Product Description

At last, here is a book that no girl should be without; a book that guarantees hours of fun; a book that will encourage girls to turn off the TV and go and do something more interesting instead. In brief, here is a book that shows readers exactly how to be the best at everything! Who could resist? You can find out how to: keep a message secret; strum a guitar; do a French plait; make a bird feeder; make a compass; find the North Star; press flowers; do finger knitting; build the best sandcastle; make a kite; be a natural beauty; make your own lip gloss; do the perfect handstand; do the splits; teach a dog to shake hands; and much, much more! The entries include step-by-step instructions and diagrams to follow.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #442 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 128 pages

Review
This companion to The Boys' Book (September 2007) gives advice on how to do things from the ridiculous to the sublime. The boy's version tells how to escape quicksand, build a raft and fly helicopters. The girls' version teaches them how to do magic tricks, science experiments, garden and solve the popular Sudoku puzzles. They can also learn how to survive alien invasions (follow what movie characters have done), to annoy people in an elevator (meow occasionally), and how to cope after a zombie attack (just avoid getting bitten). This eclectic collection of both useful and silly advice will likely afford plenty of giggles along with handy tips. Illustrations demonstrating specific steps for making kites, doing origami and doing one's hair in a French braid are clear and concise. A fun book for a rainy day or sleepover even if the topics reinforce gender stereotypes. (Nonfiction. 8-12) (Kirkus Reviews)

The Daily Mail Bookshop
At last, here is a book that no girl should be without; a book that
guarantees hours of fun; a book that will encourage girls to turn off the
TV and go and do something interesting instead.

Families Online
It makes a pretty good shot at providing the 21st century girl with all
they need to know to shine.

Customer Reviews

Lovely Book full of nonsense and amazing info and activities!
A great book for fun activities all year round. As soon as i saw it in the bookshop i loved it, and still do to this day, love it, love it, love it!If you like this but want something even better, try the great big glorius book for girls. By the way, i LOVE the illustrations!

Loved by my daughter
Lots of fun, with a few quirky articles too. My 10 year old daughter jealously guards this book and keeps it by her bed at all times. She just loves this.

What better recommendation can you give!

Bits of Valuable Advice That I Used in a Too Brief Format on Many Subjects
I read this book before going on a trip with my daughter. While we were away, she struggled with su doku puzzles and I was able to use the section in this book to help her. Later in the trip, I stepped in something that made my running shoes smell like I had had a run in with a skunk. Upon returning home, I began applying the remedies in this book and my shoes smell better than when I left home. Thank you, Ms. Foster!

I also liked the sections on making a friendship bracelet (an essential skill for our daughters), preparing a bird feeder, winning a staring contest, pressing flowers (another essential girl activity in our family), grooming a horse (a much contemplated, but never done, activity at our house), making a fake mess, walking the dog with a yo-yo (very difficult for our daughters), drawing with wet chalk, sand castle building, eating with chopsticks (hard for our daughters), making a French braid (often done here), finding the North Star, growing a crystal, making bread, finding your blind spot, and performing ballet.

I didn't like the goofy sections. I'm not sure the humor would have worked with our daughters. This is humor for very adventuresome girls which our daughters weren't.

Some of the sections were well-intentioned but didn't provide enough detail such as how to whistle loud. Illustrations of that section would have helped a lot.

Other sections just didn't get there such as how to study for exams. It's the kind of advice you would give someone trying to memorize spelling words rather than study for something more rigorous. The section on surviving in the desert doesn't mention taking extra salt before going into the desert.

I thought the section on keeping a secret diary was diabolically too clever. My wife wouldn't have been able to read our daughter's writing if they had read that section. My wife would have been a basket case.

Both of our daughters were into design, color, and beautiful images. This book looks like a 1935 version on this subject and wouldn't have appealed to them.

I'm glad such a book was published, however, because mastering these tasks can bring a lot of joy to a girl (or to a boy playing with a girl).