Horn Book Review
As the book recounts the virtues of "beautiful girls," spirited illustrations offer their interpretations: "Beautiful girls move gracefully" describes girls playing soccer, rugby, and wheelchair basketball; "beautiful girls know all about makeup" has the girls covered in stubbly pirate beards. Each new page surprises with its empowered twist on worn-out sentiments, allowing girls to embrace their own brand of "beautiful. (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
In a striking reclamation of the social messages little girls receive and often struggle with as they grow up, McAnulty and Lew-Vriethoff redefine beauty and grace by depicting girls doing things that make them happy and strong. The text and pictures combine to contradict conventional expectations in simple but clever ways. Beautiful girls know all about makeup, for example, is accompanied by images of girls dressed up as pirates sporting scruffy beards and eye patches; Girls smile sweetly shows them grinning as they slurp oranges, their faces covered with juice; they keep their hair properly in place presents girls in happy disarray as they play in a muddy pond. The tone is bold and forthright, as it needs to be to counter the ubiquitous other messages that tell girls how to behave, and the illustrations boast a multiracial cast and even girls playing basketball in wheelchairs. While this will appeal most to girls and their parents, there's no reason why boys should not enjoy it, too.--Chaudhri, Amina Copyright 2016 Booklist
