Books That Will Change Your Life

All writers are first and foremost readers, and so one of the chapters most important to us in The Daring Book For Girls is the chapter on books, where we list roughly 100 great books.
From treasured classics like A Wrinkle in Time and Charlotte's Web to other favorites like Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter, and Jane Eyre; from science fiction from writers like Orson Scott Card, Susan Cooper, and Ursula LeGuin to the evergreen "a girl and her horse" books like My Friend Flicka and National Velvet; and from fairy tales to detective series—all of the books we list in fall under the heading of "Books That Will Change Your Life."

(And, lest anyone forget about the importance of nonfiction reading, we included the following: "When we were young and bored, our parents told us, 'Go read the dictionary!' We did, and look where it got us. One should never underestimate the pleasure to be found in flipping through a dictionary, an encyclopedia, or an old science book.")

Here are our top picks for 20 life-changing girl classics.

What are your favorites? Tell us in the comments below!

1. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, and her other books too.
2. Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery
3. Behind Rebel Lines: The Incredible Story of Emma Edmonds, Civil War Spy by Seymour Reit
4. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
5. Caddie Woodlawn and the sequel, Magical Melons, by Carol Ryrie Brink
6. Charlotte's Web by E.B.White
7. The Famous Five, a series by Enid Blyton, with Dick, Ann, Julian, George (a girl!), and her dog Timothy.
8. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L . Konigsburg
9. Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
10. The Illyrian Adventure series by Lloyd Alexander
11. The Little Princess and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
12. Keep Climbing, Girls by Beah H. Richards
13. Little Women and Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott
14. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder—the entire series.
15. Lizzie Bright and The Buckminster Boy by Gary Schmidt
16. Mandy by Julie Andrews
17. Matilda and The BFG by Roald Dahl. Actually, make that  anything by Roald Dahl.
18. Miss Happiness and Miss Flower by Rumer Godden
19. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
20. Ramona by Beverly Cleary (the series)

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