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I am always looking for ways to encourage both of our children. I think it is wonderful to share books that highlight different jobs available to girls and boys. Girls of the World: Doing More Than Ever Before, written by Linsey Davis and Michael Tyler and illustrated by Lucy Fleming, celebrates "equality and fairness and encourages all children to use their voices, talents, and intelligence to spread the word that it's time to recognize just how powerful girls are and can be in this challenging world."
About Girls of the World
This is a 32-page hardcover book written for children ages 4 to 8 years old. The opening page has a spot to write the child's name along with who presented the gift and when. The story is told in an easy-to-read rhyme:
"The sun will shine and the moon will glow. The birds will fly and the wind will blow. There's another great truth all people should know. The girls of the world are ready to go!"
Many of the pages are illustrated with one large picture, such as a classroom or car mechanic shop, while others don't spread across both pages. For example, there is one page depicting two girls running for class president and on the opposite side are two girls in a science lab with a microscope.
Davis is an Emmy Award-winning journalist and anchors World News Tonight on Sunday, as well as other news programs. At the end of the book, Davis mentions Simone Biles, Mo'ne Davis, Carole Simpson, and Oprah Winfrey as women who succeeded despite being girls.
My Thoughts
Unfortunately, I do not think it is the right book for our family. One of the lines of the book implies that we—girls—are not equal. And I don't believe that. Girls and women are an important part of God's plan for the world. While we may do different things, hold different jobs, or perform different tasks, we are loved equally by God. That is what is important to me.
My other concern is that there is a page about pollution with the text: "It's time we all work to care for our Earth. Let's guard our great planet and honor its worth." As a former zoo educator, I found the text and illustration to not be completely age-appropriate. It has been many years since a workshop where we discussed at what age we could share about pollution, deforestation, introduced species, etc. But I remember that younger children are not able to process heavy tasks. An ocean with lots of trash would not have been my choice for the illustration or concept. Picking up trash in one's backyard or park would be more age-appropriate.
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