I love to find books that encourage girls to be all they can be. One series I like is Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots? by Coyle, Gordon and Gordon.
Once again, I was searching our public children’s library for treasures and found I Want to Be a Cowgirl by Jeanne Willis. The more I read this to little girls, the more I like it. This is for the girl who doesn’t want to be “a good girl” because good girls “have no fun.” She much prefers the rain and sun to playing quietly inside with tea parties and girly girl activities. The sassy dialogue is enhanced by the clever pictures with lots to discover related to the theme. The clouds in the city take on the shapes of cacti, steers and ten gallon hats. She breaks in broncos by riding her dog and throwing her lasso that was a clothesline a few minutes before. My favorite is when she sports her new fuzzy chaps and we see the outline of the carpet where she has cut out the chaps!
Use this book to make comparisons between the city and country, talk about what the artist is drawing to depict the western theme–a dog for a bronco, a goose for an eagle, a clothesline for a lasso or a banana for a gun. Watch her straight-laced dad listen to her pleas and see his reaction at the end.
