Pick Your Kids' (Literary) Friends

So as I was making my usual rounds this morning, I saw a post over at Angieville about the Characters She'd Let Her Daughter Date. I'm such a sucker for this sort of thing - love the concept, love the list. The guys that made her shortlist are all tremendously outstanding. I mean, every single one of them (including Aragorn of The Lord of the Rings - one of my first crushes) would be more than welcome to date my fictional daughter.

And as usually happens, her list got me to thinking. I do not have a daughter. It's something I hope changes in the future, but in the mean time, I do have the cutest little boy EVER and so I began running through the list of possible female characters I'd want him to date.

And then hit a wall.

See, he's my son. And he's two. I can't even begin to think about girls and dating in relation to my little man or I think my head just might explode. So after reminding myself that he still loves tractors and trains more than any 'ole smelly girl, I took a deep breath, went to my happy place and began to think about all the literary characters I'd love for him to have as FRIENDS. Much more therapeutic.
 
~ Paul Fisher of Edward Bloor's astounding Tangerine. He's a soccer player, a mystery solver and someone who is good at seeing what others can't. Plus, he's a hero. Very good company to keep.

~ Todd Hewitt from the Chaos Walking books by Patrick Ness. He's a boy who is trying so hard to do what he thinks is right even in the face of multiple life-altering surprises. Every time he gets knocked down, he picks himself right back up and keeps fighting.

~ Will Parry from His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman. Determined and fierce in the face of danger, yet kind and loyal and oh so sweet to those he loves. Talk about a guy who understands the value of relationships.

~ DJ Schwenk from Catherine Gilbert Murdock's Dairy Queen. I have a sneaky suspicion my boy is gonna love sports, so this one might seem like a no-brainer. Since DJ is a tough farm girl, she'd teach him not to be afraid of work or going after the things you truly want. She might scare him (a bit) but she'd teach him buckets.

~ Spencer Martin from Maureen Johnson's Suite Scarlett and Scarlett Fever. One of the best fictional older brothers I can think of, Spencer gets the importance of family and has one of the best oddball-ist sense of humor I know. Plus, all that physical comedy must surely make him an ideal friend for any guy.

People always say you can't choose your kids' friends, but if I could, these are the ones I pick for my own. Although what made this exercise so much fun is that I will be able to introduce my little man to every single one of these characters one day. Ahhh, the lasting power of books.

Anybody I missed? Who would you pick to be friends with your kid?