How did she? Work It, Girl: Beyoncé Knowles by Caroline Moss

Rule the music scene like Queen

#WorkItGirlBeyoncéKnowles #NetGalley

Pub Date: 24 August 21

Work It, Girl is an excellent biography for young chapter book readers. It tells the story of Beyonce beginning when she was a shy child. Beyonce’s parents accepted her personality but hoped to bring her out of herself a bit, so suggested a dance class. In many ways, the rest is history! With her family’s support Beyonce kept moving forward.

One thing that I very much like in this book is its emphasis on how hard Beyonce worked and what she gave up to achieve her early goals. When others in her school were dating or playing sports, she and her group members practiced and focused on school work with no time for anything else. This message is helpful for young readers who may think that Beyonce’s success was easy or automatic. It was not.

Readers follow Beyonce from her first girl band, through Destiny’s Child and on to her solo career. Beyonce continued to work hard and have big dreams. She also had a personal life and some of the book is devoted to this as well as Jay Z and Beyonce’s desire to become parents. In addition, readers watch Beyonce as she becomes active with Black Lives Matter.

The biography is illustrated with collage like pictures. There are also some photographs. The end of the book includes extras like a maze, a section titled “Rule the music scene like Beyonce” and more. There is so much to Beyonce’s story. Readers will realize this. This book would make a great choice for a biography book report as it is a good read and about a popular current figure.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.