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Original poster

Recommendations for 3 year old girl

37 replies

Basecamp101 · 19/03/2018 19:43

My grand daughter is 3 next week and asked today for a story about a girl.

Looking through our massive collection of picture books we only have a few where an ordinary little girl is the main character....ie not a princess or fairy. We have a few with female animals but not many with girls.

So looking for suggestions - we have ordered some Katie Morag but despite spending ages searching we're not finding many. Most were of the 'worthy' variety advocating girls can be astronauts or can showing it does not matter what you look like etc nothing wrong with that but we also want more like gruffalo's child where the main character just happens to be a girl but a real girl.

What have your 3 year olds enjoyed?

OP posts:
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bookworm14 · 05/04/2018 13:55

My Big Shouting Day and its sequel My Busy Being Bella Day, both by Rebecca Patterson. they are hilarious and great fun to read out loud.

FresasAndFrambuesas · 22/03/2018 22:26

@basecamp101 try Rosie's Hat by Julia Donaldson.

Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner. Beautiful book about seasons and nature told through a garden. The grandmother features heavily too Wink

caoraich · 22/03/2018 18:20

Ok so they're not strictly human but I have to recommend the Maisie books by Aileen Paterson. First one in the series is Maisie comes to Morningside. All the characters are cats but they are basically human - wear clothes, have jobs, go to school etc. Maisie's dad is an explorer so she gets sent off to Scotland to live with her gran and has lots of adventures. There's one where she makes friends with a postcat and slides around the sorting office in a box. One where she goes in search of the loch ness monster. They're gentle funny katie-morag ish stories. She always has an adventure and never needs rescued by anyone!

brilliotic · 22/03/2018 18:03

Handa's surprise

PP mentioned Lucy's Star - I think it's Laura's Star

LaurieMarlow · 22/03/2018 13:42

My first thought was the Emily Brown series. What an icon. Grin

Lucy and Tom books (Shirley Hughes)
I'd add 'Dogs don't do Ballet' to the Anna Kemp suggestion above
Madeline (Ludwig Bemelmans)
Eloise (Kay Thompson)
The Alan Ahlberg Happy Families series have lots of female protagonists

UrbaneSprawl · 21/03/2018 07:48

I don’t know how I forgot about Bob Graham’s books! ‘A Bus Called Heaven’ and ‘Let’s Get A Pup!’ are both good examples of children’s books with believable female protagonists.

My boy liked ‘Rhinos Don’t Eat Pancakes’ by Anna Kemp a lot at that age, too.

Iwillorderthefood · 20/03/2018 22:36

Ten Little Superheroes
Oi Dog
Mog books
The Best Jumper
Trixie The Witches CAt
Barry the Fish with Fingers
Hairy Maclary books.

PerspicaciaTick · 20/03/2018 22:29

"You choose" then your DGD can be the most important character in the book. It is a truly unusual and rather brilliant book.

UrbaneSprawl · 20/03/2018 22:25

You could also try Emily Gravett’s ‘Monkey and Me’, Mercer Mayer’s ‘What Do You Do With A Kangaroo’, or Maurice Sendak’s ‘Mr Rabbit and the Lovely Present’.

‘Sam, Bangs and Moonshine’ is a lovely book, but a tiny bit old just yet.

Original poster
Basecamp101 · 20/03/2018 08:12

Thought i would mention as I know people are following - the book that started the conversation .

Maisie Middleton

I still have the copy that her mum had loved as a toddler and she adored it. It was reading this that made her ask for more stories about a girl ...a real girl...like me.

Funnily I'm not short of ideas for when she is older ..... it was picture books specifically. But loads of great ideas here. I had never heard of Emily Brown or the blue kangaroo ones so it's been a great help.

Thank you.

OP posts:
ForgivenessIsDivine · 20/03/2018 07:08

The worst witch
Pippy Longstock
Red rockets and rainbow jelly (it has Nick and Sue but still good)

thehairyhog · 19/03/2018 22:42

Alice in wonderland?

Regressionconfession · 19/03/2018 22:19

There was another thread recently with lots of good recommendations. Search 'can you recommend a good fiction book for girls'. I can't link on my phone, sorry!

Regressionconfession · 19/03/2018 22:10

Another one saying the Blue Kangeroo Books by Emma Chichester Clark.

Charlie and Lola by Lauren Child. She's also done a lovely version of Goldielocks.

Paper Dolls by Julia Donaldson

Once there Were Giants by Martin Waddell.

Katie Morag also has two Grandma characters that feature so would be nice to share with your GD.

Anna Hubiscus books

parietal · 19/03/2018 21:57

Rosie Revere Engineer
Ada Twist Scientist

maybe for slightly older children but the poems are good for little ones.

isthistoonosy · 19/03/2018 21:46

but aren't they saved by men

Original poster
Basecamp101 · 19/03/2018 21:07

Thanks for all your suggestions, i will look at them and probably buy quite a few - this could get expensive!!!

Have to say the almost 3 year old came to me a few minutes after I had posted saying she had found one........Goldilocks and the three bears..... it made me laugh....she was absolutely right! Red Riding Hood as well now I think about it. Feel a bit silly not having thought of them Grin

OP posts:
BevBrook · 19/03/2018 20:58

Enidblyton1 I adore Sally’s Secret! I used to get it out of the library again and again when I was little and bought a copy as soon as I had a child of my own!

I agree with Blue Kangaroo, beautiful illustrations as well. Eliza and the Moon Child, by the same author.

Rhymes for Annie Rose, also by Shirley Hughes.

3boysandabump · 19/03/2018 20:56

Zog by Julia Donaldson is about a girl and a dragon
Red riding hood
Goldilocks

windchimesabotage · 19/03/2018 20:53

Tiger who came to tea... my 3yo son loves that but the main character is a girl and just an ordinary girl

It is hard to find book with just ordinary girl protagonists!
I have a son so I dont specifically look for them but it would be good to have some so he doesnt think boy are always the protagonists and girls the supporting cast, so Ill be following this thread with interest.

Most of my sons books have a boy as the main character and then they will have a sister or a mum or whatever.
Or if the main character is a woman she will be a fairy or a witch etc
(he loves Meg and Mog)

Does make you think about what children are brought up thinking about what it means to be a girl or a boy.

Feezles · 19/03/2018 20:53

Izzy Gizmo is fantastic - she's a girl inventor. It's by Pip Jones.

I'll see if I can think of any others.

BrettAndersonscheekbones · 19/03/2018 20:51

Vegetable Glue by Susan Chandler. About a girl who refuses to eat vegetables and her bum falls off. Mine found it hilarious.

WinkyisbackontheButterBeer · 19/03/2018 20:46

The night pirates? The main character is a boy but the main body of the story is about a band of ‘rough, tough little girl pirates’.

Paper dolls by Julia Donaldson.

Lucy’s star

Silvertap · 19/03/2018 20:40

I'm not sure who they're by but "Katie and the starry night"
And "Katie goes to Scotland" have been enjoyed by my 3 year old

SleepymrsE · 19/03/2018 20:37

Pearl Power by Mel Elliott.

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