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August 04, 2008

Book Review - You're Amazing

You're Amazing.jpg

 Girls Inc Presents: You're Amazing by Claire Mysko is a great book designed to help girls deal with the pressure of being perfect.  Aimed at teenagers, it delves into subjects like school pressure, weight issues, crushes, relationships, friends, family and priorities.  Starting with the difference between a Supergirl - one who feels the need to be perfect, to please everyone else first and put herself last and an Amazing Girl, who isn't afraid to ask questions, ask for help,  is proud of her accomplishments and takes care of herself, the book goes on and presents stories and tips from real life girls - some of them teens who are in the midst of living through it, and some from older women who have survived.  The book includes sound advice, thoughtful tips and stories that are sure to strike a chord with just about ever girl.  Included are some quizzes and journal activities to help your girl get the most of the book.  A perfect book to read right before the start of school, consider starting your own family book club - read along with her and use it as the perfect place to start some discussions about important, if somewhat difficult topics.

The book is available on Amazon & at other booksellers.  Check out the author's, Claire Mysko, website as well.  She has a great blog, including book giveaways, posts about girls issues, a list of favorite authors and other great stuff.   She's also the founder of Inside Beauty, a website and outreach program designed to give girls a healthy fashion and beauty reality check.

July 09, 2008

The GirlMogul Story

The GirlMogul Story

It all started with a strange invitation. A simple, clean crisp invitation to four very different girls, from different backgrounds, with different interests and talents. Asked to meet at the City Library one weekend afternoon, their parents and caregivers dropped them off (after thoroughly checking everything out) into the optimistic and caring arms of Abby. Led through the ancient building to, they went up , up and up, to the top floor (which they had never even known about, not even Rose), to meet the strange mysterious Dr. Smith. With her gray hair pulled back in a bun and crisp navy suit on, she looked over the girls. Rose, Poppy, Lily and Daisy. Under that steely gaze, even Daisy straigntned up from her slouch and wished she was wearing something beside her favorite, torn and tattered t-shirt.

And then Dr. Smith smiled. “Welcome girls. We have big things planned for you…” And so begins the story of the GirlMoguls – Lily, Rose, Poppy and Daisy – and no, those aren’t their real names. Read on to find out more about the Girls

Lily

Lily’s fun vivacious and outgoing. She’s a natural leader and that’s the role she’ll assume in the group. She makes friends everywhere she goes. A decent student, Lily can do really well when she tries hard. When she doesn’t try in school, she does ok. She’s a little better at math than any other subject and sometimes finds reading a whole book tough going, unless it’s about something really interesting. Unlike the other GirlMoguls it may seem Lily doesn’t have any special talents, but her natural ability to rally the team around, listen to all sides and make decisions will make her an excellent leader. Watch as she discovers an unknown interest in money and business.

Lily lives in the suburbs of the city, with her Mom, a real estate agent, and her dad, a banker. They have a dog named Scoochie.

Poppy

Poppy’s the scientist of the group – insatiably curious she’s always asking why. She has a love of animals and when she was little spent hours collecting bugs, worms and other things. She has two fish tanks, one turtle tank and a hamster. She’s always watching the Science channel and reading anything about science. For the holidays last year, she got her first chemistry kit. She set up her own lab in her room, where she’s constantly working on perfecting a new hand lotion for her older sister.

Daisy



Daisy is one tough cookie. Super smart, sarcastic and a little bit of a rebel, Daisy looks tough on the inside but has a heart of gold on the inside. She lives with her father in an apartment in the heart of the City. She loves the great views, but her favorite thing is working on her computer. She disassembled her first computer when she was 3, and since then has been building her own and writing programs for it. She’s even built a few of her own gadgets like a remote door bell and phone ringer – it drives her dad crazy. Daisy never does well in school, but she could if she tried. She doesn’t though – she’d rather be playing a video game, building a computer or programming an widget for My Space.

Rose

Rose is the quiet one of the group. The scholar, the writer and the observer. The voice of the GirlMoguls, she starts chronicling their adventures. Rose lives on a farm on the outskirts of the City. Her mom works the farm while her dad is overseas. It’s a busy life, but overall it’s good. Rose loves to read and can lose herself in a book when she’s not supposed to be doing chores. Also very curious, Rose believes that everything worth knowing is in a book – she most often goes to the library (or her computer) to find the answer to something. Often the voice of reason in the GirlMoguls, Rose is an excellent researcher – with Daisy’s internet skills, Poppy’s curiosity and need to experiment and Lily’s leadership, there’s no problem they can’t solve.