Girl, You're Amazing! [Hardcover]

Virginia Kroll (Author), Wendy McClure (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2001 | Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

"Girl, you're amazing, the things that you know!/How to write stories where fantasies grow,/When to pick pumpkins and how to fly kites,/Just where to search for the sky's satellites." In this upbeat rhyming tribute to girls, readers will get a boost of encouragement and feel their confidence and self-esteem grow page by page.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This volume celebrates present-day creativity and future potential, with the title providing a touch point for the optimistic verses: "Girl, you're amazing, the art you create!/ T-shirts in tie-dye, a Mother's day plate,/ / Girl, you're amazing, the sport you can be!/ Swishing that basketball, climbing a tree." Each sunny stanza accompanies scenes of girls working and playing; an all-girl orchestra performs as dancers leap, ballplayers congratulate each other after a game and a calm girl "cool[s] a quarrel" between two friends. Kroll (Hands!; A Carp for Kimiko) composes couplets that might refer to one special person or to many talented people. She closes with a long, rhyming list ("Grace, Emma, Jess, Amy, Chelsea, Christine,/ Cheryl, Dawn, Geetha, Kim, Rachel, Maureen...") in which one's own name, or a friend's, very likely appears. Potter also aims for inclusion in her hip gouaches, which feature girls of all races and appearances. Asymmetrical faces, fashionably mismatched patterns and a quirky palette of faded blue-green, pasty pink and dim yellow recall her daughter Giselle Potter's cerebral-but-groovy artwork; the compositions are not quite as accomplished, but the characters possess an equal amount of verve and joie de vivre. Because the pictured athletes and scientists often appear older than the usual picture book audience, this whimsical appreciation might address elementary-schoolers, big sisters and mothers alike. Ages 5-9. (Mar.)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 5-8. In snappy, upbeat rhymes, girls are told they can create, learn, perform, and accomplish an amazing variety of feats, from packing their own lunches to becoming a food drive director; e.g. "Girl, you're amazing, the things that you are! / Great babysitter and spelling bee star." Bearing a strong resemblance to the art of Giselle Potter, the spirited mixed-media artwork reflects the bounce and optimism of the text. The few males pictured, alas, clearly need female assistance. Similar in spirit to Norma Klein's Girls Can Do Anything (1973), this exhortation for female empowerment may fit that earlier era better than today, but this does encourage girls to realize their talents and pursue their dreams. Linda Perkins
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company; 1St Edition edition (March 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807529303
• ISBN-13: 978-0807529300
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,387,955 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Virginia Kroll is the author of over fifty books for children and winner of a 2004 Children's choice award. A former elementary school teacher, she lives in New York with her husband and has raised six children of her own.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! My 4 year old and I are entranced and empowered!, March 31, 2001

By 

Julia DeVillers (Columbus, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Girl, You're Amazing! (Hardcover)

I got this book out of the library yesterday and read it to my daughter. We both loved it. And to cap it off, the book ends with a lyrical listing of girls' names. My daughter, who has an unusual name, literally screamed with joy to see her name in a book for the first time. "I want to keep this book forever and ever," she told me so I am here on the site today buying her her own copy. Highly recommended. Julie.

0 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good but could be better..., November 21, 2009

By 

Nora Michelle Diaz "nmd" (cali) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Girl, You're Amazing! (Hardcover)

The book is better condition that what it was decribed. What could improve was the shipping method that the seller implores. I had to wait more than a month to get my book. WHat was good was that once i contacted them they sent it back fast.