re: What are some great books to read to my 8 year old girl ?

I read the hobbit to my boy when he was six and he loved it. Unless you have a long bed time it would take a long time. We did it over the summer when I could read to him for 30-40 minutes.

It was really rewarding though. Afterward make sure you write inside the book when you finished it. Everytime I open the Hobbit it's cool to see "Drexyl and drexyl's son read the hobbit together in the summer of 2012" I signed it and so did he in six year old cursive.

He's read the Narnia series, Indian in the cupboard, the jungle book, rikki tikki tavi,4 of the Harry potters (but those get kinda dark in the later books so we have him in hold with those). And a ton of others that are more current.

David and the Phoenix is a shorter chapter book and a cool story. We read that one during school and it wasn't as much of a nightly time commitment.

I have a little girl so i want to read her stuff with a female protagonist. I have no idea where to start though.

ETA How to eat Fried Worms (a true classic)

I just thought of a great one Peter and the Starcatchers. it's a really cool story and a different take on Peter Pan. Chapters are short so good for during the school year.