+1 on the Savage Mark 2 - bolt action.
I just bought one for my daughter. The factory blade sight is OK, but sights are pretty close together so I fitted it with a Tech Sights peep (7-3/4" longer sight spacing). Now it's a real nice package, and she loves it. What I like best is that she's left eye dominant (although right-handed), and it is available as a left-handed bolt. The rifle is a bolt action with a 10 rd. magazine, but for a young shooter it can be loaded single round at a time. MSRP is $240, but it can be had at a discount. The wood is decent, bluing and finish are good, and it shoots nice, tight groups. The gun comes with the Savage Accu-trigger.
The Tech Sight goes another $75, and takes about 1/2 hour to install - it's a military type sight with front post/ears, and the rear is elevation and windage adjustable. The rear sight mounts on the pre-drilled and tapped factory scope mount holes.