ALA Booklist (Fri Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)

A mother-daughter team offers a love letter encouraging girls to accept and love themselves. They advise girls to be confident, to speak up, and to be curious and adaptable to anything. An eclectic double-page spread recommends making your room you, with the humorous reminder: "And while you're at it, make your bed!" Other messages: never lose your sense of wonder, seek out others like you and those unlike you, create traditions, color outside the lines, be brave, try new things. And in a delightful paean to joy: "Sometimes you've just gotta stop . . . AND DANCE!" The last page celebrates a mother's feelings for her daughter, reminding her that she is loved section made especially touching by the fact that, for Amy Krouse Rosenthal, this is a posthumous publication. Artwork, in line drawings, photography, and texture, is joyful and whimsical, showing a personable little girl with shiny black hair pursuing her dreams with a wide range of expressive emotions. Sure to be a hit for mothers and daughters of all ages for its warm, supportive message.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Interest in Rosenthal, a superstar in life, has only increased since her heartbreaking death.

Horn Book (Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

Addressing the girl in the illustrations (and girls in general), this frankly purposeful book offers advice on a range of topics: "Don't ever lose your sense of wonder," "Listen to your brave side," etc. The messages encourage independence and self-confidence, with the reassurance that help is available if needed. Sprightly collage art and touches of humor in the text create an upbeat tone.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Rosenthal, who died last March, and her daughter, Paris, offer encouragement to girls through a series of short letters. Some of the advice and imagery is overly familiar (-Dear Girl, Don-t ever lose your sense of wonder,- finds the book-s heroine standing in awe of a rainbow) but the missives are generally empathetic and up-to-the-minute. Readers are urged to branch out (-Find people like you. Find people unlike you-), and there-s a nod to the pressures of growing up with social media: -Dear Girl, You won-t be invited to every single party on the planet. (Which is really ok-can you imagine how exhausting that would be?)- Hatam keeps the mood light in drawings