Book Review : Presenting Tallulah by Tori Spelling

As introduced by the PR release. Taking cues from her own childhood, Spelling's Presenting . . . Tallulah tells the sweet tale of a young girl who really just wants to be herself. All her life, Tallulah has heard what she's not supposed to do: Don't get dirty . . . don't talk loudly . . .  don't wear jeans like all the other kids. You're not that kind of girl, everybody keeps telling her. Tallulah knows plenty about what she can't do and what she shouldn't do, about what kind of girl she isn't. But it's up to her to figure out what kind of girl she is. Spelling and illustrator Vanessa Brantley Newton (Let Freedom Sing and Drum City) bring to life the story of a spunky little girl who, with the help of some special friends, is able to discover exactly who she is.

 I expected to find a book about a little girl who lives a life of a fairy princess instead I found a book about a rich little girl who has her own limo and maid. Her parents are always busy and she's expected to act like some sort of proper adult than a child. The whole thing just made me feel bad for Tallulah (who looks JUST like Tori and I'm suspecting this pretty much coming directly from her life). Though Tallulah wants to get dirty with the other kids, play with clay, or even participate in the food fights during lunch, everyone is always telling her she just isn't that sort of girl! Well as a mother the whole notion just angers me. I follow a parenting policy that children should get dirty, play in the mud, get in water fights, and if you live in my household playing in sawdust at the barn is usually open season as well.

Things start looking up for Tallulah when she meets a boy named Max who seems to be living in the same world she is and they find a puppy floating on a log in the lake. In the process of rescuing the little pug puppy Tallulah gets muddy and messy and brings the puppy home to a horrified mother, father, and maid. Everyone is just upset over the fact that Tallulah is a mess and puppies are dirty. In the end Tallulah gets to keep the messy puppy and she cleans up after him with the help of Max and is happy. What really doesn't sit well with me though is the last line in the book "They might have been a little bit different. But Tallulah and Max and Mimi were happy just the way they were." All this as they are sitting in front of a mansion having a picnic with a pug in a princess dress. Actually other than they are both obviously incredibly rich, they are surprisingly normal and not different at all. I think that is actually what Spelling is trying to make a point of all along.

Presenting Tallulah is a good lesson in the fact that people are just people and no matter where we come from or how much money we have or do not have, we all share common interests and desires. Everyone really just wants to be who we are and who we are may not always be the person that the people around us want us to be. As a little girl I would have rather get dirty and catch frogs any day before getting in a dress and going somewhere nice. It's ok to foster that in your child too, children after all should be comfortable with the person they are and feelings they have on the inside.




Presenting Tallulah is available right now and you can pick up your copy on Amazon!

Disclosure: We were given a copy of Presenting Tallulah free of charge, we were not compensated for this post in any other way. My opinions and comments on items we review are always my own and are never influenced by sponsors.