A Smart Girl's Guide to Staying Home Alone is a book that both parents and their daughters will find very helpful. As the subtitle states, it is A Girl's Guide to Feeling Safe and Having Fun. For many kids, the start of school marks the first time that they will be on their own, home alone after school, until their parents get home from work. This guide covers everything from safety to snacks, with good advice accompanied by colorful spot illustrations.
A Smart Girl's Guide to Staying Home Alone: An Overview
From the start, author Dottie Raymer emphasizes that the reader and her parents should work together to make plans for times, generally after school, when the reader will be home alone. While the Guide provides specific safety and other advice, the author makes it clear that final decisions about whether the reader is ready to stay home alone and the rules for staying alone rest with the reader's family. The book is part of the American Girl Smart Girl's series of books.Format and Organization
A Smart Girl's Guide to Staying Home Alone is divided into six chapters, each with 3-5 sections. Each chapter begins with a double page spread, with the chapter title and a related illustration on the left and the key thought for the chapter in large type, with a brief explanation in smaller type and an illustration of a key, with a tag on which is printed "key thought" on the right. The chapters (and key thoughts) include the following:- Are You Ready? (Talk it over.)
- Be Prepared (Know where things are.)
- Coming Home (Use your head.)
- Boredom Busters (Have fun!)
- Stay in Control (Trust your instincts.)
- Good for You! (Relax - you're in control.)
The book begins with a quiz for the reader to take to see if she is ready to stay home alone. Topics covered in A Smart Girl's Guide to Staying Home Alone include house rules, preparations (what to carry with you), knowing your neighborhood, key care; home safety; dealing with scary things, such as your mother coming home late or strange noises; having a schedule that includes homework, a snack and fun.
Scenarios are used to prepare the reader to make appropriate responses in tricky situations. First-aid and safety tips are provided for a variety of situations. In addition, the author stresses having fun and shares ideas for activities, recipes for snacks, and tips on getting along with siblings if they are home while parents are gone.
The Author and Illustrator
Author Dottie Raymer's other books for American Girl Publishing include: Molly's Route 66 Adventure, Samantha's Oceanliner Adventure and School Smarts Projects: Create Tons of Great Presentations, Boost Your Creativity, Improve Your Grades, and Save Time and Trouble!. Lauren Scheuer has illustrated a number of other books for American Girls Publishing, including: Sticks and Stones: 39 fun and easy games from around the world, The I Love Mysteries Fun Book: How to Be a Super Sleuth, A Smart Girl's Guide to Understanding Her Family: Feelings, Fighting & Figuring it Out and Mini Mysteries: 20 Tricky Tales to Untangle.A Helpful Extra
The removable booklet at the end of the book, "O.K. or No Way?: a house rules workbook," is a great idea. It's designed for parents and daughters to use as they work together to decide what the house rules will be when no adults are home. Although the booklet is only 8-pages long, it includes room to fill in information about checking in upon arriving home, house rules about taking and making phone calls, how to respond to someone at the door or in the yard; the schedule, including homework, permitted activities, and whether friends are allowed over; snacks, emergency numbers and much more.A Smart Girl's Guide to Staying Home Alone: My Recommendation
I particularly like the straightforward, upbeat tone of the writing and the colorful, and frequently humorous, illustrations. I also like the fact that the author is so thorough in her coverage of what a girl needs to know if she is staying home alone. Most of all, I appreciate the emphasis on parents and child planning together and deciding together on the house rules for staying alone.I recommend A Smart Girl's Guide to Staying Home Alone for girls who will be staying home alone for the first time and their parents. I also recommend the book for parents of boys who will be staying home alone, not for their sons to read, but for the parents to read on their own as a guide to things they need to discuss with their sons as they, too, learn to be safe and happy home alone. (American Girl Publishing, 2009. ISBN: 9781593694876)
