Strong Is the New Pretty: A Celebration of Girls Being Themselves

by Kate T. Parker

Girls being fearless. Girls being silly. Girls being wild, stubborn, and proud. Girls whose faces are smeared with dirt and lit up with joy. So simple and yet so powerful, Strong Is the New Pretty celebrates, through more than 175 memorable photographs, the strength and spirit of girls being 100% themselves.

Real beauty isn’t about being a certain size, acting a certain way, wearing the right clothes, or having your hair done (or even brushed). Real beauty is about being your authentic self and owning it. Kate T. Parker is a professional photographer who finds the real beauty in girls, capturing it for all the world to see in candid and arresting images.

A celebration, a catalog of spirit in words and smiles, an affirmation of the fact that it’s what’s inside you that counts, Strong Is the New Pretty conveys a powerful message for every girl, for every mother and father of a girl, for every coach and mentor and teacher, for everyone in the village that it takes to raise a strong and self-confident person.

Genres: Nonfiction, Photography, Feminism, Childrens, Art, Adult, Sports

256 pages, Paperback

First published March 7, 2017

About the author

KATE T. PARKER is a mother, wife, Ironman, and professional photographer who shoots both personal projects and commercial work for her clients. Her STRONG IS THE NEW PRETTY photo series led to collaborations with brands such as Disney, Athleta, Kellogg’s, and NBC. It has also inspired Kate to launch a philanthropic arm of SITNP, partnering with organizations such as Girls on the Run, Girl Up, The Arthur Blank Family Foundation, Disney, Glam4Good, and The Bully Project by investing in childrens’ health and education. Strong is the New Pretty was also adapted for a book with Workman Publishing and became a national bestseller as well as selling overseas. Strong is the New Pretty: The Guided Journal was published in October 18 and The Heart of a Boy will be in April 19.



In 2017, her work was featured in Huffington Post, O Magazine, A Mighty Girl, Vogue, Redbook, NY Magazine, People, Good Morning America, Shape Magazine, Buzzfeed, Self Magazine, DailyWorth, CNN, Vanity Fair Italy, Today Show, PDN, Atlanta Journal Constitution, and ESPN W.



Strong is the New Pretty was included in The Best Books of 2017 (Amazon), Books of the Year and Pick of the Day, 2017 (A Mighty Girl), Feminist Kids Books for Dismantling the Patriarchy (NY Mag), “Heather’s Picks” Chapters/Indigo (Canada),



A list of her clients include Disney, REI, NBC, Girl Scouts of the USA, Athleta, American Express, Merck, Girls on the Run, AT&T, Kroger, IHG Group, Spanx, Nexcare, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Lululemon, Walgreens, GlaxoSmithKline, Biogen, Kelloggs’, Verizon, NFL, Fernbank Museum of Natural History, Oxygen, Holiday Inn, Cigna, and Progressive Insurance.

Reviews

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strong Is the New Pretty is the kind of book I would’ve loved to have given to my younger self. It's a photographic celebration of girls being themselves, which in itself sounds incredible... I’m seriously tearing up just thinking about how much love I have for this collection. Reading it was like coming home, in a lot of ways.

You know, how sometimes you just need some all-powerful woman to tell you everything’s going to be okay… this collection was it—it gave me hundreds of those fierce gals and so much more.

I’m just so glad that I randomly decided to pick it up before going to bed. Nothing and I mean nothing, could’ve cheered me up as much as Strong Is the New Pretty. I really and truly needed this in my life.

The incredible girls and young women featured here inspired me to be my best self. And I wish that everyone could just read this like right now!!! You need this in your life.

“What I learned from these girls is not to get caught up in the idea of “being fearless,” just act fearless.
Fear is normal, but you can’t let it stop you from doing what you want to do.”

And so I decided to share some of the fiercely intelligent and spirited young women that left me starstruck:































And as if this collection couldn't get any better, it decides to feature my favorite place: the beach!!



“I daydream a lot. My parents call it “Ella World.” I think up some really cool things.”
Ella, age 9.

I’m just overwhelmed with joy right now. This was some serious girl-power. And I wasn’t anticipating to read this collection so quickly, but I did… and now I cannot imagine what I did without it, which I know sounds over-the-top, but this was everything. Everything.

Also, the pictures!!! They are simply too gorgeous, I can't stop staring at them. I even ended up showing some to my mom and little sister because I couldn't stop gushing about how astonishing they are.

5/5 stars

ARC kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

*Note: I'm an Amazon Affiliate. If you're interested in buying Strong Is the New Pretty, just click on the image below to go through my link. I'll make a small commission!*


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[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars. I enjoyed reading this. I thought that it was such a simple idea but it was still quite powerful to see all these girls just owning everything they did. I got quite emotional (yes, I tear up at everything) because it was so wonderful to see girls being messy, girls having fun, girls being confident, girls being extraordinary, girls being insightful, girls being inspirational, girls being strong and just doing all these different things that they loved. It was nice to see photos where they didn't stand still and pose, a lot of the time Kate Parker just caught them doing their thing. Candids are so much better than posed photographs.

One thing that bothered me though was the fact that there were not girls of every size in this book. The book itself says you don't have to be a certain size to be pretty and yet the girls in this book are either skinny, athletic or average. To promise a book like this to young girls and then leave out chubby, curvy and overweight girls kinda sucks in my opinion. I was a chubby kid and all I saw was skinny girls and average girls in everything and it made me feel like I was a monster and that I had something wrong with me. If you showed me this book when I was a kid, I still would have thought the exact same thing because girls who looked like me aren't in this book. It wouldn't have empowered me, it probably would have done the opposite. Now that I'm older, I can see all the good things with this book and appreciate the good things but I see a major flaw in this book and I can't give it more than a 3.5 star rating because of that.

I would recommend this though.

* I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Giulia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley. The following are my personal opinions.
The objective of this photography book is to inspire young girls and provide them with positive messages and inspiration for their selves. The book is divided into sections called 'Confident is Strong', 'Wild is Strong', etc: each section opens with a short introduction by the author, outlining why the specific trait is important and in which ways it manifests and helps, followed by a series of pictures of girls, all tagged with a caption and the girl's name and age. All pictures are beautiful, some are extraordinary, so much so that the latter few made me wonder whether they belonged in a different project since they stood out from the rest. The categorising of the pictures in this particular order did not convince me: it is obvious that some pictures could have fallen in multiple sections and I wondered whether this segregation could send the message that you/your actions cannot be 'kind' and 'joyful' at the same time, or 'confident' and 'fearless'. The last section especially, 'Independent is Strong', I felt contained some pictures that did not fit the category (as they did not portrait the title trait very well). I noticed that most pictures focus on sports and outdoor activities, with few exceptions; this I also thought could demoralise girls that are not involved in sports, although physical exercise is obviously of the utmost importance for young generations. All in all, I admire the author’s goal and I hope she will be successful in her aim to inspire young girls; however, I am not convinced by the structure of the book and wonder whether a different categorisation would have worked better.

[Scarlet Cameo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the pictures are really good, and the message is great but as the pages pass i started to feel that was so repetitive, as the matter of fact i like that i can see women with really different realities and socioeconomic state which give some perpective to a really exploited theme.

Probably this one will be good for kids, 'cause they can learn based in what they see around and if you really are into the feminist side this is cool because you can motivating yourself to still belive that can change the world (thanks to photographs), however you won't find a new perspective or a deep emotional story, the quotes here are the kind you see at FB or Twitter, or even at the commercials that glorify the women/feminist (yes, both of them). I'm not saying that is bad, just that isn't a original idea.

At the need i thought that if you sometimes need feel happy about be a woman, or you still aren't sure that men and women can do the same things, this book can like you.























<----This one is my fav

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Along the lines of Humans of New York comes a book about girls. Gorgeous photos of slice of life of different girls from age 5-22, talking about their life, and what strong means to them. And strength just isn't about being physically strong, but about being mentally strong. It isn't just about playing sports, but doing well in all things they do.

A wonderfully inspirational book.

I love some of the quotes.

Scars are worn by those who fought to overcome something hard in life and won.

Even a princess can be a warrior.

I love writing and acting because they allow me to create and live so many lives and stories

Many girls grew up dreaming of a hero to save them. I grew up dreaming of becoming one.

Girls get to be everything: tomboy, pretty, soft, and strong.

Being a girl doesn't change anything. It's just a different body. Strength measures how powerful you are even when others doubt you.

Being mentally strong is ten times harder than being physically strong. Mental stamina does not come from the muscles or from training. It comes from the heart...and from the mind. Calling on my heart is far more difficult than calling on my muscles

Last year I chose to move to a different lunch table instead of being ignored by people who I thought were my friends.

I can be whatever I want, even a unicorn.

and finally:

Nothing wrong with dancing with your dog.

I would highly recommend this book to libraries and individuals. What a great book for girls to have, and be inspired by.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest

[Louise Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kate T. Parker is photographer who likes to photograph girls being a bit wild, a bit silly and does not care whether their faces are smeared in mud. With more than 170 photos to look at, the strength & beauty is the girls being 100% themselves.

I love looking at photos like the ones in this book. Not the ones we see everyday that's beer airbrushed to an inch of its life.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Workman Publishing Company, Arts & Photography. Nonfiction (Adult) and the author Kate T. Parker for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this book. Photographing her own daughters led the author to progress to photographing other fantastic young girls, all at their best, by which I mean playing sports, playing games, running, swimming, teaming up with friends or sisters. A few words are quoted from some of them, who have overcome disability or illness, who speak of friendship, the need to be strong, the need to be gentle, sisterhood.

Young women are our future and by concentrating on them as active participants in their lives, not as passive glamour-brainwashed girls, the author demonstrates their strength and true potential.
Go, girls. Do sport for the love of it. Be fit. Be yourselves.

If you need a lift to the spirits, read/ see this book and assure yourself that Strong is the new Pretty.

I downloaded an ARC from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.

[Brittany McCann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was beautiful! It was empowering; it was an overall pleasant experience.

I love that this book uses positive messages mixed with a plethora of photographs to empower women of all shapes and sizes. This book helps to break the stereotype of the magazine spread woman. To show that although that IS beautiful, it is not the ONLY way to be beautiful and have confidence in yourself.

This book defines strength as many different things. But mostly, strength equals confidence and the empowerment of women in general.

5 Stars!

[Noura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Between a 3.5 and a 4 star but I'm rounding it up.

This book is absolutely empowering. It feels like the product of love and dedication to create a collection of beautiful pictures that will inspire and comfort young girls and the young at heart.

My one qualm is after a certain point it felt repetitive but honesty I was completely okay with that because the pictures continued to be breathtaking.

[Madeline · Rating 2 out of 5]

LOVE this concept. However, there wasn't much diversity in the girls photographed--most were white, thin, and athletic. I would've liked to see a lot more girls of color, girls with different body types, girls from different socioeconomic statuses, etc. And more text! The girls' quotes were so short and didn't tell us much.

[Elizabeth A · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are a fan of the Humans of New York blog or books, pick this one up. If you are a girl, woman, or have one of those in your life, pick this one up.

It will do your heart good to flip though this collection of photos and quotes from girls. The photos are beautiful, and some of the quotes make me stop in my tracks, look at the girl, and then re-read it. I have a complaint though, and it's not a minor one. This is a collection of mostly white, thin, athletic girls, and there are many who will not find themselves represented here. I'm tempted to get a copy for my nieces, but am conflicted about giving them yet another book they won't see themselves in. I would have loved to see more diversity in all it's forms, so will keep my fingers crossed that this is the first volume in a larger body of work. The other issue I had with the book is that it's broken into sections, and the photos don't match the section headers particularly well. Also, the introduction to each section was rather weak. All those flaws not withstanding, this was a book that made me smile, and the portraits of these girls makes this one worth picking up.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so exhilarating to read and look at the beautiful photography. I just wanted to high five all the girls in these pictures. Every girl should get a copy of this book. As we grow older as women, so many of us lose self confidence, self worth, our sense of adventure and become afraid of failing. This book captures the opposite of all those things. It is really inspirational and makes me want to strive toward becoming more carefree and strong. I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The photos are amazing, the girls are absolutely incredible, a lot of the chapter introductions were good, too. I think my problem was that I couldn't find the little girl that I was--the fat girl, the bookworm. The girl that sat under the tree in the front yard and read books while her parents argued in the house. There was strength in that girl, too, and I was hoping to find someone like her in this book, but didn't.
There were LOADS of athletes of various colors, and a few girls in wheelchairs, some with artificial limbs, an artist, a baker, a scientist, and possibly one chubby girl who participated in the Girls on the Run program. I'm not discounting the work Kate Parker has done--it's great work. I just wish there had been a girl like me represented, because there are plenty of us out there.

[Marla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book. The girls are so strong and the quotes are great. Beautiful photos throughout.

[MKF · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though the idea behind this book is wonderful for today's girls I think that in a way this book failed. The photos were put in sections even though many didn't fit well in the chosen section or could of fit any section. The majority of the photos were athletes, dancers, and musicians and I was sadden to see not one showed girls reading and only one showed a girl who liked science though she wore a sport Jersey. I am glad the author included a few with disabilities such as arthritis which my own daughter has and cancer. If the author could include many more girls of all types this book would be one I would of liked more.

[Wojciech Szot · Rating 2 out of 5]

To coaching dla dziewczynek. Składa się to coś ze zdjęć dziewczynek i kobiet, które są aktywne, usportowione i pokonują przeciwności. Fotografiom towarzyszą inspirujące cytaty w stylu “Jestem dziewczyną, więc jestem wspaniała”. Po dwustu stronach zdaniem Magdy Mołek kobiety “nareszcie” uwierzą, że “świat należy do nich”. Bohaterki książki są zróżnicowane pod względem koloru skóry, pochodzenia, sprawności, wieku, co czyni ją produktem perfekcyjnym, jakby stworzonym za pomocą badań focusowych. Mam jednak bardzo sceptyczny stosunek do tej produkcji - pokazywanie słusznych wzorców i “empowerment” są niezwykle ważne, nie trzeba mnie przekonywać do tworzenie atmosfery akceptacji i otwartości, ale wizja która stoi za “Dziewczyny mają moc” to wizja kultu pracy i samodoskonalenia, która raczej smuci. Czasem zdarzają się tam też straszne bzdury, jak hasło “Kreatywności świat zawdzięcza postęp i zróżnicowanie kulturowe”. Serio? Albo to: “Łapiemy kraby, ale potem uwalniamy je, zanim umrą”. A co gdy jednak się nie uda? Oooops. Ale na tą refleksję nie ma czasu, na kolejnym zdjęciu czeka plaża i wizja cudownego wieczoru po całodziennym trenowaniu siebie. Jeśli mamy dać sobie prawo do porażki i jakoś przygotować dzieci na to, że codzienność jest żmudna i pozbawiona filtrów z insta, to mam obawę, że takimi książkami można raczej wyrządzić im krzywdę. Może się mylę, ale zaleca się ostrożność.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is awesome. I love the quotes and the photos. Put one copy in the LFL and ended up keeping one.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was one book suggested by my sister that I actually ignored. After having recently finished reading an online article that mentioned this book I chose to give it a glimpse and see what it was about. On just a flip through of the pages my hackles were raised while leading me to dislike the book before I started it.

I understand and appreciate the message that the book wants to bring other young girls as well as older women but the book felt too planned. Instead of being natural, spontaneous and varied it was too composed with its similarities.

Mostly the book seemed to cover 7-9 year old girls who were either athletic or artistic - almost no learning types were given. Furthermore I know the book wants to wipe out looks but for the readers they were all cute or pretty with almost no plain-looking girls to add to the mix while ethnic diversity was low.

To add to this there seemed to be a lack of girls and their growing experiences. Those who seemed to have accomplished such a wonderful thing as learning to fly a plane normally have loving and supportive families but what about those that don't? Had any of these girls faced a home that was broken or parents who just didn't care.

Most of the pictures felt planned as there were a lot facing foward and smiling at the camera in poses that weren't natural.

All in all it was good book but one I wouldn't recommend.

[Michele Knott · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE this book. Thank you Workman publishing for getting this book out there!

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really impressed with this one, so two stars is generous. Wasn't really sure what to expect, but it just didn't do anything for me. It was just "there". Lots and lots of pictures of course but none of them really stood out except for one girl who was listed as being 13 and had lost both of her parents to cancer within months of each other. I kind of figured it would be about girls overcoming hardships but some of the quotes were from girls who had done everyday things. A lot of the pictures weren't that impressive either.

[Holly Mueller · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED this empowering book of photos of strong, creative, resilient, kind, confident, wild, determined, independent, fearless, and joyful girls! I can see this used as a mentor text in all kinds of ways. I tagged it as "memoir" because I may use it in a multigenre personal narrative/memoir project this fall. Reminds me a lot of a more appropriate for intermediate grades "Humans of NY".

[Scottsdale Public Library]

“Many girls grew up dreaming of a hero to save them. I grew up dreaming of becoming one”. Strong Is the New Pretty is the type of book I wish I could have handed down to myself as a young girl. It is a photograph series of girls and women detailing what makes them strong. Each picture is paired with a mantra or quote from the ladies featured. The book is divided into sections that can make a woman strong, and not just in the physical way: confidence, silliness, and independence are just as important. There are stunning photos throughout and it is a great way to show all women they can be strong and prove that beauty is on the inside of all of us. –Ashley W.

[Wendi Lau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great pictures of girls DOING things, unapologetically, and with confidence. With friends, with teammates, and by themselves. The author does not say as much, but it seems clear that being active, getting dirty, using your body to run and jump and climb trees, are tied to strong body image and self-confidence. Who has time to worry about being pretty or thin or popular when one is building, doing, helping, learning, etc.

The book gave me some ideas about the kind of pictures I want to take of my kids. Liked each girl's words next to her picture.

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, moving pictures. Now I’m going to go change the world and teach my students to do the same.

[Mary Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful. Inspiring. Fantastic.

[Amie's Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

STRONG IS THE NEW PRETTY is a book filled with photographs of girls being themselves.

There is no air-brushing here and no staged photos. Photographer Kate T. Parker started this project by taking photographs of her two daughters. She “wanted to showcase her girls as they are … loud, messy, silly, fearless, independent, confident and fierce. Through her images she wanted to combat the messages the media sends to women and girls: that beauty is a hairstyle, a certain size or an outfit. Kate’s goal was to show that true beauty is in being yourself 100%.”


She has included pictures of children and teens who are just being themselves and each of whom is confident in their appearance. There are pictures of girls of different races and even pictures of girls who have physical challenges such as being confined to a wheelchair. I love that she included disabled girls since you rarely see photographs of these girls in mainstream media. Included with each picture is a quote from that specific girl. These quotes are raw and unpolished and 100% real and I love that they have been included. It definitely adds authenticity to the photographs and to the core message of the book.


The one thing that disappointed me about this book was that almost every girl whose picture was included was either skinny or average sized. I only saw one picture of a girl who was a bit overweight. I think that any book that purports to celebrate girls “as they really are” should also include girls who are overweight yet who are still confident in their appearance. I was very disappointed that these girls seem to have been overlooked.
Despite the omission of overweight girls, I think this book is a triumph. It is something that every parent who has a female child should own and should be prominently displayed on their coffee tables where both the parent and the child can look at it frequently.

What better gift can you give to your daughter than proof that they can be and do anything and that they need not look a certain way to be beautiful. This is a wonderful book with an inspiring message. I rate STRONG IS THE NEW PRETTY as 4 out of 5 Stars.

Hopefully the author/photographer will add pictures of girls who are overweight before the publication date. If that is done, my rating would change to 5 out of 5 Stars.

* I received a free copy of this book through Netgalley.

[Katie Shuter Rompala · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! The author really hit on a lot of the struggles that a girl can face growing up in day to day life and she captured girls overcoming, achieving, and just being. It was beautify photography and the sections before each new keyword were beautifully phrased but I loved the realness of what girl's quotes. you could tell that it was not edited, it was what they really said and it just added to the over all authenticity of the book. 10 out of 10!

[Bonnie (A Backwards Story)]

STRONG IS THE NEW PRETTY: A Celebration of Girls Being Themselves by Kate T. Parker came out this week, and the timing is perfect with today being International Women's Day. The book is full of breath-taking photographs and empowering messages, from the silly joys of childhood to the the heartbreak and hope of adulthood.
This is a photo essay collection great for all ages, though especially for kids and teens. It's a motivator and shows girls and young women in all walks of life. There are over 175 photos of girls in action, not staged or posed, and it's easy to get caught up in the beauty of the moment.

Girls can have limitless imaginations. They can get back up again after falling. They can support one another. They can change the world.

The book is in a similar style to the wildly popular HUMANS OF NEW YORK by Brandon Stanton, except full of shorter messages and stunning imagery.

Many of the pages are full of the quotes you see on social media such as Instagram and Pinterest, such as:



Others feature a moment in time that will make you smile:



Still more leave you with hope and life messages:




There are athletic girls, girls not afraid of a little dirt, girls who love exploring, girls who love one another, girls who aren't afraid to sweat and cry. If we fall down, we get back up again.

STRONG IS THE NEW PRETTY is a wonderfully powerful book, especially for younger readers still developing their views of the world and what is possible. It feels fitting that it should come out this week and be available to read today on International Women's Day.

STRONG IS THE NEW PRETTY: A Celebration of Girls Being Themselves by Kate T. Parker was published on March 7, 2017 by Workman Publishing Company.

***All photographs copyright Kate T. Parker and Workman Publishing Company.

[Dan Crowther · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a dad of 2 girls and a granddaughter, I really love the concept of this book. Its title embodies everything that I've tried to instill in my daughters and while this book is good, it could be better.

The cover shot is excellent; sober, moody, and strong. But there are too few of this caliber of shot in the book. A number of the photos are back-lit, giving a ethereal/soft feel instead of strong, bold, and confident. Additionally, the photos of the girls rarely fit into the chapter headings ("Creative is Strong" doesn't necessarily show the girls being creative, etc) but at least the quotes being used follow the chapter titles a bit better.

On the topic of quotes, I'd have loved to have gotten a bit more back story about the girls above and beyond the short quotes. Clearly, some have gone through difficult issues; I would have like to have learned more about them.

Overall the book is good, but I was hoping for more.

[Debi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would make a great gift.

The photography tells stories all its own, but the theme is always aided by quips from each photo's subject. Overall, the book manages to have breadth and scope without repetition. From whimsical and proud self-awareness to sweetly ambivalent statements of selfhood, Parker has taken a portrait of a generation.

I'm trying to teach myself to read images. Though I've always had an appreciation for art and photography, I prefer books to take one form so that I don't have to divide my attention between words and images. That, paired with the need to complete my Goodreads challenge, motivated me to check this book out from the library.