AR: 3.5

I mean, it's kind of strange that there's a book dedicated to Molly learning a lesson, considering that she learns a lesson in pretty much every book in the series. Again, I feel for Molly here, as she regrets her decision to share her birthday with the displaced English girl. No one wins when you play the who-suffers-most game, except in fiction.

I thought these books might be silly or feel too light, since these books were written to go along with actual dolls, thus they could have been very quick and simple. However, they don't smack of a marketing ploy; the author did a great job with them, and they're really just like any other book series written for kids this age. Also, the "Looking Back" section at the end of each book is really interesting! I love that it gives a little history of the time period, generally relating to the story, with pictures and even examples of ads/posters/propaganda from that time period. The focus is on children and even women, which is something that you really aren't going to see a lot of places. I think these books could be a great resource for teaching kids age 7 about the time period, how kids lived in those days, and the hardships they had to deal with. If I'd gotten to these books when my daughter was younger, I would have had her read them and then discussed them with her afterward. ( )

When an English girl comes to stay at Molly's during World War II, she and Molly learn to bridge their differences and ultimately enjoy a wonderful, mutual birthday party.

Molly is about a girl that has two friends Lydia and Susan and she is taking place at World War II. She lives in America and pretends that she has her own bomb house even though they are all safe in America. Then a girl from England comes to Molly's house and Molly learns how hard it really is in England. The girl from England is not as Molly expected though, Molly expected her to have to look exactly like Princess Elizabeth, but she has red hair down to her shoulders and that looks nothing like her. Molly's birthday is coming up and so is Emily's, her mom thinks that it would be great if Molly and Emily could have a birthday party combined together, but Molly feels like Emily's taking over her birthday party. How will it turn out? I think this book is okay because it doesn't really seem to have a big enough problem as I think it should, but I like that Molly has to deal with Emily taking over her birthday party and criticizing her on whatever she thinks about England. I think this is a great book if you want to learn about the World War II because it says a lot about important facts in the book and it also has facts about World War II in the back. ( )

Molly is excited to learn that an English girl is coming to stay at the McIntires'--just in time for Molly's birthday! But Emily turns out to be different from the glamorous girl Molly pictured. Emily is shy and standoffish. Then Molly discovers she and Emily have some important things in common. The girls become fast friends and decide to celebrate Molly's birthday with an English tea party. But they can't agree on how to do it, and it takes a special birthday surprise to help them patch up their hurt feelings.