Anne of Green Gables
by L.M. Montgomery. I first caught this as a movie on PBS. I drove my family to such madness by hogging our only TV whenever it was on, that finally my daddy went out and found the books for me. I can't say what it is about a little redheaded orphan from PEI that touched me so. But we’re kindred spirits, she and I, and I have the collected works to prove it.
Constance: A Story of Early Plymouth
by Patricia Clapp. When I was a fifth grader at J.E. Harper Elementary School, my teacher used to choose books for the class (talk about book censorship). We’d dutifully line up and pick a teacher-approved reading off this rickety library cart. Once, ALL of the Judy Blume books were gone by the time it was my turn; somebody else got to read about Margaret’s search for God inside her training bra. I got stuck with a tale about a girl living in early Plymouth…and it’s one of the best stories I ever read.
Jane-Emily
by Patricia Clapp. This book scared the holy sh*t out of me. A girl moves into a house where another little girl dies and foolishness goes on—straight haunting style. I don’t know if I’d recommend this one for young readers, but man, oh man, was it good.
A
re You There God? It’s Me, Margaret and just about anything else by Judy Blume. There wasn’t much in the way of African-American literature for a little black girl bookworm in 1980s elementary school. But Margaret and Deenie and all the others helped me make it through. If I ever have a daughter, Ms. Judy will certainly take a place of high honor on her bookshelves.
Honorable mentions go to:
Sassy, brave Ramona
Nosy Nancy Drew
The Sweet Valley High twins
Jo and Beth and Meg and Amy…and dear, dear Laurie
2 comments:
nice blog. and i love judy blume!
I do, too. Me and CPL were talking about how there were no similar titles for little brown girls.
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