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r/TwoXChromosomes•
AnonMSme

Looking for book suggestions for my daughter and I to read together

My daughter (8yo) and I read a lot of books together. We use these as a launching point to various conversations. For example, we're currently reading Dune and some of the scenes triggered a discussion about the value of human life, us vs. them mentality and the history of nobility.

Right now I'm trying to find books that would let us talk about emotional intelligence, that is, the ability for people to be aware of their own emotions and not be controlled by them. I'm hoping for a book where one of the main characters (Doesn't need to be the protagonist. Someone else with a lot of front row time would be fine) has issues controlling their emotions or being aware of them.

She's 8 but she reads at a pretty high level. Finished LOTR and a few Heinlein YA novels and currently reading Dune (yes, I'm a giant sci-fi / fantasy dork and clearly influence her choices). So adult themes are ok. Excessive gore, rape, graphic violence are not (so no GoT recs please).

I would love books with a female protagonist. Most of my childhood favorites have male heroes both because I'm male and because that's what was mostly available back then.

Would also love any other book suggestions we can bond over. Especially ones that can help trigger discussions for me to better understand her and her life. I'm her dad and so I'm clearly not aware of many things that young girls go through and these shared books help us have good conversations.

Posted Nov 9, 2021, 8:28 PM UTC

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littledorysunshine•

Maybe something by Tamora Pierce? There are characters who have sex but it’s tame. I think I started off with Wild Magic at about her age, but the first one in that universe is called “Alanna: The First Adventure”

Her Circle of Magic books are for slightly younger readers. There are several times when characters are struggling with emotions and it reflects in their magic doing things by accident. The first quartet is pretty appropriate from my recollection, but second quartet has the protagonists finding criminals, including serial killers so that might be a little too mature.

Lots of female protagonists in her books.

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RoxyRockSee•

Love Tamora Pierce!

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likethegardenn•

I go back to Tamora Pierce again and again, they were so formative for me. Protector of the Small would be particularly good for conversations on emotional intelligence, it’s a major theme

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basementdiplomat•

I LOVED SONG OF THE LIONESS!!!! I learned how to fence with my left hand as well as my right, juuuust in case ;-)

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Gonenaboto•

The Crystal Singer books by Anne McCaffrey deal with thwarted ambition and recognising that finding a romantic partner is not a woman’s main goal in life.

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SadieSadieSnakeyLady•

The Tiffany Aching books by Terry Pratchett raise some good "why can't a girl do this" conversations and she's all about using your brain over everything else

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the_pech21•

Watership Down

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Forsaken_Box_94•

I remember loving Jacqueline Wilson's books as a young girl, they always handled quite heavy stuff in a very approachable way. Stuff like eating disorders, mental illnesses, death and so on.

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RoxyRockSee•

I do hope you addressed some of the Islamaphobia in Dune. I remember reading it at 12-13 on my own and how it colored some of understanding of wars in the Middle East. Sometimes I'm able to separate dead authors from their problematic behavior, like Orson Scott Card and his homophobia or Marion Zimmer Bradley and her pedophilia, but Herbert's racism was sort of a central plot point. So rereading and watching, knowing that lens is in place, helps mitigate some of the more problematic depictions.

Definitely give Terry Pratchett's Discworld a go. I love Ursula K. LeGuin's short stories and Tales from Earthsea. Diana Wynn Jones' Howl's Moving Castle hits very different than Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli movie, but I love them both. I have N.K. Jemisin's Inheritance Cycle on my holds list at the library, but there's a very long wait.

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UnrulyinKW•

The Kingkiller chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss are amazing. Male lead but lots of strong female characters too.

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Mormegil1971•

The Liveship trilogy by Robin Hobbs, maybe?

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[deleted]•

Not about emotional intelligence per se, but definitely will give you something to talk about: Children of Time (female is one of the protagonists) & Dogs of War by A. Tchaikovsky. Both have deep, smart interesting females in the story. I love both of them! If we talk about female protagonists - the Expanse series is my most cherished and favorite book series. I think the authors are genius, because their female characters are realistic & amazing without being flat or standardized (tv show sucks in that regard. :(. )

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thescatteredmess•

Anne of Green Gables. I still re-read the series every few years. If you’re going to do the movies, you want the ones from the 80s with Megan Follows.

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klredwolf•

You said Heinlein, so have you read Podkayne of Mars (as originally written, not the originally published version)?

Pennies for the Piper The Darkest Minds

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SingMeAwake•

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley

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PlantyHanderson•

Can‘t actually tell you one to emotional intelligence, bit I would say the characters are emotionally strong in these two books from Michael Ende, they are perfect for different discussions, quite deep in meanings, and are really enjoyable for kids and adults the same:

Momo (female)

The neverending story (male)

I also do love all the books of Walter Moers. He likes to play with language. They are fantastic, abstract, which makes they storys funny crazy and gives a different look on so many things. Also very enjoyable for kids and adults.

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