An Inspiring Approach to Reading From A Tree Grows in Brooklyn to Ramona the Pest to Wringer , here are 100 great books guaranteed to stir the imagination, spark conversation, and lead the way to adventure. In 100 Books for Girls to Grow On , Shireen Dodson, author of the acclaimed The Mother-Daughter Book Club , offers a selection of both new and classic titles. Each book has been handpicked because it is a joy to read, because it inspires mother-daughter dialogue, and because it encourages creativity beyond the book experience. Included are brief plot summaries for each book, as well as thought-provoking discussion questions, inspired field trip ideas, fun crafts and activities, and biographies of the authors. Let books become a springboard for encouraging your daughter's imagination. Ideas inside include: Design and draw colorful dresses like Wanda Petronski, heroine of Eleanore Estes' The Hundred Dresses . - Take your cue from Harriet the Spy and create your own stories from overheard snippets of conversation. - While reading Caddie Woodlawn , pull out a map and trace Caddie's mother's journey from Boston to the Wisconsin frontier. You don't need to form a book club to use and enjoy 100 Books for Girls to Grow On . Shireen Dodson offers stimulating ideas that will spark your daughter's creativity and nurture a love for books. In this companion to The Mother-Daughter Book Club (HarperCollins, 1997), Dodson provides annotations for books she believes will be successful in that forum. She also presents information about the authors, discussion questions, and ideas for crafts and field trips. Bibliographic citations and reading levels are not included. The annotations frequently convey more of Dodsons personal insights than facts about the books, and upon occasion miss the mark. For example, when discussing Philip Pullmans The Golden Compass, the author states: I was really intrigued by the whole concept of daemons, which seem to serve a similar function as blankies or stuffed animals. The fact that children are rendered spectrelike after the removal of their daemons would seem to contradict this conclusion. Other inconsistencies that mar the book are suggestions that 9- to 12-year-old girls watch the graphic film Amistad but wait until they are older to see Mutiny on the Bounty, and that children who are ready to tackle Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird will also enjoy painting pumpkins. Fans of the first book may take to this presentation, but Kathleen Odeans Great Books for Girls (Ballantine, 1997) and Alison Cooper-Mullins Once upon a Heroine (Contemporary Bks., 1998) provide a greater range of titles and more succinct annotations.Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. "What a book! Should be on the bookshelf (or bedside table) of anyone who wants to inspire girls to explore themselves, their dreams and their world. By including discussion questions, activities and field trips, Shireen makes it easy to bring these great books to life. I already have a list of seven new books I want to read as a result!" Nancy GruverFounder, New Moon: The Magazine for Girls and Their Dreams"Let's give a most enthusiastic welcome to 100 Books for Girls to Grow On. It will draw girls away from television and rock music back to the enchantments of reading where they will develop their intellects and give free reign to their imaginations."Dr. Ellen S. SilberDirector, Marymount Institute for the Education ofWomen and Girls An Inspiring Approach to Reading From A Tree Grows in Brooklyn to Ramona the Pest to Wringer , here are 100 great books guaranteed to stir the imagination, spark conversation, and lead the way to adventure. In 100 Books for Girls to Grow On , Shireen Dodson, author of the acclaimed The Mother-Daughter Book Club , offers a selection of both new and classic titles. Each book has been handpicked because it is a joy to read, because it inspires mother-daughter dialogue, and because it encourages creativity beyond the book experience. Included are brief plot summaries for each book, as well as thought-provoking discussion questions, inspired field trip ideas, fun crafts and activities, and biographies of the authors. Let books become a springboard for encouraging your daughter's imagination. Ideas inside include: Design and draw colorful dresses like Wanda Petronski, heroine of Eleanore Estes' The Hundred Dresses . - Take your cue from Harriet the Spy and create your own stories from overheard snippets of conversation. - While reading Caddie Woodlawn , pull out a map and trace Caddie's mother's journey from Boston to the Wisconsin frontier. You don't need to form a book club to use and enjoy 100 Books for Girls to Grow On . Shireen Dodson offers stimulating ideas that will spark your daughter's creativity and nurture a love for books. Shireen Dodson is Special Assistant to the Director, Office of Civil Rights at
