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Recently, I had the joy of watching twelve empowered girls ages 6-11 perform a play that they had all contributed to creating. As part of the play, they used their Kidpower skills to say “Stop” to a corporation that was trying to convince them they needed toxic and expensive beauty products to be happy.
Allison Kenny, one of our dynamic Kidpower instructors, has used her experiences working with hundreds of girls as co-founder of Glitter & Razz Productions to write Starring Celia – a compelling and heartwarming book that deals with hard issues like bullying in a hopeful and empowering way.
Celia is a fourth grade girl who experiences painful name-calling at school – and responds by slapping the girl who bullied her. But when Celia enrolls in a Go Girls! Camp, she learns to stand up for herself in peaceful and powerful ways. Eventually, she even starts opening her heart to the girl who targeted her.
Allison uses Kidpower techniques when creating solutions for Celia. For example, interracial Celia still feels hurt that Quincy called her “Oreo.” At the camp, she learns to make a Kidpower shredder with her hands to destroy the painful slur. Then, she replaces it with kind words for herself: “I am just right the way I am.”
According to Allison, “We wanted to give girls some basic tools for dealing with bullying. And we wanted them to stop labeling each other – or themselves — as Mean Girls. Everyone acts badly sometimes– the secret is to learn from our mistakes. I didn’t know how to write an ending to ‘Starring Celia’ without featuring Kidpower skills. Learning these techniques made me feel like I had a superpower. Why shouldn’t Celia feel the same way?”
Celia’s inside commentary is laced with humor and wisdom that accurately reflect the angst and joy of the preteen years. Any girl who has felt alone or gotten upset for making mistakes will identify with Celia and learn and grow as they read about her adventures.
Congratulations to Allison for writing such a fun and interesting book. I can’t wait for Celia’s next adventures!
To learn more about Glitter & Razz and Allison, visit their website at http://glitterandrazz.com
Published: July 10, 2013 | Last Updated: September 20, 2017
