[personal profile] wolfpangs
So I've been shopping like a crazy person in preparation for Sadie--that's my niece, by the way, who is scheduled for street date on 13 September. The shower is in August and since I'm oddly competitive when it comes to gift-giving, I'm getting a head start. I've got the clothes and toys and gear stuff covered, I think but I thought I'd open up the floor for suggestions on the cultural stuff. I was at the bookstore yesterday just looking around and when I saw Reviving Ophelia, it made me think about how there's probably no way to world-proof Sadie but God, I wish there were.

So then I started thinking about how we can give her a solid foundation at least and I have my favorites, of course, but I'd like to hear from you. What books, music, movies, etc. do you think a girl should have? It doesn't have to be necessarily feminist but that is of course welcome. Keep in mind that she's still baking so it'll be a little bit before she'll be able to appreciate the deeper things. We haven't even gotten to The Poky Little Puppy yet...and we will.

As I said in a letter to her that I've been composing mentally, there's just so much out there to see and hear and experience and I want to tell her everything I know. I want to hear what you know, too.

I'll tell you what--whenever you feel like you're alone and there's nobody you can rely on, this is all you need to know.

Date: 2008-06-07 05:42 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] manoosha.livejournal.com
It might be a few years before she can appreciate it, but Buffy would be awesome.

Date: 2008-06-07 05:53 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rockgeisha.livejournal.com
Oh, hell yes!



Although I should probably introduce her to A first. I don't think it would go too well if she met him after seeing the show.

Date: 2008-06-07 06:00 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] manoosha.livejournal.com
*sniff* That little league player always makes me tear up!

Date: 2008-06-07 06:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] readykatego.livejournal.com
Madeline L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time" - a great text for girls that acknowledges the self-doubt a lot of us possess while encouraging our agency and abilities. I can't wait to read it with my daughter, if I'm ever lucky enough to have one.

(My great-grandmother's name was Sadie, short for Cecilia - lovely name!)

Date: 2008-06-07 06:27 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rockgeisha.livejournal.com
I was just thinking about that yesterday, since it was the Fine Lines selection and then they had a lovely box set of the Time Quintet.

And ooh, Harriet the Spy--that's another must.

Date: 2008-06-07 11:15 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] zooby.livejournal.com
When I was a wee zooblet, I had a fairy godmother who bought me huge fairytale storybooks and children's literature. She's a reporter and one of the reasons I got into journalism. I can't wait for my brother to start having kids so I can be the cool aunt who buys a shit-ton of books!

Speaking as a fan, you absolutely cannot go wrong with Robert Munsch's Paper Bag Princess. It still makes me feel powerful.

Date: 2008-06-08 04:19 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mygirl.livejournal.com
Some of these aren't necessarily feminist or particularly girl-oriented, but some of the most important books of my young life were:

Bridge to Terabithia
Where the Red Fern Grows
The Westing Game
A Separate Peace
Harriet The Spy
The Outsiders
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Shoe books
Shel Silverstein poetry books
The Eloise books

I've heard really good things about The Daring Book for Girls: http://www.amazon.com/Daring-Book-Girls-Andrea-Buchanan/dp/0061472573/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212898608&sr=8-1

Another suggestion would be the Dear America series for a little American history from the female perspective. I always really liked them and they made me feel like I was being let in on some big secret.

As far as music goes, little girls seem to love dancing to old Motown records (I know I did), and the early Beatles stuff was always my favorite.

Movies... that's tougher. None of the Barbie movies! I've seen basically all of them while babysitting and they're pretty terrible. The Little Mermaid, Pocahontas, Mulan, and Beauty and the Beast are, I've always thought, the most feminist of the Disney movies, and therefore my favorite.

I'm so excited for you- I want a niece! Unfortch, all three of my sisters have vowed never to have children.

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