Valerie Tripp

Some have criticized this book due to Felicity's non-stop rule breaking. I think it's a little more complicated than that, because her dad and others older than her weren't being careful about what they said around her. If a kid keeps hearing their neighbor is going to murder their animals, what do you expect? Her father even appeared to secretly encourage it. Also, the horse seems to be an allegory for the American Revolution--even its name is Penny for "independence." It's only natural show more that France (Felicity) should aid America (Penny) to escape from Britain's (Jiggy Nye's) abuses.

Other than that, this book is pretty weird because there are all kinds of things an adult would notice that the target age wouldn't understand. It's almost like there's a second layer to the story for adults that casts everything in a different light. The lack of context to the war taking place, for one, and the significance of breeches worn on Sundays may be another. There is a slave and an indentured servant, but they aren't called that. Even in the section at the end that explains some of the history, the author dances around those words. For all the talk of abusing animals and threats of skinning, it's difficult to understand why those topics are so sanitized.

Something else never really explained in this book that anyone who hasn't studied history may miss is that the villain is a tanner. Tanners were necessary yet looked down upon. They lived away from others due to the stench. Yet this common discrimination is brushed over; Jiggy Nye is just a "bad man" who doesn't deserve the horse.

Overall, I enjoyed rereading this, but I hope the later books touch more on all the important things that were brushed over. The lesson for kids: Don't take things too literally; there's no such thing as a free horse. For adults: Watch what you say around children--they may take you literally. show less

Ten pages in: hell yeah, American Girl takes on anti-vaxxers, woo~ As the end of the book notes, polio has been eradicated in the United States since 1980, so it's fitting to place the historical discovery of a vaccine and efforts to get every child vaccinated in the series to remind people why don't have children in iron lungs any more.

Maryellen's family also goes on a crosscountry trip to Yellowstone National Park and plans her 18 year old sister Joan's wedding. The Looking Back section show more does note that these adventures are very much more of what an upper-middle class white family would've encountered in the 1950s, and has a couple paragraphs on segregation. I do feel like it could've been a more interesting story had we had a character encounter that? Maryellen gets to deal with the boys club and the space race in trying to build a flying machine, though. show less

"I will," said Ben. "But I will not change my mind."

"No," said Felicity, "but maybe you will have a change of heart."

A change of scenery is nice, but maybe put that scenery into context when you set your story on a plantation for a series that is supposed to be educational for children? This isn't a thing I go around complaining about--it is just glaring here. It's not only a disservice to people whose ancestors were enslaved, but it's also offensive to the reader's intelligence. This book show more may as well be called Felicity's Fun Plantation Summer with Grandpa and a Stolen Horse

I'm sorry to say it, but in rereading these books (only Felicity so far), they seem like a failure. What else is a historical novel that fails to put the important historical aspects into context? Maybe slavery isn't part of the story, but I assume a girl like Felicity would have some opinions on it. This could have been as simple as having a 2-minute conversation with her parents or grandpa about slavery, or even having the character simply ruminating on it. Go read the Clotee diary from the Dear America series instead of this for a children's novel set on a plantation. There is a runaway advert for a white boy instead of a slave of all things in a book set on a plantation. The historical information at the end of the book does nothing to make up for how thoroughly the story ignores slavery.

Yet this series is also coming off a bit weak in even representing the American Revolution. Don't get me wrong, they are entertaining enough to continue as a fun history/nostalgia thing between heavier reads and along with the American Girls podcast, but there are better historical children's novels, at least better than the Felicity books. show less

I particularly enjoyed the setting in this book, and while I would have absolutely hated a game like the one they play at camp (I hated a lot of things about camp, really, but most of that is because of my social issues that were developing at the time), it was fun to read about the strategy, wins, and losses. I will tell you right now, though, (possible spoiler) that if anyone dumped a jar of spiders on my head (or even just 1 spider, anywhere on me), I would never talk to them again. I show more would definitely not be bringing them an ice cream cone later that day.

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. show less