I'll echo the other comments about the iPad being the better choice in this case (though you may as well get the Air rather than the Pro - you can get the same

I'll echo the other comments about the iPad being the better choice in this case (though you may as well get the Air rather than the Pro - you can get the same Magic Keyboard as the 11-inch Pro for typing). As well as being more familiar right away because it will mostly feel like a bigger iPhone, it's a better device for reading (put the Kindle app on there with a Kindle Unlimited subscription for a bajillion books and some free magazine subscriptions), it's got a better camera for FaceTime, if she's at all artistically minded there are a ton of excellent drawing apps to go with the Apple Pencil, etc. The one big caveat I would point out is that the gesture controls have really poor discovery, so you may want to print out and laminate a cheat sheet (like the illustrated versions on https://ipadpilotnews.com/2020/04/all-the-gestures-ipad-pilots-need-to-know-using-an-ipad-pro-without-a-home-button/ https://ipadpilotnews.com/2020/04/all-the-gestures-ipad-pilo...) for easy reference.