《书目》(Booklist)书评
As is obvious from the titles, these books present bibliographies aimed at raising girls' self-esteem and providing enjoyable reading. But each book favors one of those goals over the other. Bauermeister and Smith state that they looked for books with "strong and resourceful girls and women." but many of the main characters are everyday kids featured in good stories. Odean, a children's librarian, is less laid-back in approach. She says that only a small percentage of books offer "brave, strong females," a rather surprising comment considering how children's book publishing has changed in recent years to include female heroines. She cites a number of examples of sexism in society and then gives her criteria for inclusion, which are more stringent than Bauermeister and Smith's. For instance, the classic Madeline, which is not among Odean's selections (but is one of Bauermeister and Smith's) was left out because "although [Madeline] is described as fearless, she does not actually do anything." The sequel Madeline's Rescue, showing a more active heroine, is included. With almost 1,000 titles (and surprisingly little overlap) in these two interestingly annotated volumes, readers looking for "girls'" books should have plenty to choose from. --Ilene Cooper