I'll have to think about that, the girls having adventurous roles... in this same Brit kiddy lit tradition (though doubtless C. S. Lewis would pale at the comparison) I read the Enid Blyton "Five Go..." this and that books, and not only were there two girls, too, but one of them was a total tomboy, and the most appealing character, George. She insists on being called George although she's Georgeanna on her birth certificate.
What else... I am trying to recall, because it's true that the classics of Young Adult adventure/fantasy fiction have male protagonists, and I know I just imagined myself into their roles -- Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer, Jim Hawkins in Treasure Island... but then there's Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz books... a bunch of male animals only in The Wind in the Willows except for the parrot... The Little House books... those are female protagonists, though their adventures are firmly rooted in settler-recollection reality. The gold medal (in my opinion) for female-focused adventure stories like Narnia, i.e. with magic and so forth, are Robin McKinley's books, starting with The Blue Sword. Also Joan Aiken's Battersea chronicles, starting with The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. And, as mentioned in some earlier comment or the post, Diana Wynne Jones' stuff, especially the Chrestomanci books (of which there is a new one) and her Crown of Dalemark series. And, finally (because I could keep writing about this pretty much endlessly), Lloyd Alexander's Prydain chronicles, where Eilonwy (god, I loved that name; I was totally going to name a daughter Eilonwy) was much the more interesting and practical and brave character than Taran.
It's an interesting discussion -- I didn't (and still don't) pick my literature, either YA or adult, by how politically correct it is, but I did (and still do) tend to gravitate towards fiction that I can feel comfortable in, or at least feel interestingly irritated by. I don't read almost any male-authored sci fi, for example.
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What else... I am trying to recall, because it's true that the classics of Young Adult adventure/fantasy fiction have male protagonists, and I know I just imagined myself into their roles -- Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer, Jim Hawkins in Treasure Island... but then there's Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz books... a bunch of male animals only in The Wind in the Willows except for the parrot... The Little House books... those are female protagonists, though their adventures are firmly rooted in settler-recollection reality. The gold medal (in my opinion) for female-focused adventure stories like Narnia, i.e. with magic and so forth, are Robin McKinley's books, starting with The Blue Sword. Also Joan Aiken's Battersea chronicles, starting with The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. And, as mentioned in some earlier comment or the post, Diana Wynne Jones' stuff, especially the Chrestomanci books (of which there is a new one) and her Crown of Dalemark series. And, finally (because I could keep writing about this pretty much endlessly), Lloyd Alexander's Prydain chronicles, where Eilonwy (god, I loved that name; I was totally going to name a daughter Eilonwy) was much the more interesting and practical and brave character than Taran.
It's an interesting discussion -- I didn't (and still don't) pick my literature, either YA or adult, by how politically correct it is, but I did (and still do) tend to gravitate towards fiction that I can feel comfortable in, or at least feel interestingly irritated by. I don't read almost any male-authored sci fi, for example.