This book is so needed for girls (and those who love them) in today's world. I loved the photos and words from the girls themselves. Their statements are diverse, heartwarming, and full of different meanings of what "strong" means to them. Everyone needs to read this book!

This was such a positive, inspiring book. I loved that the author featured different types of personalities and achievements.

Such a delightful book! The pictures are beautiful. Such a great message that I bought my own daughter a copy.

This is a beautiful, diverse, and uplifting collection. I was absolutely inspired by this book and I think it is a very important book for girls, women, and everyone to peruse. The stories included in the book are emotional, the photographs are gorgeous, and I loved it. I'm sharing it with my two girls as soon as they begin to show an interest because I think this book's message is extremely wonderful.

THIS is the book that every woman needs! Actually, it also happens to be the book every little girl needs laying around her house so that she can look at the photographs of strong girls, set goals, and dream.

I’m grateful to Workman Publishing Company for allowing me to review this book prior to publication! Due to technical issues with my file, I ended up just having my library send me a copy after it was published and, ironically, I read it on the same day that the Donald revoked the Fair Pay order, April 4, 2017.

Kate T. Parker is a mom and photographer dedicated to allowing her two daughters to be exactly who they are. As she shot pictures of her girls, she noticed the most powerful images were those in which her girls were being “100 percent themselves”. She turned what she noticed into a project taking images of girls all over North America.

The photographs are so beautiful and the quotes from the girls are incredibly wise. I’m not used to looking towards those who are younger than I for inspiration, but that’s exactly what happened. It was so wonderful to read about what being a “strong girl” means across a variety of experiences and ages.

Strong girls unite!

A Wonderful Photography Book of Girls Being Strong and not letting any obstacles stand in their way. The photographs are accompanied with inspirational quotes. Suitable for Girls of all Ages. Makes a wonderful gift. Enjoy

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This is a photography book that celebrates the strength inherent in every little girl and young woman in the world. Whether on the field, in a studio, or at home with friends and family, these girls put the grrr in girls.

These photos are gorgeous. From action shots to candid moments, there's strength in even the quietest shots. There's something for every little girl in here, whether she plays a sport, loves to dance, or even just wants to play dress up and run through sprinklers.

Every little girl in my life needs this book.

3.5 Stars. I enjoyed reading this. I thought that it was such a simple idea but it was still quite powerful to see all these girls just owning everything they did. I got quite emotional (yes, I tear up at everything) because it was so wonderful to see girls being messy, girls having fun, girls being confident, girls being extraordinary, girls being insightful, girls being inspirational, girls being strong and just doing all these different things that they loved. It was nice to see photos where they didn't stand still and pose, a lot of the time Kate Parker just caught them doing their thing. Candids are so much better than posed photographs.

One thing that bothered me though was the fact that there were not girls of every size in this book. The book itself says you don't have to be a certain size to be pretty and yet the girls in this book are either skinny, athletic or average. To promise a book like this to young girls and then leave out chubby, curvy and overweight girls kinda sucks in my opinion. I was a chubby kid and all I saw was skinny girls and average girls in everything and it made me feel like I was a monster and that I had something wrong with me. If you showed me this book when I was a kid, I still would have thought the exact same thing because girls who looked like me aren't in this book. It wouldn't have empowered me, it probably would have done the opposite. Now that I'm older, I can see all the good things with this book and appreciate the good things but I see a major flaw in this book and I can't give it more than a 3.5 star rating because of that.

I would recommend this though.

* I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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Strong is the New Pretty: A Celebration of Girls Being Themselves by Kate T Parker is a book of photography that is currently scheduled for release on March 7 2017. It is a celebration of strong girls being 100% themselves in 175 gorgeous photographs. The images show girls being strong in every way, being fearless, being silly, being wild, stubborn, and proud.

Strong is the New Pretty is a wonderful collection of photographs and text. The text is made up of quotes from girls and women about their lives, particularly moments when they had to stand up for themselves and be themselves in the face of other people's expectations. The combination of words and wonderful photographs had me tearing up within the first ten pages. It inspired me to be more of what I want than what other people expect, and to encourage the girls and women in my life to do the same. I hope to show my daughter that being yourself is beautiful, regardless of who that might be, and what pursuits that includes.

Strong is the New Pretty is a perfect gift for anyone that thinks that being true to yourself and following their dreams is beautiful. While it will move many girls and women that have the chance to read it, I think anyone that loves another trapped by the gender or other social expectations of the world will appreciate the message and gain something from taking the take to look and read.

I did enjoy this, it's timely and there is an existing audience that will find this a wonderful gift idea. The photography was well-done and the quotes were well-selected and unique, but a couple of things bugged me.

First, it focused heavily on athletic strength, even despite dividing the book into sections on things like Kindness. I would have liked to see more examples of "non-traditional" or "non-masculine" strength, like strength through adversity, strength despite disabilities, etc. of which there were only a few in comparison.

This leads to my second, and related, complaint. And I don't want to spend too much time on a soapbox in front of an unwilling audience, but it frustrates me that so often, in trying to celebrate our girls we use traditionally masculine and traditionally adult characteristics to proved how unique and great they are. They are kind, they are bright, they are intelligent and, as this book proves, they have such a great sense of humor. And I think this book had a lot of potential to explore those, and was off to a really good start, but fell a little short for me. Finally, to be fair, this book is first and foremost a photography book and like making a Goodreads comment a soapbox, may not be the venue for it that kind of social commentary, so, TL:DR - I really liked the idea overall, and some of the examples were excellent and unique, but think the publisher is definitely pandering to a certain audience and thought the examples were very athletic-strength heavy.

There are a lot of great photos in this collection, and good stories and quotes. It does, however, get a bit repetitive and seem to go on for a little too long. That might work for some, but it didn't for me. It's a great concept, but only an ok execution.

Strong is the New Pretty is girl power exemplified. Girls from all ages, races, sexuality and walks of life talking about strength, power and what it means to be pretty. In it are over 175 photographs and quotes meant to showcase natural girls doing what they love to do: be themselves.



I loved this book! I wished I had this book when I was growing up, especially in my teens. I was bullied at school for being not rail-thin and marching to my own drum. I sure could’ve used this book to boost up my self-esteem.



Professional photographer Kate T. Parker envisioned this book project as a way to unite girls and inspire them to be who they are, no matter what. Her eye for capturing real beauty in these girls is breath-taking. Well done, Parker!



I highly recommend this book to every girl, woman, parent, grandparent and friend! Its profound message needs to be taught to girls around the world. It certainly inspired me and I have already ordered my copy.



Watch out world, strong is the new pretty!



Disclaimer: I received an ARC from Workman Publishing Company and Netgalley in the hopes I’d review it.



Favorite Quote:

“Being mentally strong is ten times harder than being physically strong. Mental stamina does not come from the muscles or from training. It comes from the heart…and from the mind. Calling on my heart is far more difficult than calling on my muscles.”



My Rating: 5+ stars

STRONG IS the NEW PRETTY: A Celebration of Girls Being Themselves
BY KATE T PARKER

I LOVE IT! SO INSPIRATIONAL! GIRLS BEING ONE HUNDRED PERCENT AUTHENTIC!!!!!
What a debut. SOME FABULOUS PHOTOGRAPHS
WHAT WOULD HAVE MADE THIS BOOK EVEN BETTER IF IT WASN'T JUST FOR YOUNG GIRLS, BUT FOR WOMEN OF ALL AGES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As soon as this book is published I am going to buy a copy for my son's Beautiful Girl Victoria, whose Beauty is both inside and out.
GIRL BEING THEIR AUTHENTIC SELF FROM THE INSIDE.
I love the photographs showing Girls of all ethnicity, diversity being comfortable being theirselves.
STUNNING!
Most pictures focus on girls being outside, exercising
Most Women's Magazines show airbrushed photos. I am tired of that.
I love that the photographs show girls with physical Disabilities.
MY FAVORITE QUOTE:
"Being Mentally strong is ten times harder than being physically strong
Mental stamina doesn't come from muscles or from training
It comes from the heart and from the mind
Calling on my heart is much more difficult than calling on my muscles.

Thank you to Net Galley, Kate T. Parker and Workman Publishing for my digital copy for a fair and honest review.

This book holds a very special meaning for me. First, I would like to thank the author for making something that every girl, young and old can be proud of. Second, I wish I would have had this at least 3 months ago. My beautiful 14 year old daughter was tragically hit and killed while walking to school Nov 4, 2016. She was hit by another student that was 16 and had a 16 year old passenger with her. All of our lives are forever changed because of this perfectly imperfect timing. No one was at fault, it was just that, an accident.. Reading through this and seeing the photos was hard for me because it embodied everything my daughter, Victoria, was. She was strong, she was independent, she stood up for herself and also for those around her. She conquered a lot of fears in her very few years on this earth and I wish I would have been able to show her this at least once to say "see, I told you girls could do anything they wanted". Regardless of my situation, this is a phenomenal book that should be shared across the country; across the world. I would love to see a follow up with adult women that did the unthinkable; made it through something no one else thought they could have or did something to change the outlook of the role of a female. I took on an entire township, pushing them for lights because that was the reason my daughter was hit and killed. It was just took dark. And I won. 87 lights are being installed because I stood up not only for my daughter but for every other child in the area that had to walk to school. Women are powerful beings and I hope every little girl gets to see this and know that they too can change history in some way; even if it is only their own history. I will definitely be recommending this to everyone I know. Parents of both boys and girls.

Stunning photographs and inspiring quotes. This was a beautiful book about strength in its many forms. Loved it!

This is an amazing little book that shows girls as they should be, that is anything they want to be. Full of stunning photos and great graphics, it gives hope for the next generation.