The Good Little Girl

Rating:
Summary: A disturbing book
Review: I bought this book thinking it would give my mischievous 5yr old a good way to think about right and wrong. Instead, it encouraged her to do more devious acts (the girl in the story puts pencils up her mother's nose, having her parents clean the chimney with their tongues and makes her father shave all of his hair off. I can only wonder what went wrong in this author's childhood to give him such a bizzare mind.
The illustrations are attrocious.
I did not find any redeeming value in this book. I hope I can sell it at my next yard sale.
My 12 year old daughter read it and thought that "the little girl in this book is a schizophrenic whacko in great need of a certified therapist".

Rating:
Summary: The perfect book for good little girls and their parents.
Review: My six-year-old daughter fell madly in love with this book the first time she heard it, so much so that she wanted me to read it to her several times a day. At first I was a lot less enchanted with it than she was. ItÕs about a nice little girl who gets tired of being pushed around and lets the monster inside her come out. Literally. The monster is a green creature with bulging red eyes and black fingernails. The pictures of her are truly ugly. The monster gets more and more demanding and out of control until finally the nice little girl canÕt take it any more and comes back out. ItÕs got a good ending, but for me the monster-girl was a little disturbing. I guess I just usually like gentler childrenÕs books.

But the more IÕve read this book (and IÕve read it a LOT!), the more IÕve realized how psychologically acute it is. My daughter is a lot like the "good little girl" Ð most of the time sheÕs neat and polite, and tries very hard to please adults. Those are wonderful qualities, but they can get in our way, too. Less polite kids shove you aside. Adults may overlook your needs because youÕre not loud or insistent enough. Life can be tough for "good" girls. The need to learn to be assertive without letting "the monster" get out of control. And I think the reason my daughter loves this book is that itÕs helping her to do that. In the end, when the good little girl comes back, sheÕs not a pushover anymore. SheÕs still nice, but she tells her parents very clearly and firmly what she wants.

IÕm still not wild about the illustrations in this book (although I must admit theyÕre growing on me), but I now think that for a nice, quiet little girl, this is a perfect book.

Rating:
Summary: Get in touch with your inner Lucretia
Review: Wildly original, I bought this after reading the author's other children's book -Beetle Boy. The Good Little Girl should not be overlooked. It's a great story about a sweet, nice, well-behaved girl named Miranda. But her busy, busy, busy parents (sound familiar?) just don't keep all their promises. And eventually, Miranda's alter-ego Lucretia takes over. And Lucretia is fantastic! She tortures her parents in hilarious ways that every kid will howl at. Far from being a guilt-trip for busy parents, this is a great, fun book that all working families can relate to and will enjoy. It's great when a book for kids doesn't "talk down" to kids or feature bunnies worrying about the rain. This is a hip, modern book that's really in touch with today.