School Library Journal Review

Gr 4-7-These books read like long magazine articles. The tone is light and accessible, and quizzes, images, and question-and-answer segments break up lists of tips and ideas. Both titles mix practical advice with fictionalized scenarios. Style is aimed at kids who shop for a new wardrobe each school year. It offers such advice as "Don't try to get everything all at once. That's exhausting." Much of the content is filled with information women are expected to know but are rarely given. It includes definitions and examples of necklines, fabrics, and cuts of clothing, and describes appropriate attire for various events. The title also offers advice on, for example, how to respond to peers who make fun of fashion choices and how to approach parents who disapprove of them. Parties is also filled with helpful information (readers will learn that "RSVP" means "please reply," for example) and behavior rules (be outgoing at parties, but never a loudmouth). It includes sections on hosting and attending a variety of parties and offers realistic advice for common scenarios like homesickness at a slumber party and how to make conversations with adults who say things like, "My how you've grown." The girls in both books' colorful cartoon images are thin and pretty, but represent different races. These titles offer practical information in an inviting way, and include tips that readers seldom get from other sources.-Amelia Jenkins, Juneau Public Library, AK (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.