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A tidy little size, too, I thought... just right for backpack, desk drawer, bedside table-anywhere she might tuck a treasure, if it made it to treasure status. It had possibilities. Cheery pen and ink drawings, a simple, open page layout that doesn't warn "This stuff is serious business!" And an overriding optimistic and comforting collection of quotes on subjects concerning girls: beauty, acceptance, mood swings, confidence, goals, dreaming...
I was right. My daughter delved right in. She even read aloud several quotes that made her laugh or sigh. Among my favorites, that I read aloud when it was my turn, were quotes of the women of my generation: Gloria Steinem ("Self esteem isn't everything; it's just that there's nothing without it."); Janis Joplin ("Don't compromise yourself. You're all you've got."); Susan Sarandon ("I believe strongly in my own personal magic.")...
We agree on Miss Piggy. She's very together ("Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye.").
And so The Girls' Book of Wisdom, with its slightly heavy title (But then I never would have bought The Girls' 365 Days of One-Liners-to-Live-By, or some such) has moved from my daughter's desk to bedside table these several weeks. We've each picked it up from time to time and said, "Hey, listen to this one..." Good book; good choice, I've thought, each time that happens. Makes for good conversation.
But it came to earn its name, The Girls' Book of Wisdom, last week. I've been reeling from a powerful personal loss in my adult life, one I would never expect a young adolescent to understand. My daughter has felt my upset and, being of a sympathetic nature, she's wanted to soothe me. Two nights ago in the middle of an explanation of why I should "cheer up," she told me, "Mom, listen, the more lost you are, the more you have to look forward to."
"That's pretty wise," I said.
"It's from the book, Mom."
"Yeah? Who said it," I asked her.
"Calista Flockhart..."
And there you have what makes this a wise book: the keen editorial sensibilities of Catherine Dee, the creator, because it takes a wise collector to sift through the material of the ages and focus it at the hearts of young girls, tying together strands of advice and philosophy-contemporary and timeless-into a resource that communicates right there in their day-to-day language and lives.
Targeted for an audience of young girls from about 9-16, it's a book I highly recommend for ALL ages. We moms of young adolescents are just lucky! We're discovering it first!
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The Girls' Guide to Life reclaims the strength and self-assurance for young women. With a fun, appealing style, The Guide addresses gender issues by providing exercises and activities so girls learn who they are and what their strengths are.... If you have a daughter, or care about a girl you know, share The Girls' Guide to Life with them. You may learn a lot you never knew. You also may be reminded of things you learned the hard way and never thought to share with her. Encourage sons to read it, too, so they'll learn it's all right for women to be strong, to be leaders.
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Like the other books, it is a fresh and lively look at the topic at hand with a mix of poetry, plain talk and anecdotes. This particular book also includes quotes from some famous actresses like Sarah Jessica Parker and Jennifer Love Hewitt.
This isn't the kind of book you sit down and read from cover to cover. Just pick it up periodically and read a few pages to give an extra kick to your day. If your love life is in the dumps, this book will cheer you up with advice on how to keep it together or, for the worse case, how to break it off easy.
The quotes are my favorite part. They are from both famous and infamous women and can definitely lighten your spirit or, at least, provide a little laughter. After all, what's funnier than love?
Give this book to someone you love, whether young or old. While it is targeted towards teenagers, it is good for all ages.
(Review from YA Books Central [...])
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Girls will thumb through page after page, searching for the perfect sentiment. This collection of would make a nice boost for a friend who's moving away or staying behind, a new friend, an old friend, even a graduation present. For whatever occasion, The Girl's Book of Friendship: Cool Quotes, True Stories, Secrets, and More fits into the must-read category for the teen-age girl.
--Julie Shannan, program coordinator [...]
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