Mod. 5 - 33 THINGS EVERY GIRL SHOULD KNOW - by Tonya Bolden

Bibliography
Bolden, Tonya. 33 Things Every Girl Should Know: Stories, Songs, poems, and Smart Talk by 33 Extraordinary Women. New York, New York: Crown Books For Young Readers, 1998.


This book uses poems, photographs, essays, and more to present empowering women and their stories. This book does not tell how girls should live their life, rather it gives advice for certain situations for girls. Tonya Bolden, the compiler, offers an introduction to these short but empowering sections. The female contributors portray independence, positivity, they cheer readers on through their difficulties, and their advice helps young ladies grow into strong women.

Sigourney Weaver writes about her commencement address she delivered in 1990 for an all-girls school. Weaver left the graduates with a poem:

“Come to the edge,” I said.
“No, we’re afraid.”
“Come to the edge.”
“No…We’re afraid. We’ll fall.”
“Come to the edge,” I said again.
And they came.
And I pushed them.
And they flew.

This book includes stories by Sandra Cisneros, who wrote the short story “Eleven,” novelist Alice Hoffman, supermodel and actress Lauren Hutton, writer M. E. Kerr, singer and songwriter Natalie Merchant, spina bifida inflicted Gretchen Rosenkranz, MTV news correspondent Tabitha Soren, and designer Vera Wang, among many others.

This book is a great book for pre-teen and teenage girls to embrace their femininity, independence, and learn to love themselves as who they are. It is mostly an enticing read with witty remarks from the authors. Some sections of this book tend to drag on and become boring to read, but since this is a short collection of many different contributors, readers are not bored for too long. It is a book to read in many short sittings or easy and short enough to read all at once.


Full List of Contributors:
· Lynda Barry
· Barbara Brandon
· Sandra Cisneros
· Judith Ortiz Cofer
· Johnnetta B. Cole
· Ann Decker
· Rebecca Goldstein
· Alice Hoffman
· Lauren Hutton
· Joyce Ladner
· Natalie Merchant
· Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe
· Bernice Johnson Reagon
· Faith Ringgold
· Deborah Tannen
· Vera Wang
· Wendy Wasserstein
· Sigourney Weaver


Practical suggestion

An ALA Best Book for Young Adults

More books like this:

33 Things Every Girl Should Know About Women's History by Bolden

Dealing with the Stuff That Makes Life Tough: The 10 Things That Stress Teen Girls Out and How to Cope with Them by Jill Zimmerman Rutledge

Being A Teen: Words of advice from someone who's been there (Teens & Young Adults)
By Diane Mastromarino

Interesting and related website:

http://www.smartgirlsknow.com/

http://www.tonyaboldenbooks.com/index.html

http://www.tonyaboldenbooks.com/33_things_every_girl_should_know.html




External assessments

School Library Journal
Some selections are heavy-handed and preachy, but others speak with a true voice easily heard by adolescents. There's something here for everyone. Perhaps the title is a bit misleading since it seems to promise 33 different ideas. This is a worthwhile purchase for any library. The challenge is to channel it to its intended audience.

Booklist
Astute, compassionate, sometimes witty, sometimes painfully honest, the pieces are highly readable, entertaining, and educational--and together achieve an important, amazing dichotomy: broadening horizons and possibilities while bringing the world into a manageable, realistic perspective during the confusing, often difficult teen years.

Kirkus Reviews
The whole, however, is a little wearing, as if a favorite, well-intentioned aunt is nattering on too long. Bolden mentions in the introduction her wish that a book similar to this one had existed when she was 12.