Here Come the Girl Scouts!

Gr 2–4—This picture-book biography tells the story of Juliette (Daisy) Gordon, a proper Southern girl who was vivacious, active, and loved the outdoors. After she married William Mackay Low, she traveled to England and met Agnes Baden-Powell, the sister of the founder of the Boy Scouts. She was impressed with Baden-Powell's efforts to start a female scouting program and brought the idea back to America. She started the first Girl Scout unit in Savannah, GA, in 1912 and the organization quickly spread across the nation. Corey tells Low's story with few words, but a lot of energy. The text is informal and typeset with a variety of fonts and colors. Quotations from the first Girl Scout manual on nearly every page emphasize the "can do" spirit of the organization. A more extensive account of Low's life and work, along with a short bibliography, is appended. Hooper's illustrations suggest the time period and reflect the liveliness of the narration. The characters are drawn with bold, simple strokes and the predominant colors—dusty blue, sepia, apple green, and brick red—reinforce the nostalgic feel. This is an exuberant celebration of Low's work just in time for the Girl Scouts' 100th anniversary. For a more extensive history, Fern Brown's Daisy and the Girl Scouts (Albert Whitman, 1996) is a little dry, but full of information.—Donna Cardon, Provo City Library, UT