I Look like a Girl

by Sheila Hamanaka

In her imagination, a young girl assumes many shapes and forms, from dolphin and condor to wolf and jaguar.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

Published September 29, 1999

Reviews

[Cheryl]

Can't evaluate quite fairly, because my only experience with the book is a shaky video on youtube. I like it until the end, but like the other reviewers I do agree that some girls might still like princess things, indoor things, and that's ok too as we're not all wild beasts inside. Still, it seems like an attractive book, and could be empowering for the right audience.

[Elizabeth]

I was so excited about this book from the cover and the blurb ("In her imagination, a young girl assumes many shapes and forms, from dolphin and condor to wolf and jaguar.").

The illustrations turn out to introduce a different girl for each animal -- which was unexpected, given the blurb, but it does mean that girls of a variety of ethnicities get represented.

I'm really over the anti-femme/princess rhetoric, so was really jarred out of the book by "Throw out those glass slippers/ / Send the fairies to sleep. / No prince is waiting for me." near the end. I get that it's rejecting heteronormative women-need-men narratives, but, like, girls can have glass slippers and have princes waiting for them AND be tigers, dolphins, wild horses, jaguars, condors, wolves, tigers.

And the ending feels a little trite -- "I just need the forest / the mesa, the jungle, / the stars dreaming over the sea. // to free what is wild, / in the heart of a child--- / so I can be me, just me." Partly, admittedly, I've never felt a great connection to The Great Outdoors, so I am not the target audience for the book.

I want to like this book, but I feel like (to steal a term from gymnastics) it doesn't really stick the landing.

[Marissa Elera · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fiery spirit burns bright in the heart of the young girls in this warmly illustrated picture book. A series of declarations from girls on the animal energies living within them, this book is an anthem of girl power and the lively spirits shimmering just beneath the surface of each girl in the world. Not only a celebration of girls, this title makes for an excellent early look at complex personal emotions and what it means to be independent. It's short text length and vibrant colors make for an ideal story time candidate! Ages 4-7.

"Throw out those glass slippers. Send the fairies to sleep. No prince is waiting for me. For if you look twice, past the sugar and spice, the eyes of a tiger you'll see".

[Renea Freeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book because I got to bring out my inner little girl, and who doesn’t love bringing out their inner child. This book dived into different little girls of different races pretending to be whoever and whatever they want to be in the world. This book can teach little girls that it’s okay to think of yourself as a strong, wild and free-spirited person. Also it teaches them that it’s okay to be who you feel like you really are inside. This book is appropriate because shows different girls of different colors showing the world who they feel like they truly are. This shows how children really feel about themselves sometimes inside.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome picture book about girls celebrating being themselves by identifying with animas. These girls don't dream about fairy tales and princes. They dream of flying with eagles and roaming jungles with jaguars.

[LB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly unusual book--explores the idea that we can look one way on the outside and feel entirely different on the inside without getting heavy or sad. And while it might cause a disconnect to be treated the way you look instead of the way you are, it's important to remember who you are. Great book!

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great eye opener for an audience to not mistreat others based on how they look on the outside. Judging people on appearance is a stereotype that can be broken. I would use this book on a lesson about treating others equally.

[Sam Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this one. The premise, that the person LOOKS like a girl but is really a tiger, etc, was so cool. It was doing so much more than just challenging the box of stereotypes about femininity, and could easily be read as a celebration of queer gendering. But then, 3/4 through, it actually went to talking about the boxes in the lines "Throw out those glass slippers. Send the fairies to sleep. No prince is waiting for me. For if you look twice, past the sugar and spice, they eyes of a tiger you'll see." And with that, it became just another book policing gender. Sure, it's more appealing to those of us who felt boxed in by just those stories, but I have to admit that I had gotten so excited about it being MORE than that, that I feel more disappointed than excited about it. This could have been a five star book! Instead it will only be four, because even though I was disappointed, it was still beautiful and well-written and good.

[♥κДτϊε βэαη♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a very big eyeopener. its amazing that ppl think that.... but im not thinking like that anymore

[Tuyet Tran · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so lively with all of the illustrations of the wild animals. A mini-poem fills with lyrical. I truly adore it!

[Jeannette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love everything about this book. Just love it.