Some of my favorite books are children's books, and I am not ashamed.

In fact, the greatest, bravest, boldest, most compelling characters in all books just happen to be little girls.

With ferocity, these little sisters, big dreamers and girly misses portray their power in the most wonderful ways. Here are my top 9 favorite Queens of Quirk:

1. Ramona: Beverly Cleary

"Ramona Quimby, brave and fearless..." Ramona the Brave.

2. Madeline: Ludwig Bemelmans

"...the smallest one was Madeline...To the tiger in the zoo Madeline just said, "Pooh-pooh," and nobody knew so well how to frighten Miss Clavel." Madeline.

3. D.W.: Marc Brown

"Hey...this isn't my blankie...." "Yes, it is," said Mother. "I washed it." "You killed it!" Said D.W." D.W.'s Lost Blankie.

4. Scout: Harper Lee

"Hey Boo," I said." To Kill a Mockingbird.

5. Eloise: Kay Thompson

"I always say what's in my head. It makes everything so much easier." Eloise.

6. Opal: Kate DiCamillo

"It did look pretty. It looked so pretty that it made my heart feel funny, all swollen and full, and I wished desperately that I knew where my mama was so she could come to the party, too." Because of Winn-Dixie.

7. Junie B Jones: Barbara Park

“A little glitter can turn your whole day around.” Junie B., First Grader: Shipwrecked

8. Annie: Mary Pope Osborne

“I bet we meet someone great today,” said Annie.” Vacation Under the Volcano.

9. Leslie Burke: Katherine Paterson

"She had tricked him. She had made him leave his old self behind and come into her world, and then before he was really at home in it but too late to go back, she had left him stranded there – like an astronaut wandering about on the moon. Alone." Bridge to Terabithia.