Here Come the Girl Scouts!

On March 12, 1912, a new organization had its first meeting in Savannah, Georgia. Based on the Boy Scouts and the Girl Guides in England that were founded by Sir Robert Baden-Powell and his sister, Agnes Baden-Powell , the Girl Scouts began in the U.S. as a meeting of eighteen girls who were convened by Juliette Gordon Low, nicknamed “Daisy.”

In Here Come the Girl Scouts!: The Amazing All-True Story of Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low and Her Great Adventure, Shana Corey provides a fitting tribute for the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts by writing a history of both Daisy and her amazing organization. Brilliant at conveying just enough information for the four- through ten-year-old crowd, Corey begins her saga with a single sentence “Daisy was a girl with gumption.” And then the opposite page provides definitions of this tantalizing word. Rather than sitting around doing needlework, Daisy wants excitement and adventure, and because she grows up in a privileged family, she can realize some of her dream. She rides elephants in India and flies in a monoplane. But only in her fifties, when she founds the Girl Scouts, does Daisy find her true life’s work.

As woman with a plan, Daisy creates uniforms, a handbook, magazine, badges, and activities. Then she travels the country to raise money so that the fledgling organization can spread and ultimately become a means “to break down petty barriers of race and class.” An extensive and excellent author’s note in the end provides background and fascinating details about Daisy. Both her eccentricities (like driving on the wrong side of the road) and accomplishments get equal billing.

The final two-page spread of the book shows portraits of Girl Scouts—from Lucille Ball to Hilary Clinton—with a blank space for “You.” For those of my age, it will probably bring back memories like mine of a well-worn Girl Scout Handbook, marked and studied for badge requirement. How I loved badges!  If only I could still get them.

But for any young reader unfamiliar with the Girl Scouts the book goes a long way in explaining what made and still makes the organization special. It places into historical context the bravery and daring of women who took their lives into their own hands to make a positive difference in the world. Seven years before women could legally vote, the Girl Scouts began training future citizens of the United States of America.

Just as she did in You Forgot Your Skirt, Amelia Bloomer, Shana Corey brings humor and insight into women’s history. Hadley Hooper’s paint and ink illustrations add vivacity and charm to the book. I can think of no better way to celebrate the anniversary of the Girl Scouts than buying this book and sharing it with the children in your life.

And, now, I am going to go hunt for those badges!

Here’s a page from Here Come the Girl Scouts!: