The Feisty Girls

Who is your favorite feisty Newbery girl? There is Karana (Island of the Blue Dolphins, 1961 Newbery award winner) who survives the death of her family, hunts wild creatures, provides shelter for herself, and lives on an island without human companionship after the death of her brother.  Caddie Woodlawn (1936 Newbery award winner) is the pioneer story of a young girl who runs wild with her brothers as she resists the traditional ladylike role that her mother and older sister envision for her. Garnet in Thimble Summer (1939 Newbery Award winner) is an independent young girl who does chores with her brother on the family farm, hitchhikes to a town miles away from home, and dreams of owning a farm someday. Marly in Miracles on Maple Hill (1957 Newbery award winner) manages to convince a traditional 1950s school truant officer that girls should also be included in collecting sap during an educational maple sugaring event. There was an outcry during the 1970s for children's literature to contain more positive portrayals of females and less stereotyping of both genders. While many of the feisty Newbery girls engaged in traditional activities such as washing dishes and helping mother in the kitchen, they also possessed an independent spirit, a sense of self-worth, and were active adventurers in contrast to other female characters portrayed in children's Literature before 1970.  How do these characters compare to the female protagonists in the Newbery award winning books published in the past twenty years?