Three Girls Reading, painting by Sir Walter Firle, 1829-1959.
Many of you have asked for a list of books to help in raising girls and help guide their hearts toward purity. We want them to grow to be highly capable of living in the world – but not be a part of it.
One thing parents can do in raising girls to be adult women full of integrity and wisdom is to read books (with and to them) that sow the seeds of those character qualities you wish to develop.
Start at a young age, drawing her to know Christ and how He would have her live.
Raising Girls
Raising girls in this culture is challenging.
I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. We home-educated, and so I began mixing academic lessons with character-building content. It kept our school days interesting and full of good things to discuss mother and daughter.
Starting Out Early Raising Girls
Appealing to both boys and girls, the Miller Family series
Although we are not Amish, our children have said these books will be read with their little ones someday – they are a tool to reinforce discussions that we aren’t sure how to approach with our children. So well written, they grab your heart.
They speak to your heart as well as to your head. They touch on deep feelings and classic themes that all of humanity can relate to ~ injustice, mercy, forgiveness, friendship, reality, honesty, hope.
Hunting For Great Books
I had a growing desire to provide the richest content in books that I could afford, so I started to shop all the old bookstores I knew of. I shopped the homeschool convention resources and worked extra hard to cut corners to save extra money for character books.
I was purposeful, praying for direction before I left to look. The Lord seemed to guide me to some great finds for raising girls.
I asked my husband if all my Christmas and birthday gifts could be cash to be spent on books. Here is what my wonderful, creative man did for me over 14 years ago:
If you have not yet read Why Have We Stopped Protecting Our Daughters?, see why these culture-correcting reads are so vital to the emotional health of our girls.
And we wonder why we have girls dealing with depression and eating disorders – why they feel they can’t measure up to the world’s elusive definition of beauty!
Why Have We stopped Protecting Our Daughters? Visit this post for more ^^
Specific Books For Little Girls
For the little girls,
- The Princess and The Kiss
- Companion Book Life Lessons to do with mom or a mentor
- The Squire and the Scroll
I read these to my daughter as a young girl (she wanted to hear them over and over), and I believe they were instrumental in her heart development.
Raising Girls, Tweens and Teens
Looking for relevant books for raising girls and older daughters? (see other lists below)
These books talk directly to older girls about what authentic, true beauty is and how they (God willing) can experience a romance that will transform every part of their existence and fulfill the deepest longings of their feminine heart.
Help them see that they no longer have to look to human relationships to meet needs that only Jesus Christ was meant to fill.
B
eautiful Girlhood and The Companion Guide to Beautiful Girlhood are ideally to be read with Mom up until approximately age 13 -there will be overlap of age appropriateness.
Set-Apart Femininity and Authentic Beauty are for a bit older (14 and up to adult), and both have companion guides (see below). All of them are very helpful for us moms, too!
- The Lost Art of True Beauty~ The Companion Guide to Set-Apart Femininity
- Authentic Beauty, Going Deeper: A Study Guide for the Set-Apart Young Woman
Kristen Clark and Bethany Beal help single women of all ages discover a radically better approach to navigating their love lives.
- Love Defined
- Girl Defined: God’s Radical Design for Beauty, Femininity, and Identity
- Sex, Purity, and the Longings of a Girl’s Heart
For a older daughter (14 and up) that feels pulled to date casually, there is When God
Writes Your Love Story (Expanded Edition): The Ultimate Guide to Guy/Girl Relationships, by both Eric and Leslie Ludy.
- 31 Days of Prayer for your Future Husband: (Princess in Preparation: Devotionals)
- A Lineage of Grace, Francine Rivers
- Becoming a Proverbs 31 Woman: A 21 Day Devotional for Her
And as for Evidence Not Seen (in photo above)~ it is both my daughter’s and my favorite adult book. Darlene Rose and her terrible and triumphant story will likely change your daughter’s (and your) life. It is a true story about courage, steadfastness, hope, miracles, and love for people. We give the book an A+ – even that rating seems a trifle to me – there should be something higher.
All That Glitters Is Not Gold!
My daughter’s favorite childhood book (A Peep Behind the Scenes) opened her mind to the fact that ‘all that glitters is not gold’.
Here are just a few (there are many others here) that can have a huge impact on character formation in a developing young lady (for reading together aloud or alone, and for varying ages):
- Jessica’s First Prayer, Lamplighter Books
- The Door in the Wall
- Story Times with Grandma
- More Story Times with Grandma
- Pollyanna, Eleanor H. Porter
- Dr. Oma
- Thee, Hannah!
- Ester Ried (or Ester Ried’s Awakening), Isabella Alden
- Yet Speaking, Isabella Alden
- A Peep Behind the Scenes (above), Lamplighter Books (Perhaps the MOST influential during a difficult time in my daughter’s life (age 10-12)
Moms, I now have 2 posts available on character-building books for boys (that they will enjoy reading) here and here.
Again, raising girls isn’t easy, but inspiring our daughters through great books as early in her life as possible will open her eyes to truths she might not internalize otherwise.
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” ~Matthew 19: 14
*Sigh* This has been a rough day…I think Satan does not want this list of books for raising girls to be shared for some reason…Hmm. Why do you think that is?!?
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