The Lucy Medal for Excellence in Literary Oldest Siblings

Following up on Monday’s post in which I shared Lucy’s lament at a lack of oldest sibling main characters, I did a bunch of research and now present you with this list of books with truly excellent oldest sisters or brothers who play the role of main character (even if it is a shared role). In no particular order, then:

Middle Grade:

Theater Shoes, by Noel Streatfield

Ballet Shoes, by Noel Streatfield (this is about adopted siblings)

The Universe of Fair, by Leslie Bulion

The Penderwicks Series, by Jeanne Birdsall*

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle*

The Saturdays (and other books in the Melendy Quartet), by Elizabeth Enright*

Thimble Summer, by Elizabeth Enright

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E. L. Konigsburg

All-Of-A-Kind Family, by Sydney Taylor*

The Year of Billy Miller, by Kevin Henkes

The Moffats, by Eleanor Estes (The oldest girl, Sylvie, shares the starring role in this first book of the series, though later books focus more on the younger siblings.)*

Gone Fishing, A Novel in Verse, by Tamera Will Wissinger

Beezus and Ramona, by Beverly Cleary (Even though Ramona steals the show, Beezus is the main character of the first book about the sisters.)

Katerina’s Wish, by Jeannie Mobley

With a Name Like Love, by Tess Hilmo*

The Year We Were Famous, by Carole Estby Dagg

A Long Way from Chicago, by Richard Peck

The Mitchells, by Hilda van Stockum*

Young Adult (also, adult appropriate for teens):

The Hunger Games series, by Suzanne Collins

Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen

Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen

Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls

Going Vintage, by Lindsey Leavitt

What Came from the Stars, by Gary D. Schmidt

Recommended to me, but which I haven’t read myself yet:

Spencer’s Mountain, by Earl Hamner, Jr.*

Home is with our Family, by Joyce Hansen

A Step from Heaven, by An Na

Sunny Sweet is So Not Sorry, by Jennifer Ann Mann

Bigger than a Bread Box, by Laurel Snyder

Whirligig House, by Anna Rose Wright*

Summer at Buckhorn, by Anna Rose Wright*

Schoolroom in the Parlor, by Rebecca Caudill

Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen, by Donna Gephart

Vanished, by Sheela Chari

Not for middle grade or young adult, but just the best big sister ever:

FRANCES! (Of the picture book Bread and Jam for Frances, and other books by Russell Hoban.)

(The asterisks designate a story about a “large” family with 4 or more children, as those are the ones most relevant to my daughter’s life right now! I may not have starred all the examples, in the cases of books I haven’t read yet or in a while--pipe up if you see any mistakes! Anyway, I'm seeing a post of "Books about Large Families" coming up...)

I will be updating this list as I read and remember more stories, and I welcome recommendations in the comments! Hopefully this helps other oldest siblings out there looking to find kids “like them.”