School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-A fascinating look at a seldom-studied topic. The bulk of the book explores the roles of girls (and women) in Native American society, Colonial communities, and up through modern times. The author includes some general discussion of societal structures, social movements, and historical events but much of the information is conveyed through descriptions of the lives and deeds of individuals. Among the girls included are pioneers, former slaves, mill workers, children of farmers, and immigrants. They often speak for themselves through excerpts from letters, diary entries, and published memoirs. Black-and-white period photographs and reproductions are included along with occasional portraits. The layout is particularly pleasing, with plenty of white space and frequent illustrations. An index lists names, places, works cited, and general topics; the list for further reading is extensive. The author's thorough research, inclusiveness, and accessible style make this book an essential resource for libraries serving young people.-Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Spanning nearly five hundred years and including a wide variety of ethnic groups, this survey looks at the evolution of gender roles in our society. Quoting extensively from letters, diary entries, and memoirs, Colman lets young women comment directly on fashion, school, work, leisure time, family, and national events without delving deeply into any one period. Numerous black-and-white photos and an extensive bibliography recommend this book. Ind. From HORN BOOK Fall 2000, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A brief discussion of the development and persistence of gender roles acts as an introduction to this excellent overview of what it has meant to be a girl in this country, from pre-colonial times to the present. Colman (Rosie the Riveter, 1995, etc.) never resorts to a generic ideal or tells the story as if she is speaking of an ``everygirl''; instead, she allows a narrative to emerge from the histories and words of real people, from every social, ethnic, and economic level in the US. Some of the subjects and speakers are well-known, others are not (although they probably ought to be), but all are interesting and inspiring. Alice Greenough, daughter of ``Packsaddle Ben'' Greenough, grew up in the turn-of-the- century Montana wilderness where she did all the things her brothers did; Mary Elizabeth Bowser, a young black woman, worked with Elizabeth Van Lew, a middle-aged white woman, as spies for the Union army; Lilac Chen, a former prostitute in 19th- century San Francisco, tells how her own father sold her into slavery in China when she was only 6; and Yvonne ``Eve'' Blue, an obviously anorexic 14-year-old, maintained her gaunt frame by limiting herself to 140 calories a day'in 1926. These and dozens of other fascinating people offer more insight into gender roles better than any history text or sociological treatise, in lively writing that is greatly enhanced by page after page of black-and-white photographs, an extensive list of further reading, and a good index. A must-have for most collections. (Nonfiction. 8-12)
Booklist Review
Gr. 5^-8. Colman has set a big task for herself--chronicling the history of girls in America--but she succeeds quite well. She both generalizes and personalizes the story, facilitating the latter by using diaries, memoirs, letters, magazine articles, and other documentation to describe what girlhood has been like since the country's inception. An introductory chapter considers gender in general, and how boys and girls deal with the roles society assigns to them. Colman then discusses how the first girls came to America--across the Bering Strait, or in leaky ships, or brought by slave traders. She performs a successful juggling act throughout, showing what life was like for Native American girls, white girls, and girls of color. By folding individual stories into the parade of historical events, she also gives readers a sense of U.S. history. The text is most alive when it uses the girls' own voices--for example, 11-year-old Harriet Hanson's description of her part in protests at the mills in Lowell, Massachusetts. The book is occasionally bogged down by names and dates, but overall, the prose is strong. The art, which includes numerous portraits, is less than compelling. The typeface is a very good size, however, making the book inviting. There is an extended bibliography, but only a few Web sites are mentioned in the body of the text. --Ilene Cooper
