Going on 13 DVD and Study Guide
I found a very welcome package in my mailbox today: a copy of Going on 13, a documentary from Vaquera Films that follows four girls from the ages of 9 – 13, and a bound copy of the study guide I wrote for it through New Moon Girl Media. The study guide is also available for download at the Going on 13 website.
I loved working on this study guide because issues affecting girls — especially adolescent girls — are near and dear to my heart. And like any writer, I’m happiest when I’m working on something I care about, especially when the tone is conversational and accessible to a wide audience. Working on the study guide also allowed me to meet some really cool people in addition to the directors Dawn Valadez and Kristy Guevara-Flanagan, such as Linda Wolf, founder of Teen Talking Circles.And even though I watched the film a dozen times (and at all hours of the night and day, including one night in my parent’s camper!), I’m so excited to have a copy so that I can watch it with others in my life who work with and/or care about girls. I definitely recommend this for classrooms, girls’ groups, Girl Scout Troops, parent-daughter movie nights, and all others who are tired of Miley Cyrus and the Cheetah Girls being the sole representations of girlhood in our culture.