GIRL TALK

A lightweight but kind-hearted guide full of cheery and self-affirming advice for young girls. In a conversational text that is full of asides and funny musings, Harlan offers advice and questions. ``Could she be your hero?'' appears in a box, followed by a paragraph on a specific woman, e.g., Julie Croteau, the first woman to play college baseball, or Donna Karan, the fashion designer. Other boxes offer little-known history, facts, and points to ponder, while there are also sensible and inspired ideas on fun, fashion, friends, and the future—``Spend time shaping your LIFE, not your body.'' A few pages ask readers to write in their thoughts on a topic, while other times statements just hang meaningfully in the air. Perhaps the most bemusing is the chapter on adults, wherein Harlan does an extended riff on the metaphor of adults as books—some are boring encyclopedias, some are how-to manuals, some are comedies, and some are poetry. There are also some great one-liners, among them, ``Teach a boy to dance'' and ``Look in a mirror. Find both of your parents in your own face.'' (b&w illustrations, index, not seen) (Nonfiction. 10-14)