Fantasy books with girls/women as the main character?

[Takver]

DD reads a lot of fantasy books - the Eragon series, Wizard of Earthsea, Diana Wynne Jones Chrestomanci series, Charlie Bone, Harry Potter, that sort of thing.

Thinking about it, although there are plenty of strong female characters in them, just about all of these books have a male protagonist. The only series' I can think of with female leads are the Narnia books (taking Lucy as the main character for several, which I think is fair enough), and the Dark Materials trilogy.

Can anyone think of any other fantasy books (ideally series!) with a female lead - I just think it would be nice for a change for dd to have some books where the women get to be centre stage.

She's 9 btw, so need to be reasonably age-appropriate - so not Mercedes Lackey, for example, and probably not the Dragonrider books, though can't remember how unsuitable they might be (actually, if they weren't too dreadfully inappropriate they might be just her sort of thing).

The Tiffanny Aching Books by Pratchett - Starting with Wee Free Men, then A Hat full of Sky, Wintersmith, I shall wear Midnight

Trudi Canavan books, her first series have a female (youngish girl) lead. Good too! Here they are.

Oh, they look good - had forgotten about Tiffany Aching, and Trudi Canavan looks v. interesting. Any more - am making lists :)

Our library is very small, & we don't have any big bookshops nearby so its hard for dd just to browse & find things she likes, & recommendations are great.

(For anyone else with fantasy loving dcs who'd like a bit of gender balance, I did forget Fly by Night and its sequel, which have a fantastic heroine.)

The Mortal Engines series is brilliant and has a girl, Hester, who initially befriends the main character but then becomes a v v important character in her own right. She makes an interesting feminist role model too!

Tamora pierce's song of the lioness series.

Oh and Inkheart by Cornelia Funke - but read it first and check if it's suitable because it is quite gory. It's really, really good though.

This is great! I think dd would be fine with a bit gory Remus - its just too many heavy 'issues' might be a bit much (I love Mercedes Lackey's books btw, and would recommend them like a shot to a fantasy loving 14 y/o, say)

The Borrowers, with Arrietty their daughter as fairly central character. They are miniature sized humans who live (rather like mice, and they are mice-sized) in the interstices of houses and 'borrow' items for their own use (matchboxes for beds, playing cards for wall pictures etc.)

Should have added that Arrietty is very spirited, and gets into scrapes by always trying to get away and explore the wider world.

Oh yes, had forgotten the Borrowers - dd has read them, but not for ages I don't think as she had DH's old big hardback copy which is lurking on our bookshelves downstairs.

Yes to The Borrowers. A new film is coming out too - a Japanese cartoon interpretation.

Charlotte Sometimes is an old-fashioned 'time travel' book but is absolutely lovely and has two female central characters.

I think the Borrowers film is a Studio Ghibli one? Will be very interested to see what they do with them.

Not sure if it's totally age appropriate but maybe for the future, the Deeds of Paksinnarrion is good.

info here

What about the Tiffany Aching series of books by Terry Pratchett?

Takver - you and me both. Has your DD seen Howls?

I love the bookcover illustration for The Borrowers on here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Borrowers but not been able to find that edition.

Toby bishop's air's series. V similar to ML but more appropriate for 10 yr olds

Tamora pierce, but maybe same as ML, with some tones inappropriate

Blue sword and the hero and the crown by robin mckinley. Also beauty and spindles end.

Enchanted forest chronicles by patricia c wrede.

Caroline stevermire, a college of magics.

I am on my ipod so rubbish typing. My profile has a link to my librarythibg, crossmatch tags children and fantasy, or young adult.

Howls Moving Castle of course.
The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan have boy and girl sibling protagonists who narrate alternate chapters. Not as good as his Percy Jackson books though IMO.

Fly by Night is excellent, and would also recommend Hardinge's Gullstruck Island, and Terry Pratchett's strangely similar Nation.

The Silver Child is the first in a trilogy of beautiful fantasy books, with a mixture of boys and girls as the main (v unusual) characters. I highly recommend them.

Skulduggery Pleasant -- OK, the eponymous hero is a (formerly male) skeleton, but the key character is a girl of about 12 IIRC.

New series out this year - Sophie and the Shadow Woods, my 8 year old DD is romping through them, Sophie as guardian of the gems (wanted by the evil goblin king etc), also Katie Chase 'Little Princess series...sounds awful (and Rainbowy iyswim) but actually a great series incorporating lots of strong female characters from different cultures.
I would say both are aimed at 7-9 yrs, but sometimes a good story to whizz through fairly easily over a week of bedtimes is nice.
Watching this thread with interest...

I've got a great list here, keep 'em coming. Quite happy to have older recommendations, dd will grow into them :)

Jareth, funnily enough not only has dd not seen the film of Howls Moving Castle, I don't think (not 100% sure - come to that, she may have read the book), but I've never read the book myself, despite being a massive DWJ fan when I was younger. All her books that I think of have male protagonists (Homeward Bounders, Power of Three, the Chrestomanci books) - I think maybe it just happens the ones with female leads were written when I was too old for them (and not old enough to have started reading them again).

Very many thanks for the Anne McCaffrey link, birds. I remembered that some of the Pern books probably would be suitable, but I hadn't realised that those three were specifically aimed at a younger age group. Given that they not only have dragons, but also young girls oppressed by their heartless parents, I think they are absolutely 100% dd's thing (and would like to read them again myself).