Glo's Girl Crushes from Children’s Books

Hermione Granger

By Natasha Burton

Though Harry is indeed the hero of this series, I love Hermione's haughty-in-a-good-way attitude and how she uses her intelligence to get herself, Ron and Harry out of sticky situations.

SHOP NOW: Harry Potter series, $50

Claudia Kishi

As a kid I thought The BSC’s vice president, Claudia, was the coolest girl ever. Not only did she take art classes in New York and hide junk food all over her room, but Claudia also had a knack for seemingly mismatched (but totally rad) outfits that author Ann M. Martin described in detail throughout the series.

SHOP NOW: Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls, $6

Karen Brewer

Before I began reading the BSC books, I started with this spin-off series starring baby-sitter Kristy’s stepsister, Karen. These books featured Karen dealing with the trials and tribulations of a second-grader — thinking your neighbor might be a witch, getting a really terrible haircut — as well as showed divorced family dynamics in a pretty real way.

SHOP NOW: Karen's Witch, $4

Addy Walker

Keeping my Felicity doll company was Addy, whose books began with her and her mother escaping slavery to find her dad and brother. As a young girl who had only learned about history in school, these books, while fictional, gave me a more personal perspective on the Civil War and how it affected real people.

SHOP NOW: Meet Addy, $7

Meg Murry

Though I couldn’t identify with Meg’s proclivity toward math, I understood her misfit mentality. (I mean, who didn't feel a bit awkward at some point growing up?) I also loved the complex scientific concepts in this novel and how Meg traveled through the fifth dimension with not just her prodigy little brother in tow but the older boy she had a crush on as well.

SHOP NOW: A Wrinkle in Time, $7

Margaret Simon

Like many a preteen gal, I totally identified with wanting to just grow up already, like everyone else seemed to be doing. (Damn you, late-blooming body!) You better believe that the moment I read the “I must, I must” chant in this book, I set the thing down to see if it would work its proposed magic. (No dice.)

SHOP NOW: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, $8

Elizabeth Wakefield

While Jessica, the bad girl of the Wakefield pair, was certainly more fun to read about from a dramatic standpoint, being the huge dork I was (am), I totally admired diary-writing, Jane Austen-reading Elizabeth, who always had her twin’s far more rebellious back.

SHOP NOW: Sweet Valley High #1: Double Love, $6

Anne Shirley

Imaginative, determined and smart, as well as insistent that her name be spelled with an "e" at the end, this literary heroine was my favorite growing up. From accidentally getting her soon-to-be best friend drunk, after mistaking alcohol for raspberry cordial, to dying her hair green, her habitual misadventures were a joy to read.

SHOP NOW: Anne of Green Gables Complete Set, $31