John F. Kasson

Boy was I excited to read this book. Boy was I disappointed when I was done.

“The Little Girl” ostensibly is about Shirley Temple and her impact on America in the 1930s, but ends up being less focused on that. The author goes off track several times and weakens his story in the process.

For example, the entire first chapter is about Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt. I guess it sets the stage for the Depression and Shirley, but I thought that meant that she and FDR would intersect again later in the book. They didn’t.

The author also spends an entire chapter on Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, and it’s an excuse to explore race in movies in the 1930s. Yes, Bill Robinson and Shirley Temple were in some memorable scenes, but he was in only 4 of Shirley’s more than 30 starring vehicles. A little too much focus on him all things considered. I would love to see more about Bojangles – but in his own book.

The author also attempts to paint the Shirley Temple phenomenon as sexual – really? I felt he was really off base here.

Finally, the book felt like it went on one chapter too long. It tried to keep going after the Depression and into Shirley’s life as an ambassador – but that wasn’t the supposed focus of the book, according to the title.

I learned some things in this book, but it wasn’t what I was hoping for.

For more of my reviews, go to Ralphsbooks. … (meer)

The book begins by setting up all the characters of the Great Depression and how Shirley Temple would chance the hearts of the world during a time in American history correctly, but then the very long chapters begin to go off into many scatty directions. The author John F. Kasson has an excellent knowledge of history, but at times goes on a tangent of information not relevant to the book just to use as an example to highlight the point he is making about Shirley Temple of the Great Depression. A book not a great source of the Great Depression, but a biography on the films during the 30s made by Shirley Temple and how the studio needed to keep alive the “little girl with the big smile” young as long as possible. The author makes many references to Shirley Temple Black’s biography that causes a reader to want actually to read that book instead. The ending was very flat and seemed to be tied up in only a few pages. Closed the book very disappointed and yearning for more.… (meer)

Discussing Shirley Temple's remarkable star power and image against the backdrop of the Depression, this may be somewhat mis-titled. Whether she " fought" the Depression is open to question. Shirley was basically at the mercy of her manipulative (and free-spending) parents and Hollywood moguls. That does not diminish the power of her international appeal, but if anything, she inadvertently created unrealistic expectations for other parents who wanted their children to imitate her.
There are no new real insights though it is readable.… (meer)

For history buffs, this is a wonderful look back at the great depression of the 30's and how the movie industry manipulated the child star, Shirley Temple. I had always heard and seen of the smiling personality that Ms Temple had, but reading this book tells how she was no different in temperament from others her age, other than being spoiled and used for others benefit While banks failed and Hoover frowned, Shirley's "stage-door" mom was bleaching Shirley's hair to be blonde and making those curls that we all thought were natural. Yet Shirley stood for much more than virtuous innocence. Underlying the spirit of her films, the very essence of Ms Temple's appeal was the charm of childhood, a charm best captured by a word I heard in describing her as cute, meaning charming and adorable. She was to remain distinctly childlike in appearance, careful lighting was used to enhance her 'cuteness' and her outfits reinforced her juvenile appearance. Emotional manipulation was used, such as "I want you to think you will never see your mother again" thus eliciting tears when needed for a movie. With her #3,207,666 earnings entrusted to her father, it shrank to $44,.000 due to his penchant for expensive cars and her mothers' taste for fashion, She had bankrolled her father's speculative gambles, which he lost, and her mother's racetrack bets. She paid her brothers' school and college bills and the salaries of a large household staff. Grandmothers, uncles and numerous friends of her parents also benefited from her salary, which was now gone.
Shirley Black(now remarried) devoted herself to numerous charitable activities, political efforts and diplomatic duties. she eventually settled down in Kern County on a ranch with her husband, and has since died and free from all manipulation.
I heartily recommend this book to those who read only a newspaper for information, because books go into more detail and are more accurate, with few biases, as the local media may have.. Your local Bookstore i.e. Russo's, can get any book for you, so grab this one quick. It will be popular for many reasons, but the main reason is reading about the child who was not able to grow up until she left the industry of films.… (meer)