I will take a minute to be thankful that we are not judged on our childhood idols. Right? Right. If we were, I’d clearly be blond, meddlesome, and prone to trouble – but also, I’d be absolutely darling. I don’t know that I’d necessarily want to revisit any of these characters. Some of them I lived and breathed as a child, so I don’t need any more time with them. Some of them I have updates on.
10. Roberta // Now and Then. Not bookish, but true. I fiercely identified with the smart, sassy, tomboy Roberta. I also loved Devon Sawa and Caspar. (I said no judgement.)
09. Ramona //Beverly Cleary. Pest or not, Ramona is the best.
08. Matilda // Roald Dahl. Smart and gifted.
07. Mary Ann Spier . BSC forever.
06. Nancy Drew. Enough said. But also blond, roadster, and apparently invincible…. Also, I’ve revisited Nanc Drew as an adult, it wasn’t pretty.
05. Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield // SVH. Though I clearly identify with Elizabeth, I always kind of wanted to be Jessica too.
04. Harriet the Spy // Lousie Fitzhugh. Spy!
03. Margaret. I could probably devote a whole list to Judy Blume, because Sally J Freedman would definitely be on there too.
02. Buffy // Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Also not bookish, but why not?
01. The many I did not list. It’s late, I know I’m missing one or two. Dirk Pitt? Frannie Goldsmith? Someone else nontraditional?
Who did you want to be?
flannel and folklore 
Ooh Buffy all the way! Also, there was this kid in one of the Enid Blyton books I read as a child, who used to be in a circus. Total envy!
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Yes to 3, 5, 6, 8 and 9. Dare I say I was a little too old for BSC (eeek!). Tell me it’s not weird that I still have Team Elizabeth vs Team Jessica debates in my head – like you, I was Elizabeth but felt life as Jessica would have been a bit more exciting…
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I don’t remember BSC really picking up steam until the early ’90s, but they were around (in the US) in the mid-80s – not that I was reading them yet, so I will give you a pass.
And it’s not weird, as I honestly do still think about comas/motorcycles/etc.
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Ramona always annoyed me for some reason. I liked Nancy Drew because I fancied myself a detective (still do) but even as a small child I could smell the formula a mile away. I wanted to be Susan in the Chronicles of Narnia (the early ones). I was pretty convinced that I would never turn my back on make-believe like Susan did, but I wanted to be the bossy one and have mad archery skills.
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She could do that, she was a bit of a pest from time to time, but an endearing one for me.
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Mary Ann really was the best babysitter 🙂 And yes, really I could probably list just all Judy Blume characters and be okay with that decision. I really liked Blubber but I cannot for the life of me remember that girls name…Great List!
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I love the movie Now and Then! Roberta was awesome. 🙂 My husband and I still watch Buffy episodes occasionally, especially Once More with Feeling – the musical one. Best TV episode ever!
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Yes! I can still watch Now and Then with intense interest.
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I remember wanting to be Harriet the Spy, and carrying a notebook and pencil with me everywhere I went. I soon tired of this when I realized nothing interesting ever happened around my neighbourhood. 🙂 How I wanted that dumb-waiter!
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The same thing happened to me!
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I loved Matilda!
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Me too! I still kind of want to be her.
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SVH forever! At the time I read them, I definitely wanted to be Elizabeth. Looking back now, I think I’d go for Jessica!
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Me too, oddly enough! Knowing I was never as wild and boy crazy as Jessica leads me to believe it might be fun (now as an adult, looking back).
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Meg Murray. (Also, I’ve never read Harriet the Spy . . . now I feel like I’m missing out.)
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Meg is a good one! And H might soon be old enough to appreciate Harriet the Spy, at least that’s what I’m doing with my kids (Superfudge and The BFG were recent ones I slipped into my son’s TBR stack).
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Good call!
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I’m not familiar with many of these, but OMG yes to Buffy!! I’m totally cool with her not being a bookish character! 😛
Here are my Top Ten!
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Right?! Buffy is always awesome.
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Great list! I have Ramona and the BSC on mine too 🙂 I want to go back and re-read these books now! Happy Reading!
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I actually picked up a classic Nancy Drew at the library the other day to see if it’s as good as I remember!
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I don’t know many of these, but yes to Buffy! There were Bufy books based on episodes, so it counts. I know, I had them! I’ve heard of some of the others but not all. Then again, I spent my childhood in Germany, so I was surrounded by other characters. Here’s my Top Ten Tuesday post
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Buffy is still a badass over a decade later. I rewatch episode intermittently and remember why I loved it.
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This list is great! Pretty much all of these and I would probably add Lucy from The Lion, Witch and Wardrobe; Laura from The Little House series and Fern from Charlotte’s Web.
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Fern! I can’t believe I forgot about her.
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Ha! I wanted to murder Ramona when I was a kid. I had long hair that my classmates could not resist pulling, and I really identified with the girl whose hair damn Ramona keeps pulling. HANDS TO YOURSELF RAMONA. :p
As a kid, I wanted to be Matilda. I had it in my head that I’d stay in regular school (because I knew skipping grades made one’s life socially difficult) and just keep the power to move things with my mind. Friends plus telekinesis seemed like (still does actually!) a pretty sweet trade-off for a bit of boredom. It’s not like I couldn’t still spend time at the library.
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I still want to be Matilda a little bit. And I remember empathizing with Beezus when Ramona called her pizza face.
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I think I preferred the Hardy Boys over Nancy Drew, simply because I was such a tom-boy. Nancy seemed a bit too girly-girl for me, though I loved her sleuthing skills!!
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I’ve never actually read the Hardy boys and feel a bit like I am missing out.
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Absolutely Nancy Drew- which is quite funny because my hairstyle looks a bit like hers (as close as I can get to beachy waves). Not the color, which I never understood- titian?! Hunh? Still, she seemed so independent and unafraid.
I always liked the daring of Pippi Longstocking.
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Right?! In my head she was blondish and titian means auburn (I had to check)… I liked her independence too and that she had a girl cousin with a boy name (which I appreciate).
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No judgement here. I loved Now and Then when I was a teenager, and Roberta was definitely my favourite. Also, I had a huge crush on Devon Sawa.
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Even when he was Caspar the ghost I was pretty smitten… And then my tornado obsessed self saw Night of the Twisters, after that I was head over heels.
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