Girl Talk: Staying Strong, Feeling Good, Sticking Together [Paperback]

Judith Harlan (Author), Debbie Palen (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1997 | Age Level: 10 and up

A few years ago—maybe even a few months ago—you did whatever you enjoyed without even thinking about the fact that you were a GIRL. But now you might be getting the message that there are things girls can and cannot do. Don’t allow yourself to get pushed to the sidelines. Life is not a spectator sport!
Girls around the country have shared their ideas with Judith Harlan about how to deal with people who make you feel like you can’t or shouldn’t follow your dream (or run for class president or take physics or play roller hockey). Covering the topics of friends, boys, fun, sports, fashion, school, and more, Girl Talk will inspire you to make your world a better, more fun, and more fair place. Here—finally—you get smart comebacks to annoying comments: "You think like a girl!" ("Thank you. Study hard and you can do it, too.") And in between all the girl talk, dozens of Debbie Palen’s hilarious illustrations will have you in hysterics.

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

A lightweight but kind-hearted guide full of cheery and self-affirming advice for young girls. In a conversational text that is full of asides and funny musings, Harlan offers advice and questions. ``Could she be your hero?'' appears in a box, followed by a paragraph on a specific woman, e.g., Julie Croteau, the first woman to play college baseball, or Donna Karan, the fashion designer. Other boxes offer little-known history, facts, and points to ponder, while there are also sensible and inspired ideas on fun, fashion, friends, and the future--``Spend time shaping your LIFE, not your body.'' A few pages ask readers to write in their thoughts on a topic, while other times statements just hang meaningfully in the air. Perhaps the most bemusing is the chapter on adults, wherein Harlan does an extended riff on the metaphor of adults as books--some are boring encyclopedias, some are how-to manuals, some are comedies, and some are poetry. There are also some great one-liners, among them, ``Teach a boy to dance'' and ``Look in a mirror. Find both of your parents in your own face.'' (b&w illustrations, index, not seen) (Nonfiction. 10-14) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Judith Harlan is the author of nine books, including Girl Talk for Walker & Company. She is a journalist and writer from Oxnard, California.

Debbie Palen illustrated Walker & Company's The Period Book and Keep the Buttered Side Up. She lives in Cleveland, Ohio.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers (November 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802775241
• ISBN-13: 978-0802775245
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 6.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,743,723 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Judith Harlan is the author of the popular Girl Talk: Staying Strong, Feeling Good, Sticking Together - a book full of suggestions and anecdotes to inspire girls age 8-13 to be originally and unrelentingly themselves. Fun! Her personal favorite book of all she has written so far is her biography of Rachel Carson, Sounding the Alarm, because it's about one of Judith's greatest heroes. Also, it includes hard-to-find excerpts of Rachel Carson's own girlhood writing.

Judith grew up traveling the world in a military family, reading her way through library after library. She lives and writes today in Portland, Oregon, while also running an eBook marketing and Web copywriting company.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The perfect gift book, November 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Girl Talk: Staying Strong, Feeling Good, Sticking Together (Paperback)

This upbeat, whimsical little guide is one of the best books to come out of the "Girl Power Movement." Girls and women alike will love its good advice, empowering suggestions, and entertaining, easy-reading format. I especially liked the chapter on the importance of having fun and finding joy in one's life. Highly recommended for a daughter, granddaughter, niece, or young friend!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I thought it was great! It expreased great comebacks!, February 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Girl Talk: Staying Strong, Feeling Good, Sticking Together (Paperback)

The fun section showed great suggestions on things to do for fun. I would have never thought to stick my toes to the sky. I enjoyed the part about starting your own band. It made my friends and I start our own band. I enjoyed learning about different women and what they achived. My favorite saying and comeback was You throw like a girl. Just like Jackie Mitchell. Thanks! I have used it on some of the boys at my school and they were speechless. The comeback was simple but it blew their socks off. Girl Talk is a great book about the power of girls!!!!!!!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This clever and fun book enhances teenage girls self-esteem., November 10, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Girl Talk: Staying Strong, Feeling Good, Sticking Together (Paperback)

This is a clever and fun book that provides lots of ideas for how teenage girls can keep their self-esteem intact during those vulnerable years. It contains many clever insights on how to broaden one's approach to common aspects of everyday teenage life. It is written and illustrated in such a way that one can either read it all at once, skip chapters, or skim through various sections without loss of continuity. The underlying feminist tone underscores its points with humorous musings and little known historical facts. The book is rich and creative with interactive exercises that are designed to make teenage girls feel good about themselves and to help support each other. The positive and encouraging attitude makes it refreshing to read.