Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Every Cowgirl Needs Dancing Boots


This sweet story by Rebecca Janni  shows girls the importance of persistence, being true to yourself and having a friend.  Nellie Sue is a cowgirl, right down to her brand-new pink cowgirl boots.  She has a bike she calls Beauty and a faithful dog, Ginger.  But she is lonely.  When a new family with 3 daughters moves in next door, Mama encourages Nellie Sue to befriend them, so when the Glitter Girls tell her that ballerinas don't ride in ballet shoes, she decides to host a barn dance (ballerinas dance, right?) and invites the whole neighborhood.  But the Glitter Girls tell her ballerinas don't belong in barns.

Still, Nellie Sue works like a champ to get everything ready for her big barn dance and when it looks like no one is coming, Dad, decked out like a cowboy, insists on being her dance partner.  As they spin around, they see the rest of the neighborhood coming to join them..  Everyone has a foot-stomping good time and the youngest Glitter Girl decides she's rather be a cowgirl.

The illustrations by Lynne Avril are colorful with pink as the anchor color, emphasizing Nellie Sue's cowGIRLness and the fact that whether you're a cowgirl or a ballerina, a girl is a girl is a girl.

If you've got a little girl, spend some together with Nellie Sue and Every Cowgirl Needs Dancing Boots.