The Kingfisher Book of Great Girl Stories: A Treasury of Classics from Children's Literature - Hardcover

Grade 3-6-Sixteen excerpts from classic stories that feature girls as protagonists. The selections, each illustrated by a contemporary British illustrator, are from classics such as Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess, Eleanor H. Porter's Pollyanna, and Katherine Paterson's The Great Gilly Hopkins. In spite of the brief introductions, most of the stories don't provide enough context for readers to understand their circumstances and characters. Only a few, such as Beverly Cleary's Ramona the Pest and Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House in the Big Woods, stand alone. Joyce Lankester Brisley's "Milly-Molly-Mandy," with its archly sweet tone and simple plot, seems a quirky individual choice. Each story has several illustrations set into the text and pages bordered with strips of small, simple pictures. Among the best are Quentin Blake's illustrations from the original publication of Roald Dahl's Matilda, Tony Ross's giddy take on Ramona, and Alison Jay's neo-folk art for the piece from Susan Coolidge's What Katy Did. Some of the original novels are no longer available, which may be a sign of their inaccessibility to modern readers. For the rest, children will be better served by the original books and better able to appreciate these memorable girls within the context of their times.
Barbara Chatton, College of Education, University of Wyoming, Laramie
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