Review of It’s Good to Be A Girl
Title: It’s Good to be a Girl: A Celebration of All That GOD Made You to Be
Author: Jen and Zoe Oshman - A mother and daughter team
Illustrator: Hsulynn Pang - Age Range: 3 to 7 years old - Pages: 32
Main Characters: Elementary aged girl and her mother
Bonus Characters: All the woman from the bible and history that are mentioned in this story. One of my favorite heroines is mentioned, Harriet Tubman.
Overview
It is Great to Be a Girl is a relatively new book, launched on May 24th. The story follows a dialogue between a mother and her daughter as the mother helps her daughter prepare for bed. The conversation begins with the mother’s affirming words: “Do you know something? I love having a girl. Do you know why? Because girls are special and needed.” Through their interaction, the mother lists ways women have played major roles in biblical times and more recent history. An emphasis is placed on how women are made in the image of God by reflecting His attributes as helpers.
Why I like this book
What a timely book, especially with the recent uproar around the Harrison Butker speech. The media clearly cannot handle hearing the truth that males and females are both image bearers but bear it in different ways. Childbearing and motherhood are just one of the many ways women are created to glorify God. As students of the Bible, we know women can be called to both professions and motherhood. These are not mutually exclusive.
I appreciate how "It is Great to Be a Girl" shows how women can both be helpers and be strong. The words and illustrations confirm women in all sorts of roles but still as females. This is important, as I have seen too many young women leave their churches and their faith as they have felt less than the highly praised beautiful long-haired young wives who feel their only call is to be a mother. If we could affirm that God created many roles for women and that these roles are no less valuable than the roles of a man, we may be able to keep these women from walking away.
Two other important parts of this book are the references to scriptures and a lyrical refrain repeated by the mother. You and your children—yes, children, as I encourage you to read this with your sons too—can delve more into the stories of the women from the Bible. While the scriptures can ground your children in the truths presented, the sing-song words “Let’s thank God, rejoice, and twirl, because it is good to be a girl” encourage girls to praise God with words and dance.
Summer’s Read Aloud Meter
Relatable Characters: All females can relate to the need to hear affirming words from others, especially their mothers. The illustrations show beautiful women of all skin tones. We need more books that present races as a beautiful expression of God’s creativity, not as a dividing line.
Draws you into the wonder of nature: This is a simple slice-of-life story. Though the setting isn’t in nature and there are no lovable animal characters, it can draw you into the awe of the One who created nature. This includes how He created two sexes, different skin colors, and different interests.
A story to hang truths on: This book makes good sound theology accessible to small children by weaving it into the story. The truths that all women are good and necessary, they can be called to different things, and that when we draw close to Jesus, He will show us what path to take are presented here. There is a section in the back of the book that delves further into what the word used to describe women in Genesis, "Ezer," means.
Humor: There is not much in the way of humor.
Great illustrations: Hsulynn Pang combines both traditional watercolor technique and digital techniques to illustrate the book. She leaves behind the traditional girly color of cotton candy pink and chooses rich browns, corals, greens, and oranges to bring her characters to life. It did not go unnoticed that the little girl's father looks down on her from a family portrait in her bedroom.
Last Words
Would you like to support a small business curating great books? Purchase a copy of It’s Good to Be a Girl from The Good Book website.
This book was a family affair. Both mom, Jen Oshman, and her daughter Zoe Oshman are credited as authors. They are part of a family that has been called to the mission field in the Czech Republic. They reside there with their husband/father, Mark. There are four Oshman daughters in total. If you would like to know more about their mission work, check out the family blog at The Oshman Odyessey. To check out more books written by Jen, go to https://www.jenoshman.com/books.