Girls to the Rescue: Book II

In most heroic tales, a helpless young lady waits around for a prince to rescue her. But the spunky girls in this entertaining series are much too busy saving the day to await Prince Charming. These adaptations and original stories from around the world inspire readers to become a new kind of heroine. If you enjoy the stories in this book, look for more fun adventures in the other books in the series.

In most heroic tales, a helpless young lady waits around for a prince to rescue her. But the spunky girls in this entertaining series are much too busy saving the day to await Prince Charming. These adaptations and original stories from around the world inspire readers to become a new kind of heroine. If you enjoy the stories in this book, look for more fun adventures in the other books in the series. This second book in the series contains the following short stories: "Cody's Wooden Whistle" (an original story), "Adrianna's Chickens (an original story), "Liza and the Lost Letter " (an original story), "Jamila and the Tiger" (an original story), "The Peacemakers" (an original story), "Kim's Suprise Witness (adapted from a Chinese folktale), Vassilisa the Wise (adapted from a Russian folktale), "Just a Girl" (an original story), "The Clever Daughter-in-Law" (adapted from a Chinese folktale), and "Peggy's Magic Egg" (adapted from an Irish folktale),

Grade 3-6. Young women from a variety of cultures are featured as heroines in this collection of folktale adaptations and original stories. In each tale, a girl uses her ingenuity to overcome an obstacle threatening her or her loved ones. These obstacles include forces of nature, financial difficulties, and the less-than-honorable motives of other people. For example, in "Kim's Surprise Witness," a Vietnamese girl prevents a greedy moneylender from bankrupting her parents; a young American rescues her beloved colt from a dangerous winter storm in "Cody's Wooden Whistle"; "Jamila and the Tiger" tells of how the title character rids her African village of a menacing animal foe. The quality of the writing varies; generally, the four stories adapted from folklore flow more smoothly than the six original compositions (except for two polished entries from Anne Schraff). The tone of the anthology is upbeat and celebratory. While obviously created to fill a certain niche, the heroic nature of these selections should appeal to middle-grade readers who like adventure. Teachers may also find ways to use this collection to spark classroom discussions about female roles in societies near and far.?Mary Jo Drungil, Niles Public Library District, IL
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