33 Things Every Girl Should Know: Stories, Songs, poems, and Smart Talk by 33 Extraordinary Women

by Tonya Bolden

Extraordinary strong women lend their diverse voices to this collection of stories, songs, poems, comics, and essays.

What if every adolescent girl could feel hopeful, empowered, and excited about making the transition from girlhood to womanhood? Dealing with subjects like popularity, success, talking to boys, speaking your mind, and body image, this book offers practical help and inspiration.

33 Things Every Girl Should Know is an empowering and inspirational gift that every girl will want to own, to share with friends, and to use as a springboard to self-knowledge, self-acceptance, and self-esteem.  

Contributors  Natalie Merchant. Sigourney Weaver. Tabitha Soren. Wendy Wasserstein. Rebecca Lobo. Lauren Hutton. Anita Roddick. Lynda Barry.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Parenting, Short Stories, Feminism

160 pages, Paperback

First published February 17, 1998

About the author

Author and publisher Tonya Wilyce Bolden was born on March 1, 1959, in New York City to Georgia Bolden, a homemaker, and Willie Bolden, a garment center shipping manager. Bolden grew up in Harlem in a musical family and loved to read; she attended Public M.E.S. 146, an elementary school in Manhattan, and then graduated from the Chapin School, a private secondary school, in Manhattan in 1976. Bolden attended Princeton University in New Jersey, and, in 1981, obtained her B.A. degree in Slavic languages and literature with a Russian focus. Bolden was also a University Scholar and received the Nicholas Bachko, Jr. Scholarship Prize.

Upon graduating from Princeton University, Bolden began working as a salesperson for Charles Alan, Incorporated, a dress manufacturer, while working towards her M.A. degree at Columbia University. In 1985, Bolden earned her degree in Slavic languages and literature, as well as a Certificate for Advanced Study of the Soviet Union from the Harriman Institute; after this she began working as an office coordinator for Raoulfilm, Inc., assisting in the research and development of various film and literary products. Bolden worked as an English instructor at Malcolm-King College and New Rochelle School of New Resources while serving as newsletter editor of the HARKline, a homeless shelter newsletter.

In 1990, Bolden wrote her first book, The Family Heirloom Cookbook. In 1992, Bolden co-authored a children’s book entitled Mama, I Want To Sing along with Vy Higginsen, based on Higginsen’s musical. Bolden continued publishing throughout the 1990s, releasing Starting a Business from your Home, Mail-Order and Direct Response, The Book of African-American Women: 150 Crusaders, Creators, and Uplifters, And Not Afraid to Dare: The Stories of Ten African-American Women, American Patriots: The Story of Blacks in the Military from the Revolution to Desert Storm and The Champ. Bolden became editor of the Quarterly Black Review of Books in 1994, and served as an editor for 33 Things Every Girl Should Know, in 1998. Bolden’s writing career became even more prolific in the following decade; a partial list of her works include:, Our Souls: A Celebration of Black American Artists, Maritcha: A Nineteenth Century American Girl, MLK: Journey of a King, Take-Off: American All-Girl Bands During World War II, and George Washington Carver, a book she authored in conjunction with an exhibit about the famous African American inventor created by The Field Museum in Chicago.

(source; http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biogr...)

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some excellent essays and poems in this collection. Much of it is emotionally enriching and can help a girl or young adult to have more confidence in herself and in becoming a unique individual. There are a couple of essays about women coming out as homosexual and encouraging others to see their choices as normal and acceptable.

[Maria Hrickova · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Dani]

This is a compilation of essays, comics, poems, and short stories that are supposed to be inspirational and build self-esteem in middle-school girls and older. I think it probably would have seemed cool to girls reading it back in 1998 when it was published, but it is dated now. My girls (age 12 and 16) have never heard of any of the women mentioned in the book and one of the comics does a Madonna parody that would go completely over their heads. The best part of the book was the short stories that were written from the point of view of a teenager because they didn't sound like an adult saying, "Things are bad now, but they'll be better when you grow up."

[Cami · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a small collection of essays (and a couple of comics) geared for teaching young girls self-esteem and that the sky is the limit when it comes to achieving dreams and doing amazing things with their lives.

I liked it a lot and it's something I would like my daughter to see around age 10 or 11.

[Ke · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book contains pearls of wisdom, even for a reader who is at least ten years older than the target age. There may be some conflicting views, but most contributors believe that a girl should work hard, enjoy books, and be content being alone sometimes.

The book has the right mixture of fictional stories and more how-to pieces. Too bad there aren't such collections for older readers.

[lolo chigs · Rating 5 out of 5]

best girl stories, poems, smart talk etc..really awesome as you unearth other girls' lives and how they survive and its all about how women and girls lived or live and come to overcome temptations of girlhood in their teens. Great smart talk in the book too. Very thin and small but very big!!!!A must-read for both girls, even boys too!!!!!

[Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a compilation of essays, songs, and poems written to promote middle school girls' self-esteem. There are a couple of essays that are written about and by gay girls/women trying to make others realize that there choice is their business, and to not judge them because of their choice. It did not make me go out and do the things that they did, though.

[Melody · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed "The Crooked Path Has Its Dividends", "Some Solitude is Good", "The Wider Your Tires, The Better", "Prejudice Isn't Pretty" and "Eleven (is more than ten plus one)"

[Lib 5030 Group 5]

305.4/0973

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent, got for my 13 year old, although a bit dated

[Ashley]

Young Adult Nonfiction

[Gail]

I've had this book for years and only got around to reading it now as I'm moving apartments. Even though it's aimed about 10 years younger than I am, there are many nourishing words and ideas here for girls and women of any age. My favorites were the poem "Carpe Diem" by Judith Ortiz Cofer and the short story "Prejudice Isn't Pretty" by M. E. Kerr.