Girls being fearless. Girls being silly. Girls being wild, stubborn, and proud. Girls whose faces are smeared with dirt and lit up with joy. So simple and yet so powerful, Strong Is the New Pretty celebrates, through more than 175 memorable photographs, the strength and spirit of girls being 100% themselves. 

Scroll down to get a sneak peek at the chapter celebrating the magic and vulnerability of creativity.

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Creative is Strong

You know those things that you dream about during the day when you’re stuck in a dull meeting? The project you can’t wait to start, the adventure you’re planning, the plan you can’t wait to discuss with your best friend? Those are the irrepressible ideas that nudge and nudge and nudge until you finally pay attention. Pay attention.

Creativity is magic, a burning curiosity, but it is also hard work—and it may involve revealing vulnerability. But using your own imagination to solve problems or to express yourself is also an expression of power. We each have an imagination, but it’s that ability to hold on to our creativity as we grow and mature that keeps it strong: The more you exercise it, the more it becomes second nature.

Creativity isn’t just for the rising Frida Kahlos and Beyoncés among us; it’s for everyone brave enough to act on those thoughts and daydreams. The girls in this chapter are inspiring for their drive—their tireless pursuit of a passion, whether they’re on the road to becoming valedictorian, perfecting a pirouette, making an imaginary world out of a cardboard box, or simply discovering a solution that no one else has considered. When it comes time to paint the painting, write the play, raise their hand to ask the question, turn over the rock to see what’s underneath, score the goal, open the door, explore the unknown, or obliterate expectations, they’re that much better prepared because they imagined it a million times already.

About the Book

Girls being fearless. Girls being silly. Girls being wild, stubborn, and proud. Girls whose faces are smeared with dirt and lit up with joy. So simple and yet so powerful, Strong Is the New Pretty celebrates, through more than 175 memorable photographs, the strength and spirit of girls being 100% themselves.

Real beauty isn’t about being a certain size, acting a certain way, wearing the right clothes, or having your hair done (or even brushed). Real beauty is about being your authentic self and owning it. Kate T. Parker is a professional photographer who finds the real beauty in girls, capturing it for all the world to see in candid and arresting images.

A celebration, a catalog of spirit in words and smiles, an affirmation of the fact that it’s what’s inside you that counts, Strong Is the New Pretty conveys a powerful message for every girl, for every mother and father of a girl, for every coach and mentor and teacher, for everyone in the village that it takes to raise a strong and self-confident person.