Lost in the Pages: Review of Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots? by Carmela LaVigna Coyle

I picked up Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots? by Carmela LaVigna Coyle at our local drug store on a whim one day. As an author, I'm a total sucker for books, especially picture books, and even more especially picture books for girls that somehow incorporate healthy living. Usually I think about them longer than 5 seconds before purchasing them, though. But this time the cover grabbed me, I totally forgot the purpose of my stop at the store, and off I went to the check-out to make it mine (under the guise that the book is for my daughter). Kudos to illustrators Mike & Carl Gordon for their whimsical artwork that truly stopped me in my tracks.

Things that make this book shine:

1. The author's daughter is credited for asking the question that created the book.

2. The book is a dialogue between a mother and daughter.

3. The girl's dog joins her on her questioning adventure ("Do princesses climb trees?" one page reads. The illustration shows the girl dangling from her knees on a branch. Her dog is doing the same with its back legs on the next branch over!).

4. The mother's answers to her daughter's questions are both playful and real.

5. This book celebrates the joy of life with healthy balance of adventure and responsibility (the girl has chores and goes to school - what more could a mom ask for?).

The only thing that I would change about the book is to make the main character a redhead. But only because my favorite little girl is a redhead (that would be my daughter), not for any REAL reason. But, since the mom is a redhead (like me), I really can't complain.

Without saying too much more (like giving away the surprise ending - which adds icing to the already wonderful cake of a book), I do have to add that I think this book has some great parallels with We Are Girls Who Love to Run and another book I reviewed just a little while ago, Sally Jean, the Bicycle Queen. All three books encourage girls to embrace the many facets of girlhood, let their inner selves shine, and to follow their hearts. Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots? is truly a gift from the author and illustrators to the world of little girls. I look forward to sharing this book with my daughter as I help her recognize her inner strengths and explore the beauty of our day-to-day world.

How about you? Is there a book that really grabbed YOU recently? Do tell!

Lost in the Pages: Review of Sally Jean, the Bicycle Queen by Cari Best

I adore our small town library. The librarians know my kids and me by name, story time is presented by the librarian who has worked her entire career there (she's now enjoying sharing books with kids of the kids she first read and taught rhymes to!), and it is a branch of the very large King County Library System, so we can get our hands on just about any book we want.

Sometimes we think ahead and reserve titles through their website (handy for getting the Magic Tree House books next on our list). Other times we just browse the shelves to locate old favorites and hope to stumble upon some new favorites. That's just what happened on last week's library adventure. We stuffed our reusable library bag with our old stand-by Cynthia Rylant titles (smile makers from the Henry & Mudge series and the sweet Mr. Putter & Tabby collection), some early independent readers for Mr. Music's exploding reading skills and a book that grabbed my attention: Sally Jean, the Bicycle Queen written by Cari Best and illustrated by Christine Davenier.

I'm not sure if it was the illustration of a red-headed girl on the cover that called to me (I am one of 3 red-heads living in my house, after all), or the captivating title that urged me to get this one last book, despite the fact that it would have to be hand carried since the library bag was already bulging. Whatever the reason, we are all glad to have it in our home - this book is WONDERFUL!

We follow Sally Jean from her earliest years when she was perched in the kid seat on her mother's bike to her confident, independent years when she worked to build herself a new bike. Best's use of patterns make the book a delightful read for my kids (4.5 and 2).

In the beginning we see Sally Jean waving from behind her mom, or on her tricycle or on her "yard-sale bike with two small wheels that hugged the ground". In all these instances, we're treated with Sally Jean's optimism and delight for riding with the same simple phrase. '"Hi!" she said to the big kids on their bikes."

My son cheered for her when she finally develops the skills to count herself among the ranks of two-wheel riders. '"Wait for meeee!" she called to the big kids on their bikes."

As a former little girl, I find myself drawn to the optimistic energy and celebration of outdoor adventure in Sally Jean. Davenier's illustrations more than capture the joy that Sally Jean finds in life. I can almost see myself in them, despite the fact that bike riding was a tumultuous and difficult skill for me to learn (we lived at the bottom of a hill right off a main drag . . . not fabulous for kids to enthusiastically acquire the skills!). In fact, this book almost erases those memories of apprehension - now I can live vicariously through a fellow-redhead. That's the magic of books, right?

As a mother, I see Sally Jean as a positive role model (and even heroine!) for my children. At one point she finds that she has outgrown her treasured bike, Flash. Undaunted by the expense of a new bicycle, Sally Jean heads out to earn money (teaching bicycle maintenance and repair to the neighbor children, of course!) to buy used parts and build her own new bike, Lightening, with the help of a mentor. I also like that this girl is out living life, moving her body and having a blast!

This book really has it all: shared family experiences, community building, problem solving, celebration, mentoring (she takes a small child under her wing, too!), and the joy of childhood. This library treasure is so good that I'm off to put it on my Amazon Wish List so I can add it to my cart for my next purchase.

Seriously. Go check it out!