This week, we share our top five child characters from our favorite fantasy books, movies, and TV shows. Listen to hear both our favorites and some of the connections we make to each of these characters.
REGINA
Luna Lovegood – Harry Potter series
Charlie – Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Meg Murray – A Wrinkle in Time
Alanna of Trebond – Song of the Lioness – Tamora Pierce
RHONDA
4. Coraline in Coraline
2. Hermione in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
1. Alexandria in The Fall
Until next time, game on!
Regina & Rhonda
Regina is a gamer, writer, teacher, and podcaster living in the Pacific Northwest. She completed her Ph.D. in 2011 from Washington State University in Vancouver and continues to teach there part time. Regina’s research interests focus on women and technology, and her dissertation discusses female gamers and identity in digital role playing games. A lifelong geek and technology enthusiast, Regina recently started a Girls Who Code club in support of their mission to close the gender gap in technology.
To continue the conversations about gender and gaming that Regina started during her research, she started a podcast called Game on Girl. Called the “NPR of game podcasts” by Chris Brown of The Married Gamers, the podcast features women involved in the game industry, and tackles some of the complicated issues in the gaming community. Season 2 began in the spring of 2018 and will premiere new episodes monthly.
The Wrinkle in Time series was incredibly influential for me. I did my first book report on it! I'm a little scared to reread them now that I'm older. I always liked Meg and sympathized with her because she went to the ends of the universe to save her little brother.
Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass) also featured one of my favorite child characters, Lyra. I reread The Golden Compass last year and had the same experience Regina had with A Wrinkle in Time. I'm not in the same place as I was as a kid and the magic faded a little.
And Rhonda, if you're looking for a YA fantasy, Sabriel by Garth Nix is one of my all time favorites. I've probably reread it half a dozen times and still love it.
Clementine from The Walking Dead game is tough as nails and I love playing as her in Season 2.