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Anyone think that "Beautiful Girlhood" is a bit hokey?


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I got this to read with dd. We read one chapter tonight but I found myself paraphrasing quite a bit and modernizing it - not just because dd is on the young side for the book but because it seemed stilted and hokey to me. The first chapter went on and on about how wonderful girlhood is. Dd looked at me and said "My life is not totally carefree." And she's right!

 

I've seen tons of suggestions of books that are about changing bodies and/or sexual purity. And I've seen books on the domestic arts. We will look at those. But I'm interested in something broader. Something that talks more about internal beauty and Godly attitudes and femininity that is real and is not dainty and fragile. Is there anything like that out there? It doesn't even have to be a book per se. Ds and I are going to discuss George Washington's Rules of Conduct and see which ones of his rules transcend time and place.

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This book is on my "for sale" pile. I couldn't stand it.

 

I did Secret Keeper's Girl Kit by Dannah Gresh with my dd. A teeney bit cheesey for me in a couple places, but much more modern, realistic, and overall I really enjoyed it with my dd. Dannah has a lot of materials out there that might be of interest to you.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Keeper-Girl-Dannah-Gresh/dp/0802431216

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This book is on my "for sale" pile. I couldn't stand it.

 

I did Secret Keeper's Girl Kit by Dannah Gresh with my dd. A teeney bit cheesey for me in a couple places, but much more modern, realistic, and overall I really enjoyed it with my dd. Dannah has a lot of materials out there that might be of interest to you.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Keeper-Girl-Dannah-Gresh/dp/0802431216

 

 

Just what I was looking for! Thank you! :)

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I think it depends on the girl. My girls eat that stuff up. They love the dainty, fragile, carefree... image of girlhood. They don't necessarily live it, LOL, but they love the idea. Both of my older girls have read through the book and we are going to read through Raising Maidens of Virtue in a few weeks.

I can see how some girls would find it weird and hokey. I probably would have at that age.

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We are going through A Girl Of Beauty-Building Character in Young Girls by Carol Fiddler. Chapter titles include: Truthfulness, Character Building, Sincerity, Careful Words, Ambition, Service, Loyalty, Courtesy and Respect, Keeping Confidences

 

This is for 8-12 year olds and my dtr and I really enjoy going out to Wegman's, grabbing a special drink and cc cookie, and completing a chapter :)

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0847414280/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used

 

Sadly it looks like it is OOP and is ridiculously priced new :( There are some used copies but I would inquire to see if they are written in as there are sections to fill in. The watercolor pictures are beautiful though~

Hope you find what you are looking for!!

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It IS cheesy to most modern girls, but that doesn't mean it's not an enjoyable read! My dds liked reading it with me and when we're reach an eye-rolling phrase or section we'd try to put it in "today's terms" which was fun! I read this to a group of *urban* girls in our former middle school youth group and we had a good time reading it with a not-so-serious intent while still keeping our minds open to the deeper truths.

 

Cheesy doesn't have to mean not worthwhile, but everyone has different tastes, of course. :)

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It IS cheesy to most modern girls, but that doesn't mean it's not an enjoyable read! My dds liked reading it with me and when we're reach an eye-rolling phrase or section we'd try to put it in "today's terms" which was fun! I read this to a group of *urban* girls in our former middle school youth group and we had a good time reading it with a not-so-serious intent while still keeping our minds open to the deeper truths.

 

Cheesy doesn't have to mean not worthwhile, but everyone has different tastes, of course. :)

 

Admittedly we've only read one chapter, but it wasn't the old fashioned language that was the problem. It was the very black and white nature of the content. My dd found it rather silly to think that now (or when she's slightly older) had to be the most wonderful part of her entire life (it repeated this concept a number of times). I found myself paraphrasing not the language so much but the absolutes which I felt were way overstated.

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