A timeless picture book for friends of all ages, The Girls celebrates kindness, supportiveness, and the power of true friendship. Winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize Illustrated Book of the Year 2019 Meet the girls: Sasha, Lottie, Alice, and Leela. These four best friends spend their days playing beneath the branches of their favorite apple tree. As the tree grows tall and reaches across the sky, so do they … growing from little girls into big girls … and from big girls into women! Through their shared secrets, dreams, worries, and schemes, their friendship grows ever stronger. Even when their adventures take them in different directions, the girls always stay rooted together. The Girls is a celebration of lasting friendship for every girl … big or little.
Lauren Ace is from south Wales, studied Drama at the University of Exeter and now lives in London, where she has worked in publishing for over ten years. An award-winning publicist, Lauren looked after Julia Donaldson during her tenure as Children’s Laureate and has managed campaigns for World Book Day and the announcement of Chris Riddell as Children’s Laureate. The Girls is her first picture book.
Read Aloud Tips
- Before introducing this book, discuss friendship and what it means to be a friend.
- Look through the pictures and have the students guess what will happen next.
- Use the book to talk about famous friendships in history. Have the students come up with common characteristics in these friendships and debate why they have lasted so long.
- Have the students talk about a good friend in their life. What do they like about this person? Why is this person their friend? How did they chose this person to be their friend?
Ultimately, this could read like an aspirational vision of friendship for girls, but it will likely also find a readership among women who see their own bonds reflected. … Although the ostensible audience is children, this book also has gift potential among adult women. – Kirkus Reviews