girls in this series are awesome. They begin in sixth grade and each book follows the group of five friends through one year. At first the girls are reluctant about the book club, which their mothers cook up during yoga class. Through each book you learn more about the different characters, what they do and why that makes them special. In the second book, Much Ado about Anne (see Anne Shirley, above!) they work together to raise money so that one of the girls won't lose her home.


Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan, Recommended by Miss J
Annabeth is the daughter of Athena. I think Annabeth is awesome. She kind of stands up for herself and her friends. She doesn't let anyone boss her around. She follows her dream of becoming an architect. She has a lot of great adventures with Percy Jackson along the way. When a really close friend betrays her, Annabeth finds a way to kick butt.

Savvy by Ingrid Law, Recommended by Miss J
Mibs (Mississippi Beaumont) is awesome in her own special way. She's a unique kid from a unique family, who all have special abilities called savvies. She messes up a lot, but she finds a way to fix it and make things work. She's very determined.

I'll post YA recommendations later in the week. Miss J is not reading those books yet (with the exception of the final three Harry Potter books).

Have an awesome time reading!

UPDATE:

Miss J and I just got e-slapped by friend and fantasy author A.R. Rotruck for leaving off an important, very awesome, heroine: Eilonwy of Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain. The management apologizes for this egregious oversight. Eilonwy is smart, sassy and sure of herself without being a mean girl. She's everything we love in an awesome heroine.

Be sure to check the comments for more suggestions (thanks to my mom, writer and writer-mom friends). If you don't see your favorite awesome girl of fiction here, please put your recommendation in the comments.

14 Kinds of Awesome

I forced myself out of bed at 5:45 this morning, 30 minutes after our various alarms started buzzing and rocking out some kind of digital samba. It's the new reality of our lives with a high schooler. And it's undermining my longtime claim that I am a morning person.

High schooler and hubby out the door, I tried to revive myself with a few chapters of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. My middle schooler -- the more self-efficient of our two kids -- was getting herself dressed for Picture Day.

My 11-year-old having an Awesome moment.

"Why don't you wear your new jeans skirt, instead of those soccer shorts?" I started.

Which quickly evolved into, "Look at all the things in this closet that still have tags on. I bought you those blue pants six months ago!"

I admit to being a veteran of The Mother-Daughter Closet Wars. But mostly from the other side of the hamper. The memory of my mother and me battling over my favorite old sweatpants (too thin to wear to school), too-dark nail polish and lipstick, and jeans (I'd just gotten the holes perfect when Mom threw them out) are usually enough for me to shut my  mouth and leave my kid and her closet alone.

My girl was about to walk out the door: tears in eyes, shoulders slumped, hair hanging over face. I thought about a blog post a friend (and HS girl-mom) shared with me this weekend.

The name of the blog is "Redefine Girly: Let's Change the Way We Think about Our Girls." The post is titled, "Waking Up Full of Awesome."

Not only did I not wake up full of awesome, I un-awesomed my daughter today. Here's an excerpt from the "Redefine Girly" blog post:

There was a time when you were five years old,

and you woke up full of awesome.

You knew you were awesome.

You loved yourself.

You thought you were beautiful,

even with missing teeth and messy hair and mismatched socks inside your grubby sneakers.

You loved your body, and the things it could do.

You thought you were strong.

You knew you were smart.

  

Do you still have it?

The awesome.

Did someone take it from you?

Ouch.

I had to change my thinking to fix it. On the way to the bus stop, I pointed out some of the awesome things my daughter did this morning:

#1 Awesome -- You made your bed.

#2, #3, #4 Awesome -- You brushed your teeth, washed your face and brushed your hair.

She was starting to get into it already. I wasn't getting eye-rolls. I detected a smile.

#5 Awesome -- Did you remember to pack your gym clothes? You did? Awesome.

#6 Awesome -- "I packed my lunch." No, I packed your lunch. "Mom, that's your #1 Awesome. But I packed my lunch in my backpack. That counts."

#7 Awesome -- You remembered your clarinet.

Soon, the kid was laughing at the every-day stuff that "counted," and trying to think of ways to bolster my awesome-list (since teeth,  hair and face counted as three for her, she reasoned, it should count for three on my list too) so I could also be Full of Awesome. We both made it to 14 Kinds of Awesome before the bus came.

Feeling a lot more Awesome -- even in the rain.

I even got credit for wearing pants (because not wearing any pants to the middle school bus stop would be the opposite of awesome).

Have an Awesome Day.