Guest Post: Gertie’s Leap to Greatness Author Kate Beasley Shares Her Top 10 Strong Female Protagonists

Pippi Longstocking, by Astrid Lindgren
Pippi is the prototype of the plucky female protagonist. Her superhuman physical strength is a big part of her appeal for me. The first time she picked up her horse, I felt like anything was possible in this story, and maybe outside of it as well.

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E. L. Konigsburg
Claudia Kincaid is fed up with her dull life and unappreciative parents, so she runs away from home to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As one does.

Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh
Harriet is a spy and a writer. Her independence and intelligence is timeless and fresh, but her strength is even more impressive when you consider how progressive this character was in 1964 when the book was published.

Eloise, by Kay Thompson, illustrated by Hilary Knight.
Eloise is a firecracker.

One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia
Sisters Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern spend the summer of 1968 with their estranged mother in Oakland, California. These girls are fierce, smart, and funny. And Williams-Garcia’s storytelling is pitch perfect.

Matilda by Roald Dahl
Using telekinesis and genius-level intelligence, this girl turns the tables on the cruel and small-minded adults in her life.

Popular, by Maya Van Wagenen
A memoir. In her eighth-grade year, Van Wagenen takes on a social experiment, following the advice outlined in a 1950s popularity guide. Then she writes and publishes a book about the experience. Girl power.

So You Want to Be a Wizard, by Diane Duane
With information found in a library book, Nita Callahan becomes a wizard…something I’ve always wanted to do.

The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
At first blush, Mary Lennox may seem downright bratty. But every time I read the scene where Mary tells off her exasperating cousin Colin, I put the book down and applaud.  

Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison
This one’s a good choice for YA readers. Told in a diary-format, the first book of the hilarious Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series chronicles boy-crazy Georgia’s misadventures with her zany family, classmates, and a homicidal cat. Georgia is unapologetically herself every moment.