I have two young girls in my extended family, ages 8 and 10. I have been gifting / recommending them movies, TV shows, and so on that is as free of current year as possible. The older one has shown interest in reading manga, which I know nothing about, so I am turning to you fine gentlemen in hopes of getting some quality reading for her.
Some points to consider is that it should be something that is translated to local, which is probably the more popular stuff. She has also shown interest in horror movies and such, so some scary / spooky / supernatural elements I guess are fine. Bonus points for having good father figures, I found that to have a good effect on girls.
Not sure if anything else is of import, so, if you have any recommendations, fire away!
Thanks!
I think I already recommended this to Smith1980, but it's worth repeating: I think lots of girls in Japan love Natsume's Book of Friends. I enjoy it too, although I've only seen the anime. A solitary boy who can see youkai inherits a notepad full of their names, from his dead grandmother. He's educated about this notepad by a powerful spirit in the guise of a lucky cat, who becomes his grudging bodyguard and they go on to have ghost adventures together. It's like Mushishi but more playful and in my (probably unpopular) opinion better, notwithstanding a sprinkling of sappiness which should appeal to young girls.
Spooky elements are there but very mild. Natsume's growing relationship with his foster family is a background theme but it's wholesome. As family friends, they've taken him in in their twilight years, so he has a bit of a personal journey where he learns to appreciate them as parent figures who care about him rather than strangers whom he's inconveniencing.