parents of girls 6-10- come over here and let me pick your brains a minute

If she's keen on animals, then try the 'Sophie' books by Dick King-Smith - all about a little girl who wants to be a farmer.

If OP wants inspiration (I think that's what she wants), I think stories about animals, and little girls helping animals, and them together righting injustices (but not in a frilly-magical way, more in a I can stand my ground way) would be nice.

So you can think of Charlotte's web, where there's a bit of magic with the talking animals but Fern is mostly otherwise just quite lovely ordinary, and Charlotte the spider is the best role model of all.

mrs pepperpot is great, she gets rides on cats and animals help her when she has shrunk

don't know if elidor would be a bit old for her?

would second the worst witch series and matilda

the darcy bussell ballerina books aren't as sickmaking as most with pink sparkly covers

dd loves this we got it for £1 from a cheapie book place red house/bananas somewhere like that

Lady Grace series by Grace Cavendish (9+)

Roman Mysteries by Stephanie Lawrence for slightly younger readers (7-10ish)

OK bookmarking this for self to read more carefully for suggestions for DD.

The Daisy Chapter books by Kes Gray. They are funny and have a very 'real'feel about them.

Ohh defiantly Clarice Bean - sooo funny, Mr Gum books (herione - Polly), ditto the Pippi Longstocking books which are fab, Rumour Godden books are all fab fab fab and very very girly.

DD1 has also liked the secret seven

Holly Webb writes great animal books which aren't pink and sparkling. Many of them are about lost animals although sometimes there is a boy main character - often the animal. Her animal magic series has a girl as a main character and are great although no pictures. Apart from that has the dd tried Genie Us/Genie and the Phoenix by Steve Cole and Linda Chapman? Magic but no pink, just lots of wishes going wrong and adventures - they're quite long books. Or the Anna Wilson puppy and kitten books, funny, modern and with nothing very pink and sparkly in them. Or the Silver Dolphins series by Summer Waters.

My DD has a dinosaur obsession right now. She is reading the Astrosaurs and Dinosaur Coves series- both aimed at boys. How about non girly subjects like dinosaurs written for girls?

I never read Magic Kitten/Animal Ark/Rainbow fairies to my dd, she read them herself

I read things to her that she wouldn't manage herself

oh the wimpy kid! my dd loves them. actually, she loved horrid henry and now the wimpy kid, so she doesn't mind if the book is about a boy so long as it's good

i read enid blyton books to my dd7. their adventues are great,but there's never a parent insight! and mummy is always a small delicate lady and daddy is a fighter pilot and away a lot. they always talk about germans being the enemy too!

i have to edit on the hoof as i read them, which is quite challenging!

clarice bean i'll do when she's 8 i think.

so rumer godden and dorothy butler? haven't seen them in any book shops. i also hate books with kittens on the front! i especially hate magic kittens with special powers.

Ramona the Pest definitely! I remember really identifying with poor Ramona as she never meant to be naughty, but circumstances conspired against her and things just seemed to turn out wrong! My 8yo dd1 still loves her now too and the books haven't dated.

If book recommendations are what you're after, Astrid Lindgren, Ronia the Robber's Daughter has a feisty female heroine. Another Scandinavian to look out for is Gunnel Linde: Pony in the Luggage and The White Stone both have a girl and boy, but the boy is not in any way dominant.

If you are actually going to write- then what you need is not a set of ingredients but a good idea for a plot. Get imagining- and good luck.

Try the Land of Elyon series, by Patrick Carman. Dark Hills Divide is the first one, I think.

Adventure with a heroine. Dd loves it.

My daughter was just the same at that age (she's 8 now). Because my son is a little older, she's always had his kind of books around her. Until recently she 'hated' boys books but that's changing. For example, she loves the Wimpy Kid series. There are often very good female characters in 'boys' books - e.g. Angie in the Jiggy McCue series. The Percy jackson books have a couple of very strong girl characters. In the books, the main group of kids are 12 when the series starts, not 18 going on 35 as in the film (or so it looks in the trailers).

Have you tried Charlotte's Web?

My daughter also likes Clarice Bean
The Delilah Darling series (only 3 books so far but very good)
Goosebumps
Nancy Drew (she dressed as Nancy Drew for a recent own-clothes day)

The worst witch - no pink at all. And the bitchy spoilt brat (ethel Hallow) never wins!

I think OP is asking for ideas for writing a book, not for book suggestions. But sorry if I got that wrong.

Mrs Frisby is a small girl animal. A mouse. Who starts off rather limited in a nurturing motherhood role but develops her adventurous side to save the day for the Rats of Nimh.

can't think, I mean

Sorry I can't hink of any more female animals other than Mary Plain, but here are some more random ideas with reasonably feminist or at any rate not fluffy main characters;

The Borrowers

The second book (Snowbone) in this pair (Barkbelly is the first) - we love these and I have posted about them before on here

the Diddakoi and other Rumer Godden books

There is the 'Jane Blonde' series of spy adventures, I am not very keen on them myself

'Roman Mysteries' series here

DD has been given the Dolphin Diaries series - they look very like Animal Ark but in the sea.

There are enough books about horses, magic, fairies and princesses, so avoid all of those if possible.

Carbonel's a Boy Cat (a Prince among cats). Trying to regain his throne from the evil (male) usurper cat. Rosemary is the main human character who helps him, but the cat is male.

The OP's daughter wants female animals, and I do agree with the sentiment, though it's hard to find in children's literature.