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ARTICLE
Book Review: Miley Cyrus (Kid Stars!)
by Paul Schultz Published: March 30, 2009
Miley Cyrus is a brief biography of the young entertainer who shot to
fame on the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana.
She stars on that show as a normal teenager who attends school by day, but then
dons a disguise at night to perform as a famous pop star. Miley's life has very
much imitated that of her character, and this 24-page profile hits the
highlights.
I'm not kidding you... this thing is really succinct. The book only has
ten pages of text, and that's if you include the bulleted "Fun Facts"
that fill a page toward the end with such nuggets as, "Miley loves the
color pink." Each opposing page is a relevant full-color photo with
captions that occasionally can't resist putting her on a bit of a pedestal
("Young girls look up to Miley and her character Hannah Montana because
they both set a good example for girls.")
After a concise introduction, we start at the beginning, with her birth as
Destiny Hope Cyrus in Franklin, Tennessee. Already we've reached the
second of two pages that hammer home the point that she has a strong, supportive
family. Then it's on to the point where the acting bug bit Miley after she appeared
at the age of nine on the TV show Doc, which starred her daddy, country musician
Billy Ray Cyrus.
Her continued interest lead to a Disney audition that eventually (she was
deemed too young at first) landed Miley on Hannah Montana. The
story of a teen girl with a secret identity proved to be an instant hit. Not
long after the show began, a soundtrack album was released, and its success
encouraged Miley to dabble in songwriting (well, more than dabble, for a
photo caption showing her at a keyboard proclaims, "Miley has... written
more than 100 songs!").
Her singing career began modestly as the opening act for the Cheetah Girls in
2006, but by the next year she headlined a sold-out Best of Both Worlds tour
that culminated in a 3-D movie of the concert event in early 2008. An
entire page is devoted to merchandise proliferating from the Hannah Montana
brand.
Miley Cyrus appeals mostly to young girls and has an Accelerated Reading Level (ATOS) of 4.0, which means those
in 4th grade ought to be able to read it without getting frustrated by the vocabulary. In
case they do, certain words appear in bold print, and a glossary at the back
provides phonetic spelling so your youngster will be able to know how Miley
became an overnight sensation (sen-SAY-shun).
The library-bound book (8 1/4" x 8 1/4") is one of six in a series
titled Kid Stars! and is geared for reading aloud or independent reading.
Katie Franks is the author of all volumes, which include Drake Bell & Josh Peck,
Miranda Cosgrove, Zac Efron, Dylan & Cole Sprouse, and Ashley Tisdale.
It's a quick read for a prepubescent to be introduced to the world of Miley
Cyrus.
Table of Contents
Meet Miley Cyrus............... 5
It Runs in the Family.......... 6
Getting into Acting............ 9
Auditioning for Disney........ 10
Hannah Montana................ 13
Life as a Pop Star............ 14
The Best of Both Worlds Tour.. 17
Everything Hannah!............ 18
What's Next?.................. 21
Fun Facts..................... 22
Glossary...................... 23
Index......................... 24 Web Sites..................... 24
