The Good, The Bad, and The Barbie

The Good, The Bad, and The Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact On Us
By Tanya Lee Stone
Viking, 2010.
130 pages. Nonfiction.

Tanya Lee Stone's The Good, The Bad, and The Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact On Us is a fantastic look into the life and times of Barbie. Stone discusses the business savvy of Barbie's inventor, Ruth Handler, and the epic rise of Mattel. Handler created Barbie to fill a void in children's toys. She noticed that her daughter Barbara (the inspiration behind the name "Barbie") had only two options: to play mother to her plastic baby dolls, or to play with her paper dolls until they were ratty. Handler was inspired to create a middle ground between plastic baby dolls and paper fashion dolls. Thus, Barbie was born.

This book contains photographs of Barbie throughout the years, as well as quotes from children, professors, celebrities, designers, and authors. The most interesting facet about this book is that it doesn't take a definitive stance on Barbie: good or bad? She is, and always has been, a divisive doll, and this is reflected in Stone's book. She thoroughly examines whether Barbie is a harm to the feminist movement, or a boost for girls' hopes and dreams. The Good, The Bad, and The Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact On Us features history's most beautiful and controversial toy- what's not to love?

Comments

Dude, That's Rude! (Get Some Manners) by Pamela Espeland & Elizabeth Verdick

If there's one book today's kids need to read, it is Dude, That's Rude! (Get Some Manners) . The authors provide a fun format for teaching etiquette to children. They discuss proper behavior at home, at school, at other people's homes and in public places. The information is completely up-to-date with cellphone manners and netiquette included. Fun, cartoony illustrations are on practically every page giving the book great visual appeal. This book is perfect for boys and girls in the fourth grade or older. WARNING: Bodily functions are discussed.

Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin

Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin Illustrated by Leslie Evans Charlesburg; 2009; unpaged Faces of the Moon is a short nonfiction book that describes the different phases of the moon and why the moon appears like it does on certain nights. This book is short and sweet so even the youngest of moon lovers will enjoy it. The layout is simplistic and easy to follow. I don’t know much about the moon so I found it very interesting.

Review: The Factory

The Factory By Catherine Egan New York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2025. Fiction. 306 pages. Thirteen-year-old Asher Doyle has been invited to join the Factory, a secretive research facility in the desert which ostensibly extracts renewable energy from the electromagnetic fields of its young recruits. But Asher soon realizes something sinister is going on. Kids are getting sick. The adults who run the Factory seem to be keeping secrets. And the extraction process is not only painful and exhausting, but existentially troubling. Asher makes a handful of new friends who help him with an investigation that turns into a resistance, which turns into...a cliffhanger! The Factory is a page-turning sci-fi with multidimensional characters, an intriguing plot, and refreshingly straight-forward writing. Egan weaves in detail about climate crises and social unrest, making the story's dystopian setting feel rich and plausible. With its sophisticated themes and accessible storytelling, I would recomm...

Provo Library Children's Book Blog

Search This Blog