Skip to main content

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

By
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. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Game by Terry Schott

By
Brief synopsis (no spoilers) What if this life is just a simulation? What if our bodies are in another world, plugged into a virtual reality game, and our entire life is just one play in that game? What would our real life be like, if we could experience several full simulated lifespans, in our teen years, and then enter adulthood? That is the premise of this story. Category Sci-Fi Why I chose this book It was either free or discounted on Amazon, and sounded interesting My personal opinion (the review) Too many inconsistencies. For example: The real world is able to view the players in the game in "real time", but time in the game is sped up, so that a week in real life is worth a decade in the virtual world. How do real world people have enough time to experience the virtual world, in real time, while still being accelerated? Danielle enters the game 3 days behind Trew, but she only ends up being 1 year younger. If a week is a decade in the game, then 3 days should have be...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mark of Fire by Richard Phillips

By
Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Two main stories: Carol, the daughter of Lord Rafel, wants to be a magic wielder. As she learns magic and grows in strength, she is unaware that she is being hunted by the greatest wielder in the world. The second story is about a ward of Rafel's, named Blade, who becomes an infamous assassin and works for the king. The king sends Blade to kill Rafel and Carol, but he warns them to flee instead. Blade wanders, to escape the king's justice, but finds himself in his own adventure. Category : Fiction, fantasy, possibly YA Why I chose this book : Kindle First My personal opinion : I really enjoyed the story line, the world the author created, and the depth of the characters. It was easy to lose myself in the story. I also really appreciate that the story is "clean" - no bad language, no sexual situations, etc. I feel comfortable recommending this to my teenage children. Warnings Language: none Violence: fairly frequent fighting "Adult...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Lost Colony by Eoin Colfer

By
This is the fifth book in the Artemis Fowl series Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Artemis continues his adventures, leaning farther and farther away from the villain role, and closer to the hero role. He's quite the teenager, with all the hormones of that age. He has discovered another group of the People (demons), and they need saving. Artemis Fowl to the rescue! Category YA Fiction Why I chose this book Next in the series My personal opinion (the review) Artemis is typically flawless. His plans execute perfectly, and when they don't, coincidence saves him. This time, he fails a bit. He loses some time, his body is a little less perfect, and not all of his plans go through perfectly. I like that- it makes him more real, as a character. Warnings : Language - none Violence - mild "Adult" situations - none Death - yes, but temporary Movie rating equivalent PG Protagonist description Artemis is a genius beyond description. He tends to be prideful a...
Post a Comment
Read more