ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 3, 1997 TAG: 9704040004
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DETROIT
SOURCE: CASSANDRA SPRATLING KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
Thirteen-year-old Jamie Ormond rattles off lists of favorite books and authors the way some teen-agers tick off the names of favorite songs and their singers.
Among her favorites is Tamora Pierce's ``Alanna: The First Adventure'' (Random House, $4.99), the first in a series of fantasy books about a girl who becomes a knight - something girls were not supposed to be able to accomplish.
``My sister and I have read it over and over again because it's a good book,'' says Jamie, an eighth-grader at Detroit Country Day School.
``It says if you want to do something, you can do it.''
That can-do message is exactly the lesson writers and publishers are trying to reinforce in a growing selection of books and guides to literature featuring brave, clever and adventurous girls.
The string of recently published books and two guides, a few timed for release in March to coincide with Women's History Month, are providing much sought-after alternatives to the still prevalent - and research suggests, damaging - books in which the image of girls seems to be looking pretty, being passive and waiting for a prince.
``Lady Di and Princess Fergie found out that even when the handsome prince marries you, you don't necessarily live happily ever after,'' says Bruce Lansky, creator of a series of short stories about courageous girls from around the world titled ``Girls to the Rescue,'' published by Meadowbrook Press.
Lansky created his series because he was bothered by the pattern of fairy tales he was reading to his son and daughter, both now adults.
``The female was always beautiful but helpless,'' Lansky says. ``I wanted both my daughter and my son to grow up believing they could be all they could be.''
While it would seem that in this post-feminist era, girls should know what they can do and become, there's ample evidence that they don't.
Studies show that beginning in adolescence, girls' confidence and aspirations begin to slip - a phenomenon that does not happen appreciably with boys.
The stereotyped roles girls play in books, movies and other popular culture was faulted in studies by the American Association of University Women and others.
``When girls don't see themselves and women achieving it can erode their self-esteem,'' says Gabrielle Cassell Lange, a spokeswoman for AAUW. ``There are still lots of books and textbooks where girls tend to be passive, watching the boys do things.''
The practice not only stymies some girls, it spells trouble for America, the 1991 AAUW report warns, noting that by the year 2005 women will make up almost half of the nation's workforce.
``If we continue to compromise the education of half our workforce, America will lose its competitive edge,'' the AAUW warns.
Among its recommendations were that parents and teachers go to libraries and bookstores to request books in which girls were the primary action agents, not just supporting characters.
Apparently, book publishers and writers heard the alarm.
This month, Penguin Books released ``Let's Hear It for the Girls'' by Erica Bauermeister and Holly Smith ($10.95), a guidebook to 375 books featuring girls in brave, adventurous, problem-solving roles. It's aimed at ages 2 to 14.
It comes on the heels of ``Great Books for Girls'' (Ballantine Books, $12.95), released in January, a guide to 600-plus books meant to ``inspire today's girls and tomorrow's women,'' according to author Kathleen Odean. It was recently featured on the ``Today'' show.
The third in Lansky's ``Girls to the Rescue'' series of short stories written by himself and others is scheduled for release next month, with the fourth due in September.
In the fall, the Scholastic publishing company began ``Dear America,'' a series of historical novels, written in journal form, chronicling the lives of girls in American history.
It released two books just in time for Women's History Monthin March: ``The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell, 1847'' by Kristina Gregory (Scholastic, $9.95) and ``The Diary of Clotee, a Slave Girl'' by Patricia McKissack (Scholastic, $9.95).
Aladdin Publishing last fall began ``Girlhood Journeys,'' a series of paperbacks featuring stories about girls from around the world.
Odean, a school librarian in Providence, R.I., began her quest for ``Great Books for Girls'' two years ago after a father requested a good novel about a female athlete for his daughter in elementary school. She couldn't find one.
``More and more parents were asking me about certain kinds of books about girls and I felt there ought to be a way to just look that sort of thing up,'' Odean says.
She ended up finding 600 of what she calls great books about girls who were ``strong, courageous, getting out there and doing things.''
The AAUW's and related studies inspired Bauermeister and Smith to compile ``Let's Hear It for the Girls.''
``Those studies brought to the forefront that we are losing too many young girls at that adolescent stage,'' Bauermeister says. ``We need to begin early giving both girls and boys images of strong and positive girls. What better way to counter negative, limiting stereotypes than through books? Reading is a powerful force.''
``When you see your own experiences in literature, it's ennobling; it's empowering,'' Bauermeister says. ``It makes you feel better about yourself. It's as if someone cares enough about you to make your experience into art.''
Parents, educators and girls themselves applaud the guides and the direction of many of the new books.
``Parents welcome this kind of stuff; I know I did,'' says University of Michigan professor Susan Douglas, mother of an 8-year-old and author of ``Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female in the Mass Media'' (Random House, $15). ``So often when I'd read to my daughter I'd have to change the pronouns. There's an assumption that all the characters, even the animals, are male.''
The more stereotypical and traditional fare children consume on television or in books, the more stereotypical their attitudes are about gender roles, says Douglas, who'll be the featured speaker next month in Ann Arbor at a seminar called ``Empowering Our Daughters.''
``These kinds of books are not only good for girls, they're good for boys,'' says Lange, the AAUW's spokeswoman. ``I have a 4-year-old son and I want him to see females in strong, positive action situations, not just sitting around waiting for Superman to come and save them.''
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Katarina Cerny of the Detroit suburb of Birmingham, Mich., recently purchased ``Great Books for Girls'' to help her select books for her 4-year-old daughter, Rachel Kaltenbach, who she says is fascinated with fairy tales such as ``Sleeping Beauty'' and ``Cinderella.''
``In all of these books, beauty is the most important thing. I've tried to protect her from it, but you can't. This is the time when little girls start forming a lot of values that will be important for them in the future.''
Cindy Frenkel Kanter of Huntington Woods, Mich., says she looks for positive characters in books for her 6 1/2-year-old daughter, Hannah.
``There're so many messages our society sends girls about the importance of being very sweet, pretty and fun, and that's all right up to a point,'' says Kanter, a freelance writer.
``I'm especially interested in showing Hannah women who had the inner strength to follow their convictions and accomplish wonderful things, often in spite of what was expected of them by society.''
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Several middle and high school girls had varying opinions about the impact of books on their lives.
In individual and group discussions, the girls generally agreed that many books about girls focus on being pretty and popular.
``A lot of books portray girls as if all we care about is guys, clothes and makeup and that's so not-true,'' says Palmer Beerbohm, 13, of Bloomfield Hills, Mich. ``I want to read about women like me who are doing things.'' Palmer says she plans to become president of the United States.
A few girls saw no harm in stories about girls being rescued or looking for Prince Charming, saying they're strictly for fun and fantasy, and no more harmful than believing in Santa Claus.
``It's all right for children to dream and have fantasies,'' says Rita Jiddou, 17, of Plymouth, Mich. ``I don't know anyone who grows up who really thinks a prince is going to save them.''
``Books don't define your goals and aspirations,'' says Betsy Gignac, 18, of Livonia, Mich. ``That comes from who you're surrounded by, your female role models and others in real life.''
Most agreed that good books can give girls a positive sense of their potential.
``Maya Angelou's `I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,' was incredible; just knowing that someone as phenomenal as Maya Angelou had such a rough childhood and overcame it to become so successful inspires me,'' says Shauna Bentley, 18, of Oak Park, Mich. ``She didn't have opportunity knocking on her door, but she went out and knocked on opportunity's door. That can have an influence.''
Avid reader Jamie agrees. ``A good book can encourage you to aspire to new heights.''
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ARCHIVE PHOTO of Kathleen Odean is available from KRT Photo Service on PressLink, 202-383-6099.
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(c) 1997, Detroit Free Press.
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AP-NY-03-28-97 1115E
LENGTH: Long : 175 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: KRT. Author Kathy Odean displays a galley copy of herby CNBbook, ``Great Books for Girls,'' a guide to 600 children's books
with strong girl characters in them. color.