Juliette Low

Young Patriots

by Helen Boyd Higgins, Harold D. Underdown (Editor), Cathy Morrison (Illustrator)

Over two million Girl Scouts worldwide owe their membership to its founder, Juliette Low—a woman who, as a girl growing up in the post–Civil War South, refused to accept that girls couldn’t do everything boys could. Whether angrily defending her friend against taunts of schoolmates or rescuing a kitten from the highest branches of a tree, Low possessed the spirit and strength of character that would lead her in adulthood to act as a world-famous advocate for girls. Children will experience Low’s joy at the gift of her very own horse, feel her excitement at attending her first dance, and share her frustration with being thrust in to the role of a well-behaved 19th-century young lady who would rather have been riding, creating sculptures, or climbing.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Childrens, Biography Memoir, Audiobook, Juvenile

126 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1951

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 1 out of 5]

The cover says Girl Scout Founder but the inside says Money Grab.

I mean, I get wanting to tell children about the childhood of such an amazing woman - but was it necessary to make Juliette Low so annoyingly precocious?

Juliette spends the first part of the book righteously defending her confederate family while in the heart of Northern territory.

That I get - she's a kid, she doesn't understand the war, she just knows that her friends and family are fighting for the South.

But is it necessary to make her so annoying? For example, when the war is over, the Northerner's start singing their freedom song.

Once they finish, little 5-or-6-year-old Juliette begins singing the confederate song as an act of defiance...and the gang of big burly southern-hating men...applaud?

Cause she's such a sweet and dandy gal. Gee willikers. If only we had Juliette on the front lines - friendship and rainbows would've happened so much sooner.

The whole book was like that - Juliette would skip from one annoying action to another with nary a thought to her own precocious self - leaving all the adults to marvel over her tenacity and bravery.

Gag me with a spoon.

And then, the last few pages...we get a brief, brief summary of how Juliette thought that Girl Guides would be a great thing to start in the U.S.

The End.

Really? What's the point of calling this book "Juliette Low: Girl Scout Founder" if we don't actually talk about Girl Scouts?

Audiobook Comments
Read by Lynn Taccogna. Juliette sounded like a 60 year old southern belle on her way to Sunday mass - very disconcerting considering she was supposed to be 5 years old.

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[Anna Smithberger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird work conversations led me to look for these books. Somehow, a large portion of this old biography-novels series was still in my elementary school library in the late 90s, and I read as many as I could (of the women available because tiny feminist). Now my nostalgia drive is making me want to see if I can track any down to reread.

[Terry]

All of the titles in this series are excellent. The authors know their audience and engage them immediately. The books are fun to read and provide a little color to the history and heroes that 8- to 12-year-olds might not get from the typical textbook. I wish there was an opportunity to keep the series going with an updated list of heroes and heroines.

To read our full review, go to the Reading Tub.

[Lori Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read to girls for Juliette Low's birthday

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reliving a bit of childhood.Great book about her lifespan. Easy quick read.

[Samantha Bartley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I was homeschooled, my mother bought an entire library for our house years ago filled with every book you’d ever find in an elementary school. So if I’m ever looking for a quick read, I’ll usually go to that shelf of books. The Young Patriots series was a favorite of mine as a kid. I loved learning about famous Americans when they were children. There were books though, that I never remembered reading, including this one on the founder of the Girl Scouts. It was really short, and took me less than an hour to finish. The book was okay. It was a little dull in places, but I learned a lot that I didn’t know about Daisy. It really doesn’t make me want to go do anymore research on her, but I could see how younger children involved in the scouts may enjoy this one.

[Lucy Kaplan · Rating 4 out of 5]

“ That lady can’t tell me one thing I can’t do that boys can,” Daisy, page 47.
I like how the quote shows that every girl can do just what boys can. Girl power! I would recommend it to anyone who likes adventure, girl power, and Girl Scouts! That’s the book in a nutshell!

[Daftfader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look at her early life but somewhat strangely paced, eg follows the minutia of her childhood then from age 13 jumps to her wedding day, and the day she talked to the Boy Scouts founder for a page each. The end

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

such a sweet and homely story

[Susan Rainwater · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read nearly all of the The Childhood of Famous Americans series that West Park Elementary had. Most of those I read are now out of print. I remember Dorothea Dix, Mollie Pitcher, Julia Ward Howe, Helen Keller, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, Harriett Tubman, Elizabeth Blackwell, Jane Addams, Betsy Ross, Clara Barton, Susan B. Anthony. There must have been many more. Despite their stilted content, these books were one place you could read about women with accomplished lives (remember, this was the early 1960s -- feminism hadn't been invented yet).

[Kristi Siegel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I read every one of these biographies of the childhood of famous Americans. It was series, and I thought the covers were a solid blue.

[Rick Bavera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good children's book on part of the childhood of the founder of Girl Scouts, Juliette Gordon Low.

[CLM · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of the girl from Savannah, GA who grew up to found the Girl Scouts.