My church has a Mother (or guardian)/Daughter Book Club that meets once a month to read books of interest to middle school girls. Last month, the kid and I attended the potluck that gets the book club off the ground. Everyone got to suggest one book, and since there were twelve of us (six mother/daughter pairs) we each got to recommend a selection.

The selections were quite amazing. Nearly all of them shared a common theme of girl power. Most of them were about magickal girls of one kind or another. So I decided that I’d make an entry listing the books that we selected along with Amazon links (to make ordering easier for me later on and to bookmark the reviews and previews). Hopefully as the group progresses, the kid and I will add our own commentary.

This list is especially cool if you are A) looking for something to read while you wait for the next Harry Potter installment, and B) if you think Hermoine got the short end of the stick.

Incidentally, while I was surfing, I also found this groovy book site for children’s literature; it has a heavy emphasis on multicultural readings. Link-hunting for information on Tamora Pierce, who completely rocks, led me to Sheroes Central. Tamora Pierce also has a list of books about females who don’t wait for rescue!! Gotta love it. I also found an essay that talks about the narrowing gap between adult and young adult SF. The author fails to mention gender issues that, imo, play a significant part in this shift. I’m so glad girls don’t have to repeat a “Boys’ Life” version of SF. I think that, as SF opens up to more and more women writers (I remember when I could pick from just a handful, like Andre Norton or Anne McCaffrey or Ursula LeGuin), the genre itself undoubtedly changes.

Anyway, I’m completely addicted to Tamora Pierce and I have read about twelve books by her since Christmas when the kid arrived with her library in tow (she brought books, no clothes, just books. Go figure). Tamora Pierce’s characters are excellent role models for girls. I can’t say much more without giving away too much, but her characters ROCK!

So, here’s the my list of books for tween grrls.

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