Friedman, Hilary Levey

An accessible study of beauty pageant culture, this is an engaging, thought-provoking read.

Given the considerable competitive pressure on even young children to prepare for elite colleges and lucrative careers, this study is timely and provocative. It is, however, targeted more toward scholars of childhood and family than to parents and other lay readers. Purchase accordingly. Nonspecialists who have read both Amy Chua's Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and Lenore Skenazy's Free-Range Kids: How To Raise Safe, Self-Reliant Children (Without Going Nuts with Worry) may find it of interest.