Happy Birthday, Felicity!: A Springtime Story

This one seems to make a big shift in paying more attention to the local history. Felicity even gets to play a direct role.

The story is that Felicity's grandfather (a loyalist) comes for a visit, and now everyone has to worry that Ben (the apprentice, mind you) won't keep his damn mouth shut about politics. Other than that, Felicity is envious of Annabelle's guitar. This threw me off for a second and I had to look it up to see that there was indeed an "English guitar" at the time. I'm curious how popular it was for women to play the guitar, because in books from near this time (such as those written by Jane Austen), I just remember pianos (pianoforte), harp, singing, etc.

There is a lot of stuff in this book that is thrown in but not show more given attention. For example, the cute lamb? Barely gets a mention. Maybe they were just putting those things in so they could sell them as doll accessories.

The main event centers on the seizure of the colonists' gunpowder, which happened in Williamsburg at the time this book is set (the old-school cover says 1774 for all the books even though they stretch over 2 years). Felicity also first comes to realize the seriousness of the conflict and that the militia isn't just practicing for fun.

A freed black makes an appearance a couple of times. He's a teenager and drummer for the militia. While that's all well and good, I wonder if the apparent slaves of the Merriman family are ever even going to be acknowledged as slaves. show less

Things start to heat up in the 4th "Felicity" book of the American Girl series. Felicity's grandfather, a loyalist, comes to visit for her birthday and gives her a guitar once belonging to her grandmother. Felicity loses the trust of her grandfather and parents when she disobeys them and takes the guitar out of the house. In retrieving the guitar, Felicity overhears disturbing plans, but no one at home believes her. Felicity acts bravely to stop the city's military storehouse from being emptied by the loyalist government. The end-notes says this was a true event in Williamsburg, and no one knows who alerted the people to what was happening, so why not a nine- year old!

There's a nice touch in the fourth book of the American Girls: Felicity series: Felicity does something totally boneheaded. I mean, despite her "spunky, spritely" qualities, she pulls an absent minded stunt that any nine-year-old might do. Other than that, the story has little that rates a comment. (Well, I do wonder if her family's kitchen helper is an employee or property. Slavery is only mentioned in passing in this series.) 'Tis a simple, predictable tale with a happy ending. It's nice waiting room material, like its predecessors.
--J.

As her tenth birthday approaches, Felicity is excited by her grandfather's visit, but she is also concerned about the growing tensions between the colonists and the British governor in Williamsburg.

Summary: It is a happy birthday for Felicity Merriman in this beautifully written book. Felicity is in for an even bigger surprise than just gifts from her family as she comes to terms with making her family angry with her!

Personal Reaction: I think this is a great book because we see more traditions involved that incorporate the theme of Colonial America. We see a lot of growth in Felicity, something that children can relate to.

Classroom extensions: I think it would be a fun idea for students to talk about their siblings and tell one another about them. I think it would be fun for students to make time to play musical instruments.

This is one of my classroom library doubles. This is a story about how Felicity deals with some of the pre-revolutionary war tensions that are arising in Williamsburg and with her family and friends. Felicity both loses her grandfather’s trust by leaving her guitar in the rain, and earns it back again by alerting the people of Williamsburg that the militia’s gunpowder was stolen. She ends the book with a very happy birthday. “A Peek Into the Past.”

Summary: Happy Birthday, Felicity is a story from the “American Girls Collection.” This story is about a girl named Felicity and she is turning 10. She wants to have a party since her grandpa will be visiting. Her grandpa gives her a guitar that was her grandma’s because he trust her with great responsibilities. Felicity takes the guitar out and forgets it in the rain. Her parents and grandpa are disappointed in her. Felicity earns their trust back by acting bravely and catching the Governor’s soldiers stealing gunpowder. The story ends with Felicity walking into the parlor at her home and finding it decorated for her birthday party.
Personal reaction: When my girls were in elementary school we would read all of the American show more Girl stories. We enjoyed reading about little girls around their age, but during a different time period.
Class room extension ideas: 1) This book could be used to introduce the era of the late 1700’s.
2) This book could be used as a tool to learn about the colonies wanting their independence from Britain. show less