33 THINGS is a great book for young girls to read. The stories will help them see that that each of these girls has gone through the sometimes awful teenage years and made it through to the other side.
This book has a great diversity of formats and is very readable for this age range. On page 8 it states, "And it's a mix - short stories, essays, a comic strip, two comix, a letter, a speech, an interview, a 'public-service announcement,' poems and more..." Each entry is fairly short in length lending this book to be great for this age range because they have such a short attention span. Struggling readers will enjoy this book as well because of the shortness of the entries.
The writing styles are quite varied throughout the book. This was an aspect I enjoyed about the book. The reader doesn't have to like every entry, but there are enough entries that the reader is bound to connect with many of the stories. Although the styles differ, there seems to be a main theme running throughout the book to encourage young girls to know themselves and be true to themselves. "The topics covered vary greatly and include dealing with one's sexual orientation, overcoming and triumphing despite physical handicaps, combating the pervasive "thin is beautiful" culture, dealing with insensitive people, and just finding oneself." (Steinberg 1998).
The visuals found in the book emphasize the main ideas of the different entries. "Say what you DON'T WANT" by Deborah Tannen encourages girls to speak up especially in situations involving boys. The visual at the end of the entry is a speech bubble that states, "make it clear" (pgs 63-67). Another example is the many pictures included in "Imagine..." by Gretchen Rosenkranz. Gretchen was born with spina bifida and her parents were told she would never walk. She has competed in many wheelchair games and won medals in swimming events. The pictures accompanying her story show her learning to walk with a walker, competing in wheelchair races and participating in P.E. class. The pictures help the reader to better understand her story.
Information about each of the contributors can be found at the back of the book. Readers will enjoy finding out more information about the people who wrote this book.
Reference List:
Steinberg, Renee. "Review of 33 Things Every Girl Should Know: Stories, Songs, Poems & Smart Talk." School Library Journal 44, no 5 (1998): 150. http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2056/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&hid=126 &sid=35792edb-1b40-4f16-a75b-e1ee40afab75%40sessionmgr113.
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