Clever Beatrice and the best little pony by Margaret Willey

illustrated by Heather M. Solomon
This is the story of a young girl determined to figure out who is riding her pony at night and put a stop to it. She enlists the help of the village baker who suggests it is probably a lutin - a tiny little man known for making mischief. The baker, having no ideas of his own for how to help Beatrice, "puts his big brain to work" on the problem while Beatrice quietly plants one idea after another in his head. Don't worry, we're all in on this joke, and in the end Beatrice takes matters into her own hands. The illustrations are rich and alive with detail. The mischievous lutin who sews sleeves closed and turns pots and pans upside down is irresistible to the young child.

I feel somewhat sheepish having this be the first book in my "books about girls" list. There is no doubting that it has made a HUGE impression on my daughter Lena. But, it is the lutin (not Beatrice) that has taken on a life of his own (we've named him Pierre). Not a day goes by without a request for a lutin story. Pierre comes to Lena's house and plays with her toys; Pierre goes to the cactus garden and sits on a cactus; Pierre makes cookies out of sand, mustard and flower petals...the possibilities are endless!