Image Credit: Aspen Card Catalog; Image Link
Samantha Saves the Day: A Summer Story | Valerie Tripp
Check it out in our online card catalog!
Summary: Each summer, Samantha Parkington goes with her family to Piney Point, their isolated mountaintop home, to rest and relax. This year, though, Samantha is joined by her Aunt Cornelia and her mischievous twin sisters, Agnes and Agatha. Together, the three girls get up to plenty of mischief, including taking a boat out to a nearby island. But when a storm rolls in and the girls find themselves in peril, will Samantha go down with her ship or will she rise to the occasion and save the day?
Recommendation: Of all the American Girls, Samantha has always been my favorite… mainly because she managed to rock bangs in a way I never could. Picking a favorite from her books felt impossible, but what made me choose this one in particular was its great combination of action and adventure and emotional learning and growth. A major subplot in this book is Samantha learning more about her mother, who passed away when Samantha was a toddler, and connecting more with her family. It also teaches kids the valuable lesson of persevering through difficult or scary situations and finding solutions instead of being afraid.
Image Credit: Aspen Card Catalog; Image Link
Kit Learns a Lesson: A School Story | Valerie Tripp
Check it out in our online card catalog!
Summary: Growing up in the Great Depression is no easy feat, and no one knows that better than Kit Kittredge, whose family went from rich to poor overnight. In this story, Kit finds that she has hard lessons to learn about the Depression both at home, where she is helping her mother run a boarding house while her father looks for a new job, and at school, where a fight spoils the preparations for the Thanksgiving pageant.
Recommendation: If Samantha was my #1 favorite American Girl character growing up, then Kit is a very close #2, which made choosing between her books just as difficult. I chose this book in particular because it best demonstrates her resilience, adaptability, and struggle as a whole. She learns how to be economical, better help her family, and properly stand up to mean boys. Lastly, the main selling point of this book for me is just how realistic Kit’s reaction to this major life change is and how many people undergoing job loss, family changes, or other major life events can relate to and connect with Kit’s experiences.
Image Credit: Aspen Card Catalog; Image Link
Addy Story Collection | Connie Rose Porter
Check it out in our online card catalog!
Summary: Addy’s six-book series is bound in one volume. Follow nine-year-old Addy Walker as she and her mother risk everything to make a daring and dangerous escape from slavery to a new life in freedom in Philadelphia.
Recommendation: Addy’s story is truly so, so powerful. You will cry, you will jump for joy, and, most of all, you will gain such a deep respect for the individuals who underwent the horrors of slavery. As a result, I think that her story is best enjoyed in its entirety, not broken up into sections, especially since the growth and transformation Addy undergoes from being enslaved to being free and independent is truly remarkable.
Image Credit: Aspen Card Catalog; Image Link
Meet Rebecca | Jacqueline Dembar Greene
Check it out in our online card catalog!
Summary: Rebecca Rubin Longs to be the center of attention, but that’s not easy in a family of five children! When cousin Max, the actor, tells her the secret to pleasing an audience, Rebecca can’t wait to try it out. Then, she learns that her cousin Ana and her family are in danger— they must escape Russia and come to New York. Rebecca decides to raise money for their passage by putting on a show— until her disapproving grandmother steps in. Unexpectedly, Rebecca finds another way to earn money. But for her plan to work, she’ll have to keep it a secret.
Recommendation: If this book had a subtitle, I think it would be “Meet Rebecca… and learn how she overcomes Middle Child Syndrome.” Rebecca’s story is so cute and so well-written as it perfectly combines old Hollywood glamour and her movie star aspirations with the struggles of being an immigrant and a Jew in the early 1900s. This book, the first in her series, serves as a great introduction to her character and is both very entertaining and very heartwarming.
Image Credit: Aspen Card Catalog; Image Link
Growing Up With Aloha: A Nanea Classic volume 1 | Kirby Larson
Check it out in our online card catalog!
Summary: Nine-year-old Nanea Mitchell may be the youngest in her family, but she still wants to “dip her paddle in” and be useful. She knows she’s grown-up enough to help in her grandparents’ market. But before she can prove that she’s ready for more responsibility, the unthinkable happens: Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, the naval base where her father works, and America is at war! With friends and family missing, and rumors of more attacks to come, Nanea worries will life ever be the same again?
Recommendation: I think Nanea’s story is very cool. She’s a young girl growing up on an island paradise, yet has her entire life rocked to its foundation by the horrible tragedy that launched our country into one of the largest wars in human history. I recommend Nanea’s book because it dives into a portion of history that’s really only mentioned in passing in history books. Nanea also has a great attitude and faces the sudden changes and challenges with a great attitude, dedication, and work ethic that all readers can learn from.