Review: Unintended Messages
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 01 19, 2014
Although the book does have cute illustrations and does promote good character traits, I didn't like the overall message I think a child could get from it.  So much of this book focuses on physical characteristics making a girl beautiful - although at the end it does tie it all up by saying that girls looking any sort of way are beautiful.  But before you get to the END, it seems to imply that each specific character trait is what a beautiful girl is.  For instance, I was surprised at the first line reading, "A beautiful girl has skin that is fair."  I really cringed until a few stanzas went by with different physical characteristics highlighted, redeeming itself.  Again, although it explains at the end that all positive traits are beautiful, I can just imagine girls becoming more and more self-conscious as many of the traits deemed "beautiful" do not apply to them as they go through the book.  "[A beautiful girl] is confident, bold, bouncy and loud. She loves to bring joy into every crowd."  How will the shy or introvert girl feel about herself at this page?  "A beautiful girl is small and petite."  An unfortunate line for a beautiful girl who might be self-conscious about her weight as so many are.  Again, it's all summed up at the end that every girl is beautiful, but I just feel that these pages can come across as biting remarks to a lot of truly beautiful girls.