Common Sense Media Review
By Andrea Beach
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Exciting, funny, lively guide urges girls to adventure.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 9+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
Author Caroline Paul wasn't always THE GUTSY GIRL she is today -- firefighter, scuba diver, kayaker, climber, white-water rafting guide. When she was a kid she was actually pretty timid. So she created this guide to help other timid kids, especially girls, learn how to be brave and start an adventure, one step at a time. Drawing parallels from her own experiences having grown-up adventures, Paul shows girls how they can start being brave by trying some small things first, such as raising your hand in class or repairing your own bike tire. She breaks down the steps to overcoming fear, staying focused, and staying calm when things go wrong. She also shows how much more you can learn from dreaming big and failing than you can from dreaming small and succeeding.
Is It Any Good?
Exciting, funny, and chock-full of girl power, this memoir accompanied by lively illustrations will thrill and delight big kids and tweens. But the fun's not confined to the pages between the covers. Tips and how-tos give specific examples that parallel author Caroline Paul's adventures and encourage kids, especially girls, to get out into the big, wide world and have adventures of their own.
Paul's wry, humorous voice draws the reader into the excitement and joy that come from trying something you might have thought you couldn't do. But she doesn't shy away from the bumps along the way, either. Mistakes from the embarrassing to the dangerous add to the drama and make her easy to relate to. Each chapter is well-structured with a real-life story, connections for kids to make to themselves and their worlds, and opportunities to write about their reactions to each story, dreams, and plans for their own adventures.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how to start being brave. Have you done anything brave or adventurous before? What's something you're usually too scared or shy to do but you wish you could do?
What's the difference between "gutsy" and "reckless"?
Which adventurer you learned about do you admire the most? Why?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Wendy MacNaughton
- Genre : Adventure
- Topics : Adventures , STEM
- Book type : Non-Fiction
- Publisher : Bloomsbury USA
- Publication date : March 1, 2016
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 9 - 12
- Number of pages : 160
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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