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Samantha Story Collection by by Maxine Rose Schur, Valerie Tripp, Susan S. Adler

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Summary: Set in 1904 these six story tell about Samantha Parkington. She reaches out to her friend who works in the factories. She also learns about the fight for women's right to vote. 

Attention Span/reading level: Small chapter books, 8+. I listed to them in the car with my three year old and while she may not understand everything she asks for it every time we get in the car. 

Good uses for book in teaching: What working conditions in factories were like in the early 1900's, being a friend, women's voting movement 

Favorite part: 
    Mine: How all the characters work so well together. I really genuinely liked each character in these stories. 

Least favorite part: The dog. I really hated almost every part of the story that had the dog in it. 

 Warnings/negative feedback?: (Spoiler alert*) I appreciated a lot of what Samantha did for Nellie, but she did most of it by sneaking around. She went to a bad part of the city alone without an adult, then she aids Nellie in running away, thirdly, she hides Nellie and her sisters in the attic of her aunt's house without telling anyone and steals food for them. 

 This book also deals with the concept that Samantha's parents died when she was young. 

Review: As the first American Girl stories I have read in a long time I enjoyed Samantha's story. I did feel like she was a bit spoiled. Samantha also engaged in dangerous activities(see above). She sacrificed a lot for her friend Nellie, including giving away her favorite doll (a big deal for a 9 year old). Overall I do recommend these stories. 

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