In an old house in Paris all covered with vines,

lived twelve little girls in two straight lines ...

(Ludwig Bemelmans: Madeline)

On this page you can find books and series that my daughters particularly enjoyed between the ages of four and eight. Most are stories about other little girls, just right for that age where children often like to be able to identify with the characters in books. All the books can be read to younger children, and also make good reading books for girls who are beginning to read fluently.

The Milly-Molly-Mandy books are classics written in the 1920s and 30s. These gentle tales of a little girl who lives in a quiet English village with her parents, grandparents and aunt and uncle are the literary equivalent of comfort food. This storybook edition has been illustrated by Clara Vulliamy who has kept the spirit of the original illustrations, but in colour. A lovely Christmas or birthday gift for a little girl.

My Naughty Little Sister series by Dorothy Edwards

Told in the first person, by an elder sister who describes the dreadful doings of her naughty little sister - which are really not that terrible, just naughty enough to raise a giggle. And in one book she even manages to be good! I think my favourite story has to be the one in which the naughty sister and her friend Bad Harry are tempted to sample the food at a birthday and get carried away, trifle and all. The whole series has recently been republished to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. After reading the first book you can move on to:

My Naughty Little Sister and Bad Harry

More Naughty Little Sister Stories

When My Naughty Little Sister Was Good

My Naughty Little Sister's Friends

Mad about Madeline: The Complete Tales by Ludwig Bemelmans

Another wonderful gift book, this includes all six of Bemelmans rhyming picture books about the little French girl Madeline. We love these!

Here Comes Sophie by Dick King-Smith

An illustrated collection of stories taken from the six Sophie books by Dick King-Smith. Sophie is an endearing, wellie-wearing small girl who loves animals and is determined to have her own farm when she grows up.

Naughty Amelia Jane by Enid Blyton

The first in a series of books about a selfish, obnoxious doll who makes life difficult for everyone else in the toy cupboard, but justice is served and she always gets her come-uppance.

Beezus and Ramona, and other Ramona books by Beverley Cleary

Ramona Quimby is a young lady of determined personality. In this first book of a series of eight by a popular American author, Ramona is four and causing havoc in the life of her elder sister, Beatrice (or Beezus, as Ramona calls her).