Felicity's New Sister

by Valerie Tripp

American Girl: Felicity (Short Story 1)

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Although she is tired of the responsibility of being the oldest sister, Felicity realizes how much her family means to her when a carriage accident puts her pregnant mother in danger. Includes a section on babies in the late 1700s.

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5 reviews
This is one of the "short" stories in the American Girl collection. Basically, it takes place between the 5th and 6th books of the series and tells of the birth of Felicity's little sister, Polly. Of course, it is full of dire situations and Felicity coming through as an intrepid young girl. It features a "servant" who is black -- it is not explicitly stated that she is a slave, but I assumed she was.
½
Felicitiy's New Sister is an American Girl's short story about Felicity, a colonial girl. This is just a small story, almost like a couple of chapters in the normal sized book. The story is about Felicity and her family. Her mother is pregnant and Felicity and another lady urge her very pregnant mother to go on a trip against the advisement of a slave, who is told she knows nothing about babies. There is an accident and Felicity's mom ends up having to have the baby without proper medical attention. The book deals with the aspect of slavery in the colonies, with Rose who tries to warn them of the dangers being ignored. Felicity's mother's friend tells them that she doesn't know anything, basically because she is black. The racism here show more is pretty much down played and is very fictionalized. A nice feature of the book is the size. It's a pocket sized book, making it perfect for smaller hands. There is also a small history lesson in the back of the book which explains about babies in colonial times. Even boys had to wear dresses (frocks). The final thing in this book is a small craft that a child could do with a parent. The story fits very well into the time period, and the addition of the actual history and the craft helps it fit a little better. I would recommend this book for 3rd grade and up. show less
Felicity is angry about the increasing responsibility now that her mother is pregnant with a new baby, but when the baby starts coming on the way to the plantation, Felicity has a change of heart. She realizes that the new baby is special, and is glad she is there.
½
Felicitiy's New Sister is an American Girl's short story about Felicity, a colonial girl. This is just a small story, almost like a couple of chapters in the normal sized book. The story is about Felicity and her family. Her mother is pregnant and Felicity and another lady urge her very pregnant mother to go on a trip against the advisement of a slave, who is told she knows nothing about babies. There is an accident and Felicity's mom ends up having to have the baby without proper medical attention. The book deals with the aspect of slavery in the colonies, with Rose who tries to warn them of the dangers being ignored. Felicity's mother's friend tells them that she doesn't know anything, basically because she is black. The racism here show more is pretty much down played and is very fictionalized. A nice feature of the book is the size. It's a pocket sized book, making it perfect for smaller hands. There is also a small history lesson in the back of the book which explains about babies in colonial times. Even boys had to wear dresses (frocks). The final thing in this book is a small craft that a child could do with a parent. The story fits very well into the time period, and the addition of the actual history and the craft helps it fit a little better. I would recommend this book for 3rd grade and up. show less

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287+ Works 68,073 Members
Valerie Tripp graduated with honors from the first coeducational class at Yale University in 1973. She received a Masters of Education from Harvard University in 1981. From 1974 to 1980, she was a writer for the Addison-Wesley Reading Program. She then became a freelance writer for The Hampton-Brown Company and ELHI Publishers Services creating show more educational materials for major publishers. In 1983, Tripp and Pleasant Rowland decided to write a series of books about girls growing up all over the country during some of the most historical events of the past. Rowland envisioned the books as one of the cornerstones of a new company she had just founded called the Pleasant Co. Tripp's first assignment for Pleasant Co. was writing four of the six books about Samantha, a girl in turn-of-the-century America. Tripp then wrote about Felicity, Molly, and Josephina for the American Girls series. Her other works include the Hopscotch Hill School series. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Series

Belongs to Publisher Series

American Girl (Felicity Short Story 1)

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Common Knowledge

Canonical title
Felicity's New Sister
Original publication date
1999
People/Characters
Felicity Merriman; Nan Merriman; William Merriman; Polly Merriman
Important places
Williamsburg, Virginia, USA
First words
Felicity Merriman closed the back door and tiptoed across the porch.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"This is the night I became a sister all over again."

Classifications

Genres
Children's Books, Fiction and Literature
LCC
PZ7 .T7363 .FLanguage and LiteratureFiction and juvenile belles lettresFiction and juvenile belles lettresJuvenile belles lettres

Statistics

Members
580
Popularity
50,543
Reviews
5
Rating
½ (3.65)
Languages
English
Media
Paper
ISBNs
2
ASINs
2